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  Friday, 10th February 2006 

Performance is addictive. That thrill you get when you know you've pushed your graphics card an fraction further for more fps; the satisfaction of running your CPU at a 20% overclock still smooth and stable; and the snappiness of Windows once you've cleaned out all the gunk and applied some uber registry hacks.

It's easy to forget your drives. The day in and day out friends that hold within their platters your entire digital lifestyle need some lovin' too. It's just that, bar enabling or disabling SMART and toggling acoustic control, they're a pretty much fire and forget device. The fact is nothing helps access times and transfer speeds like raw RPM. And when it comes to RPM, there's only ever been one affordable (read: not SCSI) drive on the market that tops the industry 7200rpm standard -- the venerable Raptor, clocking in at 10,000rpm.

So when Western Digital recently announced a new version of the Raptor, which has remained relatively static these last two years, we just had to get our hands on one. Or four. Perhaps, perchance, to RAID.

Oh come on, like that didn't cross your mind either? We just had to, and yes the benchies are nice (though two drives seem to be the sweet spot). But I digress. The new raptors feature twice the space (150G), twice the cache (16MB), and, naturally, an updated firmware now more tailored to the enthusiast market that made the original so popular. In fact, WD have gone a step further and made a version with a ‘window’ so you can see the blinding goodness of 8ms and 10,000rpm speed with your own performance lusting eyes. It's kinda neat, as long as you've got a box to show it off. Suffice to say, we like the new Raptors. They go well next to the new X1900XTX from ATI which is just stupidly fast. Read all about it in the new Atomic (issue 62) and tell us what you think. And if you do get one of the Windowed Raptors in your box, send us some pics!

Ash


  • Meteos
  • China's tech push gains momentum
  • Yahoo adds features to Firefox toolbar
  • Indiana Jones takes no hackers, no whip required
  • India's tech firms overcoming infrastructure woes
  • Sun patches seven critical Java Runtime bugs
  • New Google Desktop grabs more of Microsoft's turf
  • LGPhilips Displays bankruptcy affects 17,000 staff
  • Spyware barely touches Firefox
  • Google adds BMW, Ricoh back to search index
  • Linux creator calls GPLv3 'crusade'
  • Sony BMG executives to swap roles, end row - media
  • Furby creator gives birth to robotic dinosaur
  • Microsoft reveals two new bugs
  • Cisco quarterly profit beats estimates
  • Cyber storm brewing for US homeland security
  • Islamic messages deface hundreds of Danish sites
  • Threatening email senders arrested
  • Atomic gets its LAN on
  • Oblivion winners!
  • Buy an ad. Literally.



    • atomic issue 62 on sale now



    Atomic gets its LAN on
    16 PCs. Games, competition and prizes for your absolute pleasure. More...

    Oblivion winners!
    Pre-Christmas we ran a special comp for a special game for a special night... More...


    Buy an ad. Literally.
    Microsoft reckon its Kings Cross Halo 2 billboard is historic. More...



    Meteos
    Better than Tetris? Better than Tetris?! More...

    China's tech push gains momentum
    China has announced a 15-year plan for high-tech development. More...

    Yahoo adds features to Firefox toolbar
    Yahoo has added features to its toolbar for the latest version of the Firefox web browser. More...

    Indiana Jones takes no hackers, no whip required
    How often does a security geek get to hang out with Harrison Ford? The founder of a managed security services firm got to answer that question. More...

    India's tech firms overcoming infrastructure woes
    India's information technology industry would continue its upward surge, growing by 28 percent in the financial year to March, despite increasing infrastructure bottlenecks, according to an industry body. More...

    Sun patches seven critical Java Runtime bugs
    Windows, Linux, and Solaris users are at risk from multiple critical vulnerabilities in Sun's popular Java Runtime Environment, the company acknowledged in a recent security advisory. More...

    New Google Desktop grabs more of Microsoft's turf
    Web search leader Google is introducing an upgraded version of its software for users to organise and find information on any computer and to share it with friends. More...

    LGPhilips Displays bankruptcy affects 17,000 staff
    The bankruptcy two weeks ago of the Dutch holding company of LG Philips Displays, the world's biggest TV and monitors picture tube maker, affects all 17,000 staff, the administrator Louis Deterink told Reuters on Thursday. More...

    Spyware barely touches Firefox
    There's more ammunition for Firefox fans. New academic research says Internet Explorer users can be up to 21 times more likely to end up with a spyware-infected PC than Firefox users. More...

    Google adds BMW, Ricoh back to search index
    Google has added back to its search index the German websites of carmaker BMW and office-equipment maker Ricoh, which were removed for using barred tactics for higher placement in search results. More...

    Linux creator calls GPLv3 'crusade'
    Linux creator Linus Torvalds is continuing to distance himself from the philosophy behind the GNU General Public License as it undergoes a second revision. More...

    Sony BMG executives to swap roles, end row - media
    Japanese electronics group Sony Corp and German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG are close to resolving a dispute about leadership at their jointly held Sony BMG Music Entertainment business, newspaper reports said on Wednesday. More...

    Furby creator gives birth to robotic dinosaur
    Pleo, a 'life form' robotic toy, is the latest big idea from the man who brought the world Furby in 1998. Pleo senses 'pain' and yelps if stepped on. More...

    Microsoft reveals two new bugs
    Microsoft owns up to two new security problems, one of which is yet another issue with Windows Metafile images. More...

    Cisco quarterly profit beats estimates
    Cisco Systems has posted better-than-expected quarterly results and a positive outlook, a bright spot after several weeks of disappointing earnings from other technology companies. More...

    Cyber storm brewing for US homeland security
    The US Department of Homeland Security is attempting to create a perfect storm in cyberspace this week in what it's touting as the first international test of cyber preparedness. More...

    Islamic messages deface hundreds of Danish sites
    Muslim protests over editorial cartoons originally published by a Danish newspaper have spilled onto the internet. More...

    Threatening email senders arrested
    NSW Police have charged two Sydney men following their alleged sending of threatening emails late last year. More...

    Competitions

    10x 3DMark06 Advanced Edition
    Benchmarks. Without them we’d have no way of comparing one PC to another PC.

    2x Western Digital Raptor X drives
    Hard drives – why must they be so slow?

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