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24" iMac with 300gb VelociRaptor

J

jwright

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 29, 2008
2
0
Hi All,

Just received my 3.06GHz iMac and immediately installed a WD 300gb 10000rpm VelociRaptor, really easy to fit and I am amazed at the performance increase.
Xbench 2.0 Results 212.09
Disk Test 103.95
Sequential 158.70
Uncached Write 203.57 124.99 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 200.56 113.48 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 91.54 26.79 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 228.23 114.70 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 77.28
Uncached Write 28.85 3.05 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 208.06 66.61 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 129.92 0.92 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 217.76 40.41 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Cheers
j
 
Just curious as two what fan speed you're getting and what temperatures are reported.

Great idea, hope you enjoy your mod.
 
I was under the impression that the VelociRaptor was a laptop drive mounted in a desktop drive-sized heatsink... Won't the absence of the large heatsink be an issue?
 
Yeah does it run any louder - even the harddrive itself if not the computer due to fans? Hotter?

Does this void the warranty?

That's a killer upgrade.
 
Ouch, I see it's a $300 upgrade eh.. I found some benchmarks on barefeats:

http://www.barefeats.com/hard103.html

Boots almost twice as fast as the OEM drive... I guess one advantage iMac users might have is that it should be even easier to install than it is in the Mac Pro?

Oh, and apparently if you install XP/Vista on a partion on this HD you won't be able to run it? Have you attempted this OP? I don't plan on running Windows on my computer so I think I should be fine...
 
So Many Questions

Sorry haven't got the results from before the upgrade but applications open faster, the Hard Disk is quieter and the machine runs cooler, I was worried that the raptor would be noisy like previous models but the 300gb it very quiet. if you look at the spec of the VelociRapter it's a 3.5" HD in a 5.5" heat sink, this is a strait swap for the standard drive.

I didn't have to touch any of the "Void Warranty" tags during installation, if I have a problem will just install the original drive.

I am running Vista in Bootcamp and Vista, 2008 server, XP in VMware Fusion (have to for work!)

As for installation instructions I found a post on this site:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/350120/

Cheers
 
It's a fantastic drive, but the capacity is a bit small for me - I went for the 1TB drive in my iMac and constantly worry I'll run out of space :D
 
Those are awesome benchmark numbers. IMO - still a bit too low on the GB/$ ratio - but getting close.
 
jwright said:
... if you look at the spec of the VelociRapter it's a 3.5" HD in a 5.5" heat sink ...
Click to expand...

No. It's a 2.5" disk mechanism that mounts in a standard 3.5" bay:

"IcePack™ Mounting Frame - The 2.5-inch WD VelociRaptor
is enclosed in a 3.5-inch enterprise-class mounting frame ..."

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=459

BTW, the heat sink appears to be largely cosmetic -- the drive itself
consumes substantially less power than an ordinary 3.5" / 7200 rpm.

Is it really faster than a 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F or Seagate 7200.11?

LK
 
So what do you guys think... Is this safe? Will it make my iMac run that much hotter?

Also, those of you asking about the Spinpoint, etc. check out the barefeats benchmarks I posted. It really seems to be that much faster..
 
idyll said:
Also, those of you asking about the Spinpoint, etc. check out the barefeats benchmarks I posted.
Click to expand...
Also check out the benchmarks on tomshardware.com -- very impressive on
I/O operations per second, little/no advantage on read/write transfer rates.

Limited capacity, high $$/GB. Just like race cars ...how fast can you afford?

OTOH, it's the coolest-running 3.5" form-factor drive on tomshardware's
charts -- not too surprising given the 6.08 watt power consumption spec.

...maybe a good match for Apple's aluminum and glass furnace,

LK
 
Leon Kowalski said:
Also check out the benchmarks on tomshardware.com -- very impressive on
I/O operations per second, little/no advantage on read/write transfer rates.

Limited capacity, high $$/GB. Just like race cars ...how fast can you afford?

OTOH, it's the coolest-running 3.5" form-factor drive on tomshardware's
charts -- not too surprising given the 6.08 watt power consumption spec.

...maybe a good match for Apple's aluminum and glass furnace,

LK
Click to expand...



Where can I find the temperature comparisons? So the VelociRaptor is actually the coolest?
 
Yeah I'm pretty sure you can install it there as well. :)

I'm really tempted.. Or the SpinPoint. Its just $80 for 500GB it seems vs. $300 for 300GB for the VelociRaptor :/
 
If I decide to change out the hd I am definitely going with the velociraptor. I would like my internal hd to be as fast as possible and 300gb of storage is plenty. I have a huge external drive for movies and such. Plus the cooler operating temps of the velociraptor are always welcome.
 
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