News by moz: Techno-Weenies rejoice!

'Techno-Weenie' -- the term used to describe someone who pathologically purchases the latest technological gadgetry, regardless of whether they need it or not.

Generally speaking, Atomicans are not Techno-Weenies. It's got nothing to do with our wants or needs. Nor our alleged self control when it comes to shopping. We still lust after newfangled gadgets like Winona Ryder craves expensive designer boutiques with poor security camera coverage.

No. It has to do with our wallets. Most of us are broke.

Insufficient funds are the only thing that stand between us and that Techno-Weenie nirvana -- the fastest PC money can buy.

One of the speedy things that is on our 'Lotto Winning Buying Splurge List' is a SCSI drive. Or sixty three. Let's be honest -- short of using Miss Ryder's five finger discount plan, most of us have buckleys of seeing one of these beasties gracing the inside of our glowing, humming, boxes of goodness.

However, if you have an unanswered hankering for data access speed and your mobo sports a vacant SATA port or two, Techno-Weenie status may be closer than you think.

A leading-edge hard drive released by Western Digital will have you happier than Steve Irwin after being bitten by a really interesting species of venomous snake.

The WD Raptor is a new generation SATA drive boasting spin rates and read and seek times that approach the lofty peaks of SCSI territory.

Want some numbers?

How about we start with an 8MB cache. Now how does 10,000 RPM sound? Or an average seek time of 5.2ms? And let us not forget that this is a SATA drive -- ATA150. Take this a step further and picture two of these set up in a RAID array in your Hot Box.

If your visualisation or number crunching skills are somewhat lacking we'll spell this out for you -- you will be able to access your digital collection of 'Special Edition DOA Calender Girls' faster than ever before. Coolies.

Now wipe that drool off your chin before it drips into your expensive cordless keyboard.

The one downside to this digital fantasy is still the price, for speed, as we all know, is not cheap. At an approximate outlay of $300 for a measly 36GB, the Raptor is no exception. Of course, when one compares the price to similarly specced SCSI drives, you'll see that it is a definite bang-for-your-buck bargain.

How could you not want this drive? Time to use Atomic's patented Money Saving Diet™ which consists of Bi-Lo noodles, stale bread and sun-dried earth worms. You should see a speedy addition to your PC in a matter of weeks!

If for some reason the diet does not appeal to you, then the wait for the inevitable price drop may be short. Competition between manufacturers being what it is, this will no doubt herald the next step in HDD technology for the masses. Despite this being a hardware item that refuses to play by Moore's coveted Law, with any luck we may finally begin to see some serious advances in speed and a reduction in prices in the near future.

Techno-Weenies rejoice! w00t!

-- moz