Analysis and Conclusion:
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Conclusion:
First, I hope you haven’t read through this review and deduced that the WD1000DHTZ drive as a failure…as that is surely not the case. To be fair, we weren’t comparing apples to apples in this review as no HDD will ever directly compete with an SSD. Choosing to approach the review in this manner, was a decision made based on the fact that the Western Digital VelociRaptor drive is in a bit of an identity crisis as it no longer dominates some of the areas it used to. At the end of the day, the WD1000DHTZ is still a spinning drive and where it represents a drive line often touted as the “king of the hill”, it is not exempt from the shortcomings that HDDs have in comparison to SSDs.
So where does that leave Western Digital’s new VelociRaptor drive? Well, when it comes to spinning HDD’s, it sits atop the pack in terms of performance. Any place an enthusiast would consider using traditional HDDs (essentially large capacity storage); if performance is paramount…then Western Digital’s VelociRaptor is still the undisputed champion.
Pricing, however, is an area I feel compelled to touch on. At the time of this article, the WD1000DHTZ can be purchased for about $300. This makes it considerably more expensive per gigabyte over its slower and larger HDD brethren. Additionally, for $300 a user can purchase a higher end tier 256GB SSD (such as Crucial M4).
The WD1000DHTZ may retain its title as one of the fastest HDD available, but limited capacity, high cost per gigabyte, and having to compete with SSDs will make it difficult for the WD1000DTHZ to make it on many enthusiasts “must have” lists.
Pros:
- Larger capacity options then previous VelociRaptor generations
- 64MB Cache
- 5-year warranty
- 10,000RPM Spindle Speed
- Higher performance over currently available HDD drives
Cons:
- Small capacity compared to other HDD (4TB drives currently available)
- Low performance when compared to SSD
- High cost per gigabyte
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While I agree its hard to find the exact spot this drive fits into, Its still a good buy for somone that needs performance and plenty of room. SSD’s are still way too expensive if you need a TB of performance room.
My next rig will have a pair of these in raid 0, along with a SSD as the primary windows drive.
Kevin,
Yes, there is still a “sweet spot” for these drives and you put it nicely when you say performance TB. Anyone looking for high performance in capacities that exceed SSDs (limited architecturally or by price), should seriously consider these new Raptor drives.