- Perfect for workstations, high-end video and photo editing, low-end servers and performance enthusiasts' systems
- Ultra fast,Ultra-cool operation
- Rock-solid reliability
- 5-year limited warranty
Fast, Reliable
07/18/2014
This review is from: Western Digital WD VelociRaptor WD5000HHTZ 500GB 10000 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
Pros:
Although I seldom turn my computer off, I just did so to test boot up time for this review. I was on the desktop within 27 seconds and ready to go. Not as fast as most SSD’s but plenty quick enough for me. After it’s loaded I can hardly notice any difference between it and SSD for real world use, plus I have more peace of mind.
Raptors have been good to me and I trust them. I know that I won’t notice any slowdown after years of use, while the jury is still out with SSD’s. Not trying to make this a Raptor vs SSD thing but it’s a decision that needs to be made before deciding which way to go. I wouldn’t have bought more than a dozen SSD’s over the past couple years if I didn’t like them. However, I still give the overall edge to Raptor for my own personal use.
5-Year Warranty
Cons:
none
Overall Review:
I like being able to download the WD version of Acronis True Image for free. The latest version worked with Windows 8.1 when the retail version wouldn’t. I started using it long before Win8 came out but just though I’d mention it. I’m running Windows 7 on the machine I’m writing this review on. The Data Lifeguard tools are handy too. I always install them with my WD drives.
I also like being able to use Windows 7 sleep mode without worrying about it. There is a lot of conflicting information about using sleep mode with SSD’s along with some horror stories.
It does make what I call “thinking noises” so if you are one of the many who get freaked out by them you might not like this drive. Being a long time Raptor user I associate those noises with a fast, rock solid drive. I like hearing the quick little zizzz... when it saves something (weird, I know). I’ve owned many Raptors over the years going all the way back to the 36GB (still running) version and have had only one fail. That was several years ago and WD replaced it within in a few days.
WEI is a joke when rating hard drives. A Raptor and a green drive both get the same score although performance difference is night and day.
I bought the Raptor that resides on the computer I’m writing this review on Black Friday 2012.
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- James H.
-
Verified Owner
-
Owned For:
more than 1 year
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