Why doesn't the Raptor's now include NCQ?

Ricochet J · 13 Jun 2006 at 22:36

The old models didn't include NCQ because the technology wasn't available. When NCQ was available HDDs that had this technology such as the Maxtor DiamondMax series (old versions) rivaled the WD Raptors eventhough the DiamondMax was at 7,200rpm. NCQ gave it the edge over the Raptor's 10k speed.

However, surely, when the scientists at Western Digital were revising the Raptor the thought of 10K speed coupled with NCQ would be a fast mofo?

I really don't understand why they didn't include NCQ!

nO}{8 · 13 Jun 2006 at 22:38

the 36gb version dosent have it but the 150gb version does.

Ricochet J · 13 Jun 2006 at 22:39

Do they? I need to re-read.

Edit:

OcUK said:
Designed for servers and NAS/SAN systems, the drive of choice for high- performance workstation and gaming systems, the WD Raptor hard drive is a new class of drive that matches SCSI performance and reliability while providing simplified connectivity. Killer Speed - World’s fastest Serial ATA drive: 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache and 4.5 ms seek. Backed by a full 5-year manufacturer''s warranty.

- Rotational Speed: 10,000 RPM
- Capacity: 150GB
- Average Read Seek Time: 4.5 ms
- Buffer: 16MB
- Interface: Serial ATA
- 5 year manufacturer''s warranty

Nothing about NCQ!

Plasmoid · 13 Jun 2006 at 23:06

WesternDigital.com said:
WD Raptor® X

SATA Hard Drives
150 GB, 1.5 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 10,000 RPM

Domination is in the Details
Crystalline polycarbonate lens - Provides clarity, structural integrity, electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, durability and chemical neutrality necessary for the highest performance and reliability.

Native Command Queuing (NCQ) - Increases data transfer in high-performance multi-processor, multi-threaded environments.

Rotary Acceleration Feed Forward (RAFF ) - Optimizes operation and performance when drives are used in vibration-prone multi-drive systems. Patent pending.

5-year Warranty - Nothing has been compromised in quality and reliability to manufacture these unique hard drives. WD is proud to back them with our enterprise-class 5-year warranty.

They description either hasent been updated or i dunno... they have 150gb without NCQ. I think the 74gb models being made now have NCQ too but im not sure.

nO}{8 · 13 Jun 2006 at 23:37

http://www.wdraptorx.com/index.asp?bhcp=1

it says here ncq in the title.

jhmaeng · 14 Jun 2006 at 00:10

Anything ending with ADFD (e.g. WD1500ADFD, which is the 150GB Raptor) has NCQ and S-ATA II.

Remember that WD is re-releasing the two lower capacities (36GB and 74GB) with the above enhancements as well (WD360ADFD and WD740ADFD)

smids · 14 Jun 2006 at 00:24

36GB Raptor (old) - no NCQ or TCQ
74GB Raptor (old) - TCQ (an 'SCSI version' of NCQ - it has been around longer than NCQ but does virtually the same thing)
74GB Raptor (new - 16MB cache) - NCQ
150GB Raptor - NCQ
36GB Raptor (new) - ?

That's how it is and always has been...

jbloggs · 14 Jun 2006 at 10:18

The newest version of the 36GB Raptor has a 16MB chache + NCQ, see Here

Elric · 14 Jun 2006 at 14:19

Wonder if the 36GB unit will keep up with the others....if so, I may be tempted to get a few.

tomos · 14 Jun 2006 at 20:19

last i read, the raptors supported TCQ which in some review somewhere stated was better than NCQ for normal users but it isnt as supported as NCQ so now they are starting to have to move to NCQ

jhmaeng · 14 Jun 2006 at 23:36

tomos said:
last i read, the raptors supported TCQ which in some review somewhere stated was better than NCQ for normal users but it isnt as supported as NCQ so now they are starting to have to move to NCQ

That's true for the previous generation, the WD360GD and WD740GD. However, for the latest generation ending with -ADFD, they support NCQ, not the TCQ that -GD series had.