Considering a WD1500.. convince me either way!

S

Strykar

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 21, 2005
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After reading Storagereview.com's review I am very tempted to take the plunge.

Currently I have a lowly 200GB Maxtor and a horrid 2MB buffer that has lasted me over several years, but the time has come where my computer has turned into a fileserver of sorts, sharing out media files to 3 other users on my home network. This obviously nails me pretty roughly while playing games.

Also, I need some more space anyways and would really like to jump to SATA for the wire management. I'm an avid gamer that likes to play just about everything that comes up (Can't wait on Oblivion :D ) so I could definitely put it to use, but would you consider the GB:$ Value worth it when compared to something like a MaXLine III or Diamondback 10?

Please help me out, im in quite the pickle. TIA!
 
Go for it, the 150 gb capacity makes it a lot easier to recommend than the 74. Or get two 300gb Maxtors or WD 2500KS's (and run them seperately!). It's up to you.

 
It's very tempting to go with the Raptor, but I would probably kick myself for it if I wasn't floored with the performance. I could get another 450GB of space with money for gas if I went with 2 Diamondmax 10.

I'm so indecisive :p
 
since you need more storage space, I'd recommend a 74GB Raptor and a nice 250 or 320GB drive like the Western Digital KS series for storage

together they should be around the same price as a Raptor 150 and you'll have 85% of the speed and 200% of the storage space
 
I thought about getting the 150 too. I did what ender said, went with a 74gb raptor and wd2500ks.
 
If you can wait, there will be a product refresh of the 74GB raptor with a few of the features of the new 150. (for instance, a 16mb cache, more optimized firmware, etc). When that happens, I would recommend getting the 74 and a big storage drive to compliment it. As it stands right now, the 150gb raptor is not value for your money in terms of storage space. People use it more for OS/apps/games, since the price per gigabyte is so high. 74gb should still be enough for most of your os/apps/game installs, and the storage drive can serve your media files. Hell, you can always save yourself some dough and get yourself a 74/150 raptor, and use your current drive as JUST a media storage drive - being a 2mb cache model, it's quite perfect as a simple storage solution, and much less ideal for a boot drive :)
 
steviep said:
If you can wait, there will be a product refresh of the 74GB raptor with a few of the features of the new 150. (for instance, a 16mb cache, more optimized firmware, etc). When that happens, I would recommend getting the 74 and a big storage drive to compliment it. As it stands right now, the 150gb raptor is not value for your money in terms of storage space. People use it more for OS/apps/games, since the price per gigabyte is so high. 74gb should still be enough for most of your os/apps/game installs, and the storage drive can serve your media files. Hell, you can always save yourself some dough and get yourself a 74/150 raptor, and use your current drive as JUST a media storage drive - being a 2mb cache model, it's quite perfect as a simple storage solution, and much less ideal for a boot drive :)
Click to expand...


Now that route sounds perfect to me, any ETA on the revamp?
 
Was looking at the WD2500KS but I'm only on a SATA I interface, do these drives scale down?

Last question, is NCQ a major buying factor? It seems to only be worthwhile when it's the only drive in the system or it is being utilized from several sources, I plan on having this drive as my main drive, not shared out.

TIA again :)
 
Strykar said:
Now that route sounds perfect to me, any ETA on the revamp?
Click to expand...
No idea, but I'd assume that it would be within a month or two. I forgot to mention, the new 74GB revamp should also have NCQ ;) Anyone with a date?

Buy a Raptor as your main boot/OS drive, not a plain old 7200RPM SATA like that WD (unless that's what you're planning for your storage drive, on top of your current 200gb). The Raptor will boot your machine and your applications/games will run quicker. Just be sure to either get the 150, or wait for the 74 refresh. Not the older 74gb, since the new features will be worthwhile.

SATAII definately scales down to SATA1. You won't find a drive that goes faster than SATA1 needs, anyway. NCQ does help for intensive drive tasks (DV editing, extracting files, etc) so I would recommend getting a drive that does have that feature, especially since they all have it now... lol.

If you need everything NOW, my recommendation:
Get a Raptor 150, keep your 200gb as the storage drive.

If you can wait a bit,
Get the new Raptor 74, keep your 200gb as a storage, and get yourself an additional 200gb 16mb cache 7200rpm w/NCQ drive with the money you save getting the Raptor 74.
 
get a nice, inexpensive, used 74G raptor and then a big drive for storage. Since all the [H]ardcore people are jumping on the new drive, I am sure that you can find a cheap 74GB raptor in FS/FT.
 
steviep said:
If you can wait, there will be a product refresh of the 74GB raptor with a few of the features of the new 150. (for instance, a 16mb cache, more optimized firmware, etc). When that happens, I would recommend getting the 74 and a big storage drive to compliment it. As it stands right now, the 150gb raptor is not value for your money in terms of storage space. People use it more for OS/apps/games, since the price per gigabyte is so high. 74gb should still be enough for most of your os/apps/game installs, and the storage drive can serve your media files. Hell, you can always save yourself some dough and get yourself a 74/150 raptor, and use your current drive as JUST a media storage drive - being a 2mb cache model, it's quite perfect as a simple storage solution, and much less ideal for a boot drive :)
Click to expand...

Great advice, I believe I'll go this route. Could I have a Raptor as my OS drive with 2 IDE drives for storage? Would everyone get along?
 
Yep, the only thing you'll run into depends on your BIOS. Most newer models can make your SATA drives masquerade as IDE Controller 2 or 3, bypassing the need for lame SATA driver disks when installing Windows. IMO, a 74GB Raptor for OS + some games and apps and storage drive(s) is an ideal configuration.
 
Thanks for the suggestions to those who helped out, I'm going to keep watching the boards for the 74GB refresh and grab one then. :)
 
Yes, of course you can have 2 IDE drives and 1 SATA, you just have to set it up properly (with jumpers and such on the IDE drives) and you can't really mess up much... giving you TONS of storage, and a lightning fast OS/boot drive! You can't go wrong with a 74gb raptor with 16mb cache and NCQ... keep your eyes peeled, it shouldn't be too long. Glad we could help :D
 
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