<s>
The	O
Western	B-Device
Digital	I-Device
Raptor	I-Device
(	O
often	O
marketed	O
as	O
WD	B-Device
Raptor	I-Device
,	O
2.5	O
"	O
models	O
known	O
as	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
)	O
is	O
a	O
discontinued	O
series	O
of	O
high	O
performance	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
produced	O
by	O
Western	O
Digital	O
first	O
marketed	O
in	O
2003	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
drive	O
occupies	O
a	O
niche	O
in	O
the	O
enthusiast	O
,	O
workstation	B-Device
and	O
small-server	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Traditionally	O
,	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
servers	B-Application
used	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
featuring	O
a	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
interface	O
because	O
of	O
their	O
advantages	O
in	O
both	O
performance	O
and	O
reliability	O
over	O
consumer-level	O
ATA	B-Protocol
drives	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
pitched	O
as	O
an	O
“	O
enterprise-class	O
drive	O
”	O
,	O
it	O
won	O
favor	O
with	O
the	O
PC	O
gaming	O
and	O
enthusiast	O
community	O
because	O
the	O
drive	O
was	O
capable	O
of	O
speeds	O
usually	O
found	O
only	O
on	O
more	O
expensive	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adopting	O
the	O
SATA	O
interface	O
meant	O
that	O
it	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
easily	O
on	O
all	O
modern	O
motherboards	B-Device
with	O
no	O
separate	O
host	B-General_Concept
adapter	I-General_Concept
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
keeping	O
with	O
the	O
PC	B-General_Concept
case	I-General_Concept
modding	O
trend	O
of	O
stylizing	O
,	O
the	O
drive	O
was	O
given	O
a	O
Perspex	O
window	O
to	O
match	O
the	O
internals	O
of	O
computer	B-General_Concept
cases	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
10	O
,	O
2003	O
,	O
Western	O
Digital	O
announced	O
the	O
first	O
consumer	O
10,000	O
RPM	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
sold	O
in	O
36	O
GB	O
and	O
74	O
GB	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
21	O
,	O
2008	O
,	O
Western	O
Digital	O
announced	O
the	O
next	O
generation	O
of	O
its	O
10,000	O
RPM	O
SATA	O
Raptor	O
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
drives	O
,	O
called	O
WD	B-Device
VelociRaptor	I-Device
,	O
feature	O
300GB	O
capacity	O
and	O
2.5-inch	O
platters	O
enclosed	O
in	O
the	O
IcePack	O
,	O
a	O
3.5-inch	O
mounting	O
frame	O
with	O
a	O
built-in	O
heat	O
sink	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
6	O
,	O
2010	O
,	O
Western	O
Digital	O
updated	O
the	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Western	O
Digital	O
claims	O
the	O
new	O
models	O
are	O
15	O
percent	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
previous	O
generation	O
of	O
VelociRaptors	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
16	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Western	O
Digital	O
updated	O
the	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
series	O
for	O
the	O
second	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
last	O
generation	O
of	O
Raptor	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
to	O
be	O
manufactured	O
;	O
Western	O
Digital	O
removed	O
it	O
from	O
its	O
product	O
catalog	O
in	O
mid-2016	O
,	O
without	O
any	O
direct	O
successor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alongside	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
,	O
Western	O
Digital	O
also	O
produced	O
S25	O
,	O
rebranded	O
XE	O
in	O
May	O
2012	O
,	O
an	O
SAS	O
version	O
of	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
XE	O
was	O
removed	O
from	O
Western	O
Digital	O
's	O
product	O
catalog	O
before	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
,	O
in	O
March	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2003	O
,	O
Western	O
Digital	O
released	O
the	O
first	O
incarnation	O
of	O
the	O
Raptor	O
series	O
:	O
the	O
WD360GD	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
featured	O
a	O
capacity	O
of	O
37	O
GB	O
on	O
a	O
single	O
platter	O
,	O
a	O
Serial	O
ATA	B-Protocol
interface	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
ATA	B-Protocol
drive	I-Protocol
to	O
operate	O
at	O
a	O
spindle	O
speed	O
of	O
10,000	O
rpm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
many	O
early	O
SATA	O
drives	O
,	O
the	O
Raptor	O
was	O
not	O
a	O
"	O
real	O
"	O
SATA	O
drive	O
because	O
it	O
was	O
really	O
a	O
PATA	B-Protocol
drive	O
that	O
used	O
an	O
88i8030C	O
interface	O
bridge	O
chip	O
from	O
Marvell	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WD360GD	B-Device
Raptors	O
do	O
not	O
use	O
the	O
3.3	O
V	O
Serial	O
ATA	B-Protocol
power	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
is	O
usually	O
the	O
case	O
for	O
hard	B-Device
drives	I-Device
featuring	O
a	O
faster	O
spindle	O
speed	O
,	O
the	O
Raptor	O
outperformed	O
other	O
ATA	B-Protocol
drives	I-Protocol
and	O
in	O
some	O
situations	O
was	O
even	O
able	O
to	O
reach	O
the	O
performance	O
of	O
contemporary	O
10,000	O
rpm	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SCSI	B-Architecture
drives	O
still	O
outperformed	O
the	O
Raptor	O
in	O
multi-user	O
scenarios	O
,	O
but	O
for	O
high-end	O
home	O
computers	O
it	O
fared	O
very	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
WD360GD	B-Device
drives	O
with	O
Part	O
Number	O
WD360GD-00FNA0	O
(	O
December	O
2003	O
)	O
and	O
earlier	O
cannot	O
accept	O
SATA	O
latch	O
cables	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
SATA	O
data	O
connector	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
the	O
required	O
rails	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WD360GD	B-Device
Raptors	O
with	O
the	O
Marvell	O
88i8030-TBC	O
PATA	B-Protocol
to	O
SATA	O
bridge	O
chip	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
WD360GD-00FNA0	O
(	O
December	O
2003	O
)	O
and	O
earlier	O
,	O
are	O
limited	O
to	O
UDMA	O
5	O
transfers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Microsoft	O
Windows	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
reported	O
as	O
UDMA	O
6	O
,	O
but	O
give	O
a	O
burst	O
rate	O
of	O
104	O
MB/s	O
,	O
while	O
WD360GD	B-Device
with	O
the	O
88i8030-TBC1	O
chip	O
are	O
reported	O
as	O
UDMA	O
6	O
and	O
give	O
a	O
burst	O
rate	O
of	O
122	O
MB/s	O
,	O
close	O
their	O
theoretical	O
limit	O
of	O
UDMA	O
6	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Those	O
Raptors	O
limited	O
at	O
UDMA	O
5	O
were	O
bought	O
for	O
SATA	O
I	O
150	O
MB/s	O
support	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
only	O
support	O
the	O
legacy	O
PATA	B-Protocol
UDMA	O
5	O
at	O
100	O
MB/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
its	O
larger	O
brother	O
the	O
WD740GD	B-Device
,	O
the	O
WD360GD	B-Device
was	O
revised	O
in	O
2006	O
and	O
released	O
with	O
the	O
designation	O
WD360ADFD	O
-	O
incorporating	O
twice	O
as	O
much	O
on-board	O
cache	O
(	O
16	O
MB	O
vs	O
8	O
MB	O
)	O
,	O
at	O
least	O
one	O
side	O
of	O
a	O
single	O
platter	O
that	O
offers	O
twice	O
the	O
areal	O
density	O
,	O
and	O
enabling	O
NCQ	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
the	O
WD740GD	B-Device
did	O
n't	O
use	O
ball	O
bearings	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
spinning	O
disks	O
,	O
but	O
rather	O
used	O
fluid	O
dynamic	O
bearings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
advantage	O
the	O
WD740GD	B-Device
had	O
over	O
its	O
predecessor	O
was	O
Tagged	O
Command	O
Queuing	O
,	O
a	O
feature	O
that	O
had	O
previously	O
been	O
available	O
only	O
in	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Command	O
queuing	O
resulted	O
in	O
a	O
notable	O
increase	O
in	O
the	O
WD740GD	B-Device
's	O
multi-user	O
performance	O
—	O
a	O
key	O
discipline	O
where	O
its	O
predecessor	O
failed	O
compared	O
to	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
enabling	O
command	O
queuing	O
on	O
the	O
WD740GD	B-Device
resulted	O
in	O
a	O
performance	O
decrease	O
in	O
single-user	O
scenarios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2006	O
Western	O
Digital	O
revised	O
the	O
WD740GD	B-Device
specification	O
and	O
released	O
the	O
WD740ADFD	O
,	O
ostensibly	O
the	O
same	O
drive	O
but	O
with	O
16	O
MB	O
of	O
on-board	O
cache	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
larger	O
single	O
platter	O
(	O
one	O
75	O
GB	O
platter	O
vs	O
two	O
37	O
GB	O
platters	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
for	O
TCQ	O
(	O
rarely	O
supported	O
on	O
SATA	O
RAID	B-Architecture
controllers	O
)	O
was	O
dropped	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
NCQ	O
,	O
and	O
at	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
replacing	O
the	O
SATA-to-PATA	O
bridge	O
controller	O
chip	O
with	O
a	O
native	O
SATA	O
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
WD740GD	B-Device
did	O
not	O
apply	O
because	O
it	O
uses	O
TCQ	O
and	O
not	O
NCQ	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
TCQ	O
capable	O
controllers	O
,	O
the	O
WD740GD	B-Device
is	O
possibly	O
faster	O
than	O
its	O
successor	O
as	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
WD740ADFDs	O
 '	O
gains	O
are	O
lost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
WD740ADFD	O
has	O
also	O
caused	O
problems	O
in	O
some	O
motherboards	B-Device
and	O
their	O
manufacturers	O
had	O
to	O
release	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
updates	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
Raptor	B-Device
X	I-Device
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
unique	O
feature	O
is	O
likely	O
to	O
be	O
popular	O
with	O
case	B-Architecture
modders	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
regular	O
Raptor	O
,	O
the	O
Raptor	B-Device
X	I-Device
has	O
a	O
MTBF	O
rating	O
of	O
1.2	O
million	O
hours	O
,	O
or	O
137	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
drive	O
is	O
being	O
sold	O
under	O
the	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
GLFS	O
models	O
have	O
been	O
criticised	O
for	O
being	O
incompatible	O
with	O
3.5-inch	O
SATA	O
hot	B-Device
swap	I-Device
bays	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
position	O
of	O
the	O
connectors	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
revision	O
(	O
HLFS	O
models	O
)	O
has	O
been	O
released	O
which	O
remedies	O
this	O
problem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Western	O
Digital	O
later	O
released	O
a	O
2.5-inch	O
Velociraptor	B-Device
(	O
BLFS	O
models	O
)	O
which	O
is	O
nearly	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
3.5-inch	O
version	O
,	O
but	O
without	O
the	O
IcePack	O
heat	O
sink	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
drives	O
are	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
servers	B-Application
and	O
are	O
unsuitable	O
for	O
laptops	O
because	O
of	O
their	O
power	O
requirements	O
and	O
15mm	O
thickness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
severe	O
issue	O
with	O
the	O
fourth	O
generation	O
of	O
raptor	O
drives	O
was	O
faulty	O
firmware	B-Application
,	O
which	O
caused	O
the	O
drive	O
to	O
report	O
TLER	O
timeouts	O
after	O
roughly	O
50	O
days	O
of	O
continuous	O
operation	O
(	O
precisely	O
49.71	O
days	O
counted	O
in	O
milliseconds	O
,	O
which	O
corresponds	O
to	O
the	O
overflow	O
of	O
a	O
32-bit	O
number	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WDC	O
never	O
admitted	O
the	O
existence	O
of	O
this	O
bug	O
,	O
or	O
officially	O
released	O
a	O
firmware	B-Application
update	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
an	O
update	O
was	O
leaked	O
by	O
a	O
WDC	O
technician	O
and	O
is	O
still	O
readily	O
available	O
through	O
various	O
download	O
sites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
bug	O
was	O
of	O
minor	O
significance	O
for	O
desktop	O
users	O
,	O
but	O
prolonged	O
drive	O
operation	O
in	O
RAID	B-Architecture
setups	O
could	O
result	O
in	O
mass	O
drive	O
dropouts	O
after	O
49.71	O
days	O
,	O
causing	O
maintenance	O
problems	O
and	O
potentially	O
data	O
loss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
fifth-generation	O
Raptor	O
(	O
or	O
second-generation	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
)	O
drive	O
was	O
announced	O
in	O
April	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
drives	O
are	O
sold	O
either	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
IcePack	O
mounting	O
frame	O
as	O
the	O
previous	O
generation	O
,	O
or	O
as	O
bare	O
drives	O
(	O
intended	O
for	O
rackmount	O
servers	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
drive	O
width	O
of	O
2.5	O
inches	O
may	O
entice	O
users	O
to	O
try	O
to	O
install	O
a	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
drive	O
in	O
a	O
laptop	O
,	O
this	O
is	O
not	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standard	O
laptop	B-Device
hard	I-Device
drives	I-Device
typically	O
only	O
require	O
+5V	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
sixth-generation	O
Raptor	O
(	O
or	O
third-generation	O
VelociRaptor	B-Device
)	O
was	O
announced	O
by	O
Western	O
Digital	O
in	O
April	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
also	O
the	O
first	O
Raptor	O
models	O
employing	O
the	O
Advanced	B-Device
Format	I-Device
(	O
AF	O
)	O
512e	O
internal	O
layout	O
.	O
</s>
