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Originally Posted by Chris F.
Ooooooooo, whats the latest on SATA-2?? I have a WD Raptor SATA drive and I am always looking for faster disk. Whats the latest on this, is there a Raptor 2 out?
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Well SATA-1 has a throughput of 1.5GB/s as you know. Your Raptors perform at this speed. While the Raptor is really quick due to it's low seek time, the transfer speed is now no longer the quickest. Plus it's got an 8MB Cache.
I just built my new dual-core PC last weekend, and one of my most favorite toys is the HD, Chris. It's a Western Digital 250GB drive. It spins at 7200RPM, but has the SATA-2 interface. This allows for 3GB/s operation (twice that of SATA-1). Now while my seek time is still twice as slow as yours, the transfer is twice as quick. Plus the 250GB model has a unique 16MB cache, as opposed to 8MB of most others.
Chris, here is a link to my drive
over here...
While Western Digital was the first to supply the stores with these new drives, others like it also exist. There are plenty of SATA-2 drives with an 8MB Cache. But if you want the 16MB-cache varieties, you will have to wait until they are made in sufficient quantities for online stores.
EDIT: There is no Raptor 2 out yet.