Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLHX

[s_j_newbury]

Because it runs hot and has to have a cooler, so it doesn't die. This cooler increases the size to 3.5". If you wanted to use a 3.5" disk instead the cooler would increase the size to the next form-factor, 5.25", which is a no go for many server cases.

Yes and no. Lots of 1U rackmount chassis do actually support 5.25" bays, however WD actually also have models of VelociRaptor without the sink, particularly for deployment in *well ventilated* 2.5" server hdd bays. It's there more for poorly ventilated desktop chassis where a typical 2.5" to 3.5" or 5.25" bay adaptor could leave the drive in ever heating hot air or even worse, insulated by plastic.

I use 5.25 to 4x 2.5" hot swap bays, with their own fans and the sink-less VelociRaptors, they don't get too hot.

[torsionbar28]

SSD killed VelociRaptor.
There is no need for a VelociRaptor, just get an SSD instead.

no, not even close. in theory and practice the ssds will last by far longer than any hdd.

You both are joking, yes? Consumer SSD's have a disgustingly high failure rate. Read the reviews on Newegg and Amazon and see how many unsatisfied SSD owners are out there. Not to mention all the firmware issues. I don't have time to upgrade SSD firmware every other week, or be an un-paid beta tester for not-quite-ready products. I'm sure enterprise grade SSD's are better, but they are priced well out of average consumer budgets. If you think consumer SSD's are so reliable, ask yourself why the enterprise models include WAY more over-provisioning space, and cost so much more. Sorry, but consumer SSD's wear out way too quickly. In theory and practice, an enterprise HDD will last much longer than a cheap consumer SSD. And so long as the price per GB between enterprise HDD and enterprise SSD is so different, I'll stick with the tried and true solution. I won't be giving up my 1 TB Velociraptors any time soon... they can pull 200 MB/s, which is faster than many low-end consumer SSD's. Besides, have you priced out 1 TB enterprise SSD lately? The price/performance is no comparison.

BTW the model reviewed in this article is an older model. NewEgg is selling this same WD1500HLHX Velociraptor for $59 and free shipping right now.

[torsionbar28]

What is the point of making the Raptor in 2.5" form? Sure, it has less power consumption/heat, but it also limits storage. Anyone with half a brain would mount a 3.5" Raptor right by an intake fan. I'm guessing too many little epeen kiddies overheated their Raptors and RMA'd them which is why WD feels the need to put a huge heatsink on it.

It's because enterprise drives all use 2.5" platters. Even the enterprise drives that come in a 3.5" form factor actually have 2.5" platters inside them. Mainly it's because of 15k spindle speed, which is only available as 2.5" platter size. No such thing as 3.5" platter with 15k speed. So I guess they probably started making the 10k drives in the same form factor to reduce manufacturing costs.

[philip550c]

You both are joking, yes? Consumer SSD's have a disgustingly high failure rate. Read the reviews on Newegg and Amazon and see how many unsatisfied SSD owners are out there. Not to mention all the firmware issues. I don't have time to upgrade SSD firmware every other week, or be an un-paid beta tester for not-quite-ready products. I'm sure enterprise grade SSD's are better, but they are priced well out of average consumer budgets. If you think consumer SSD's are so reliable, ask yourself why the enterprise models include WAY more over-provisioning space, and cost so much more. Sorry, but consumer SSD's wear out way too quickly. In theory and practice, an enterprise HDD will last much longer than a cheap consumer SSD. And so long as the price per GB between enterprise HDD and enterprise SSD is so different, I'll stick with the tried and true solution. I won't be giving up my 1 TB Velociraptors any time soon... they can pull 200 MB/s, which is faster than many low-end consumer SSD's. Besides, have you priced out 1 TB enterprise SSD lately? The price/performance is no comparison.

BTW the model reviewed in this article is an older model. NewEgg is selling this same WD1500HLHX Velociraptor for $59 and free shipping right now.

lol exactly. Thats what I think about this. If anything I would go from the raptors to SAS drives.

[Vim_User]

Sorry, but consumer SSD's wear out way too quickly.

For sure, they wear out so quickly. Oh, wait: http://techreport.com/review/25889/t...t-500tb-update

[philip550c]

For sure, they wear out so quickly. Oh, wait: http://techreport.com/review/25889/t...t-500tb-update

I certainly hope that ssd lifespan has increased, I'll still wait until the are larger capacity at a lower price for servers.

[uid313]

You both are joking, yes? Consumer SSD's have a disgustingly high failure rate. Read the reviews on Newegg and Amazon and see how many unsatisfied SSD owners are out there. Not to mention all the firmware issues. I don't have time to upgrade SSD firmware every other week, or be an un-paid beta tester for not-quite-ready products. I'm sure enterprise grade SSD's are better, but they are priced well out of average consumer budgets. If you think consumer SSD's are so reliable, ask yourself why the enterprise models include WAY more over-provisioning space, and cost so much more. Sorry, but consumer SSD's wear out way too quickly. In theory and practice, an enterprise HDD will last much longer than a cheap consumer SSD. And so long as the price per GB between enterprise HDD and enterprise SSD is so different, I'll stick with the tried and true solution. I won't be giving up my 1 TB Velociraptors any time soon... they can pull 200 MB/s, which is faster than many low-end consumer SSD's. Besides, have you priced out 1 TB enterprise SSD lately? The price/performance is no comparison.

BTW the model reviewed in this article is an older model. NewEgg is selling this same WD1500HLHX Velociraptor for $59 and free shipping right now.

There were some issues on early SSDs, but I think they are long gone.
Modern SSD should be fine, I believe.

Now pretty much every SSD manufacturer use SandForce controllers, so its getting pretty tried and proven by now...

[curaga]

For sure, they wear out so quickly. Oh, wait: http://techreport.com/review/25889/t...t-500tb-update

I believe he was referring to all-out bricking, not the flash write cycles running out.

[Vim_User]

I believe he was referring to all-out bricking, not the flash write cycles running out.

As long as he has nothing more than anecdotal evidence (like "look at Newegg") his arguments are invalid.