So let’s take a look at the results and see if we can answer the question on every bodies mind. How did the Raptors fair?  

ATI chipset configuration:

 Nvidia Chipset Configuration:

As the results show, the all mighty Raptors gave a staggeringly fast performance with a transfer rate of 126MB/s - 130Mb/s. This is faster than any other phisical drives confugurations that Sandra 2007 had in its database and in our case  the next best thing which was the 2 x Maxtor Atlas SCSI drives in RAID 0 with a rate of 115MB/s. The only thing that beat the raptors was the Gigabyte I-RAM that isnt a hard drive, but is made of DDR2 modules. 

So finally what can we conclude? The important aspect of this test is the configuration of the Raptors - RAID0. This is a major influential factor, and we have to admit that it played the role of almost doubling the read data rate when comparing to just a single HD in non Raid configuration. It’s true that RAID has been around a long time, but not in home computer use long enough to be as stable as we would wish. Even today, sometimes, we still have major problems with the RAID configurations thanks to all the chipset manufacurers up there - Nvidia, Silicon etc and their drivers and BIOSs that are just not released on time. If you are prepared to spend some time if unlucky troubleshooting the RAID configuration, but demand the absolute best, then RAID is a yes.

At the time of writting this article, we have managed to get our hands on 2 x Seagate 320Gb 7200.10 perpendicular SATA2 HDs and did quite well in the same test - 120Mbps. It is not far from the 130Mbps, but considering the massive savings it can provide, it can be a real alternative to the Raptors considering its much quieter and runs cooler.

Anyway, are there any other conclusions we can draw? Yes! It may be fair to assume that the systems as a whole had a role even if minor to the performance. There is however no doubt that this is truly a gamers hard drive and will be the envy of gamers alike.
The one thing we can take away from this is that this is a true testament to what can be done with our current level of technology. If what we have seen today is a sign of things to come, then we are looking at a future where the main benefactors will be computer users the world over. There is however no doubt that Western Digital has struck a massive blow to the competition. Who will strike the next blow? Will Hitachi have something to say? Does Maxtor have something up its sleeve? Do Seagate have any answers? Will Western Digital be able to keep their crown? All interesting questions, however only time will tell...