I have seen the benchmarks and read the reviews already, but I want to get some people's opinions first. Do you think it is worth it to get the velociraptor despite the fact that it is 3x more expensive? Thanks.
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WD Velociraptor VS. WD640
- Thread starter Frozonecold
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Nope. WD6400AAKS for the win.
Fast, quiet, higher capacity, great value for money, standard SATA pinout locations (makes it easier to install in Mac Pros).
Fast, quiet, higher capacity, great value for money, standard SATA pinout locations (makes it easier to install in Mac Pros).
The Samsungs are good drives, but by going to 1TB, you end up paying a higher $/GB. Unless you absolutely need the maximum capacity of your system (and I'm guessing you don't, since you're considering a VelociRaptor), then you're better off going with the 640.
Ok let me clear a few things up.
1) I don't need 1Tb of space.
2) I value speed a lot.
3) I don't mind tinkering.
4) I have enough money for either.
5) I am leaning towards the WD640 and I dislike the F1.
Thanks guys.
1) I don't need 1Tb of space.
2) I value speed a lot.
3) I don't mind tinkering.
4) I have enough money for either.
5) I am leaning towards the WD640 and I dislike the F1.
Thanks guys.
What do you dislike about the F1?
I don't have F1 or the 640, but the Velociraptor is serving me pretty well. With my previous 1TB, 7200RPM drive used as a system drive, I didn't have many programs start up on login, the VR seems to be a lot better at opening multiple programs at once and still allow the computer to be useable while doing so. Opening iPhoto is a lot more consistent in speed. Sometimes the 1TB clocked just as fast, sometimes it took almost twice as long to fully open. It's about 5 seconds on the VR, 5 to 9 on the 1TB, with a library of nearly 16,000 photos.
Opening programs requires noticeably fewer "hops" on the dock, and much fewer times that the computer "stalls" because the drive can't keep up with the needs of multiple programs requesting access at the same time. So far, I'm pretty happy with my results. I don't really "need" the speed, but I really do like it, it makes the computer seem to run smoother. Another detail in my comparing the VR with the 1TB is that I have on the TB a matching partition size as the first part of the drive.
I dislike the F1 because I know several people who have had problems with it in terms of reliability. I happen to be one of those people who really hates to wait for applications to load. Whenever something on my Mac Pro seems to be lagging I get really annoyed. I am actually considering a SSD for the speed benefit; however that is something that I should wait for Snow Leopard for, since it's more space efficient.
Can't speak for anyone else but I've had 3 1TB F1 drives since March and they work great; quiet, fast and no issues with any of them.
I think the problems are confined to certain batches maybe. The WD640 is cheaper and faster. If my options were a F1 and a Velociraptor, I would take the VR.
The reviews at newegg are horrible for the f1, Im suprised how many still spend that mch money on them.
exactly, that is why I am not interested in an F1. I am now thinking I should get the WD640 to saves some money and when the SSD drives get cheaper, buy one of those. Although The price to performance ratio is even higher on SSDs than the Velociraptors.
I'm sorry but that does not help me at all. Saying neither doesn't help me decide between two choices. I will follow up on this thread when I decide.
Just to throw another option into the mix, WD have just released a new range of high performance drives - Caviar Black.
I've ordered a 1TB drive so I'll see how it stacks up in a few days. (I have loads of other WD drives, mostly RE2s and Raptors).
I've ordered a 1TB drive so I'll see how it stacks up in a few days. (I have loads of other WD drives, mostly RE2s and Raptors).
I completely forgot about that drive. Its quite expensive for a 750Gb/1tb drive I wonder how it compares to the Velociraptor in speed. According to WD it has less latency than the Velociraptor.
The yolk's on you then, Velociraptor has a 5 year warranty.
I'm not sure how much it really matters to the "enthusiast" though. If you want fast, the drive will be replaced sooner than 5 years anyway.
OK. Nice to know that you'll give advice over an unchecked, incorrect factoid and emotion.
Come on guys, can't we all get along? I am trying to get advice, not start arguments. There have been many good points made so far, but there has been lots of useless posts that don't help anyone.
Heres my 2 cents regarding the Samsung F1 vs Western Digital 640... the warranty. Samsung appears to be 3 years, but the worst part of the samsung warranty is they say to bring it back to the place you bought it. No can do. I'm not going to ship my drive back to Newegg and hope they handle the warranty. I want the manufacturer to back it up. I bought some 640's from WD just because of that. I've never had issues with warranty repairs with Seagate or WD. I bought 2 Samsung drives from my local Fry's and instantly returned them when I found out how their warranty works. Yes I've heard they will deal directly with the consumer if you can't contact your retailer where you purchased the drive, but WD/Seagate warranty repairs are relatively hassle free and you can even check the status of the drive on their site. Samsung doesn't allow that.
It's up to you, but I won't purchase a Samsung drive until they get up to the WD/Seagate standards with regards to their warranty.
It's up to you, but I won't purchase a Samsung drive until they get up to the WD/Seagate standards with regards to their warranty.
I have heard similar horror stories. Luckily the two drives that I am trying to decide between are both made by Western Digital.
I'm also looking to get a second drive. There seems to be no reviews of the Caviar Black yet. Perhaps storagereview.com will post one soon as there's been some requests in the forum.
I need space for music, videos and photos and I prefer to get about 1TB. I sometimes edit large image files but don't think that will require great harddrive speed in view of the Mac Pro's overall capacity. From what I understand, extreme rpm is necessary for read/write intensive work of large files, such as (HD) video editing. So I think I should be able to go with almost any drive. My main concern is noise and so I'm looking for a quiet and well-cooled model that won't force the fans to start too often.
On the Dutch site tweakers.net I read about putting two Samsung Spinpoint F1 640GB. Not newest model but apparently very quiet. Plus they're supposedly fast, perhaps because of the two-platter design and resulting density.
I saw Frozencold's view on Samsung drives but offer this for consideration.
/p
I need space for music, videos and photos and I prefer to get about 1TB. I sometimes edit large image files but don't think that will require great harddrive speed in view of the Mac Pro's overall capacity. From what I understand, extreme rpm is necessary for read/write intensive work of large files, such as (HD) video editing. So I think I should be able to go with almost any drive. My main concern is noise and so I'm looking for a quiet and well-cooled model that won't force the fans to start too often.
On the Dutch site tweakers.net I read about putting two Samsung Spinpoint F1 640GB. Not newest model but apparently very quiet. Plus they're supposedly fast, perhaps because of the two-platter design and resulting density.
I saw Frozencold's view on Samsung drives but offer this for consideration.
/p
New Velociraptor Mac Pro Sled
MaxUpgrades is now offering an alternative heatsink and custom sled so you can mount the Velociraptor in the "normal" location on a Mac Pro:
http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=Product.display&product_id=180
MaxUpgrades is now offering an alternative heatsink and custom sled so you can mount the Velociraptor in the "normal" location on a Mac Pro:
http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=Product.display&product_id=180