WD Launches Newest WD VelociRaptor- The World’s Fastest SATA Hard Drive Now Has Twice the Capacity

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The VelociRaptor, the well known speedy hard drive from Western Digital just got bigger, at least in capacity. WD also claims a 15% performance increase as well over previous generations. Pricing is still rather high though, $300 for 450gb, $329 for 600gb.

  Features of the new WD VelociRaptor hard drives include:
  --  Killer speed - SATA 6 Gb/s interface and 32 MB cache enhance the next
      generation 10,000 RPM WD VelociRaptor making it up to 15% faster than
      the award-winning previous generation.
  --  Monstrous capacity - WD VelociRaptor SATA drives are available in
      capacities up to 600 GB, double the capacity of the previous
      generation.
  --  Rock-solid reliability - Designed and manufactured to mission-critical
      enterprise-class standards to provide enterprise reliability in high
      duty cycle environments. With 1.4 million hours MTBF, these drives
      have the highest available reliability rating on a high capacity SATA
      drive.
  --  Ultra-cool operation - Consumes no more power than the previous
      generation WD VelociRaptor while offering double the capacity and
      higher performance.
  --  IcePack mounting frame - The 2.5-inch WD VelociRaptor is enclosed in a
      backplane-ready 3.5-inch enterprise-class mounting frame with a
      built-in heat sink that keeps this powerful little drive extra cool
      when installed in high-performance desktop chassis.
  --  Rotary Acceleration Feed Forward (RAFF(TM)) - Optimizes operation and
      performance when the drives are used in vibration-prone, multi-drive
      chassis.
  --  NoTouch(TM) ramp load technology - The recording head never touches
      the disk media ensuring significantly less wear to the recording head
      and media as well as better drive protection in transit.
  --  Environmentally conscious - In addition to being ROHS compliant, this
      generation of WD VelociRaptor is also a halogen-free design.
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  Price and Availability

WD VelociRaptor (model WD4500HLHX and WD6000HLHX – 3.5-inch version with IcePack) hard drives are available now at select distributors and resellers. WD VelociRaptor 2.5-inch hard drives (model WD4500BLHX and WD6000BLHX) are under evaluation with OEM customers and will be available through select commercial distributors within this quarter. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the WD VelociRaptor 450 GB (model WD4500HLHX) is $299 USD and the 600 GB (model WD6000HLHX) is $329 USD. More information about WD VelociRaptor hard drives may be found on the company’s Web site at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=821.