Release of compliant drivebay Velociraptor?

Velin

Velin

macrumors 68020
As most of you know, WD's relatively new Velociraptor drives have a major flaw: they don't fit into swappable hard drive bays, including the Mac Pro. For example:

Review

The IcePak doubles as a mounting mechanism to make the Velociraptor fit snugly within a case's standard 3.5-inch drive bay. What doesn't work with this drive, however, are hot-swapping mechanisms, like those found in a number of NAS boxes, external enclosures, and next-generation cases. And this isn't a "wiggle it" version of not-working. The Velociraptor is incompatible with any configuration that requires you to slide the drive into fixed power and SATA connectors.

It's a maddening issue that could have been easily fixed by, say, moving the 2.5-inch drive over a wee bit in the proper direction in the IcePak carriage.
Click to expand...

I understand WD is working to resolve this major flaw. And WD may release compliant Velociraptors -- or a new heatsink -- that'll fit drive bays.

Does anyone know when the release is going to happen? Soon, not soon?

(I know there are a couple workarounds, e.g. unscrew fixed SATA connector and plug into the Vraptor, aftermarket drive mount. But for such an expensive VRaptor drive -- ~ $1 per gig of internal storage, a serious premium -- we shouldn't have to waste time or money fixing such a stupid flaw. The drive bays are an enormous plus for Mac and PC power users and I am not tooling around with connectors to fix WD's mistake; it defeats the purpose of drivebays.)
 
Well check this out:

New Velociraptor

Now. will this new Velociraptor fit in the Mac Pro tower?

7-23-08-wd3000blfs.jpg
 
Looks like this New Velociraptor is a 2.5" drive, so you could maybe mount it in a 3.5" frame?
IDK if the connectors are still in the wrong places though.
 
The location of the connectors are critical for any drive mounted in a backplane. A number of cases for pc's as well as the Mac Pro have switched to this type of mount, so it's important for individual machines as well.

WD dropped the ball on the initial Velociraptor, and for $300, most people expect it to be compliant. :eek:
 
There's a workaround. And unless you work with heavy-duty uncompressed HD at high resolutions or run serious servers, you don't need a Velocirapor. Even if you do, you still don't; several Spinpoint F1s in RAID 0 would suffice (and you'd need more than one VR in RAID 0 anyway).

It might not be more energy or space-effective, but it'd be more cost-effective.
 
What else is there? If he's aware of the work around but refuses to use it, that's his own prerogative. If he won't do that, there isn't anything this forum can do for him :(
 
the 2.5" backplane is identical to the 3.5" one, all you'd need to do is build a set of drive rails that give the proper offset inside the 3.5" cage.
 
I also heard at some point that WD was aware of the goof and was thinking of making a new, 3.5" bay compliant velociraptor. Anybody else heard anything about this? Could just be a rumor, but if it is true, I think I'd hold out for it...
 
A 3.5" backplane compliant Velociraptor has been mentioned/ eluded to in an article or two. (Google VR reviews). WD will likely wait until existing units are sold down/out before making any formal press/product release. So when, is the real question, and they are keeping quiet for now. :(
 
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