Western Digital is now shipping the new WD VelociRaptor 1 TB hard drive, the largest capacity 10,000 RPM hard drive on the market today. Designed for high-performance PCs, Mac computers and professional workstations, the WD VelociRaptor drive will also come in capacities of 500 GB and 250 GB.

WD claims that the drive's enterprise-class mechanics provide 24x7 durability under high-performance workloads, and that the drive lacks the "write-challenged" NAND memory found in SSD solutions.

The WD VelociRaptor 2.5-inch hard drive comes in the IcePack enclosure, a 3.5-inch mounting frame with built-in heat sink - a factory customization that fits the drive into a standard 3.5-inch system bay and keeps the drive extra cool when installed in a high-performance desktop or workstation system.

Features of the WD VelociRaptor hard drives also include a SATA 6 Gb/s interface and 64 MB cache, they employ Advanced Format Technology to achieve capacities up to 1 TB and features such as the Rotary Acceleration Feed Forward (RAFF) and NoTouch ramp load technology. RAFF optimizes operation and performance when the drives are used in vibration-prone, multi-drive chassis. NoTouch ramp load technology ensures that the recording head never touches the disk media for less wear to the recording head and media as well as better drive protection when in transit.

WD VelociRaptor hard drives are available now and come with a five-year limited warranty. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the WD VelociRaptor 1 TB (model #: WD1000DHTZ) is $319.99 USD, the 500 GB version (model #: WD5000HHTZ) is $209.99 USD and the 250 GB version (model #: WD2500HHTZ) is $159.99 USD.