New VelociRaptor in Q2, 145 MB/s transfers

We knew that that the Western Digital Raptor family would be around for another generation. WD has been keeping it cool with the onslaught of Solid State Drives until recently when it decided to join the race in the retail channel. It still believes there is room for a new generation of VelociRaptor and we now have fresh details on the new harddrive.

The storage capacity will double from the previous 300GB to 600GB. Three other capacities will be offered beside the top model; 150GB, 300GB and 450GB. At 37dBA and with MTBF of 1.4 million hours it is a durable but loud drive, which is reflected by the performance.

With the SATA 6.0 Gbps interface and 10,000 RPM engine the drive will sustain transfer speeds at 145MB/s. Impressive for a mechanical drives, but still far from the top SSDs. The cache rests at 32MB and 3ms response time is delivered in a 2.5″ format, but as usual there will also be a 3.5″ model with a beefy aluminum heatsink.

The price wasn’t revealed, but expect 5 year warranty when the drive appears in Q2.