Western Digital has started shipping its new backplane-compatible WDVelociRaptor hard drive, the latest generation of its popular 10,000 RPM SATA WD VelociRaptor series of drives. The new backplane version of the WD VelociRaptor is specifically designed for 3.5-inch drive-based servers, PC and Mac computer enthusiasts and professional workstations that require the need for a backplane structure.

A favorite among enthusiasts, the WD VelociRaptor comes packed with twice the capacity and a 35 percent performance increase and runs 35 percent cooler over the previous "Raptor" generation.  WD VelociRaptor drives are designed and manufactured to business-critical, enterprise-class standards to provide enterprise reliability in high duty cycle environments. The design results in the highest available reliability rating of any SATA drive at 1.4 million hours MTBF.