10,000 rpm raptors

are these the fastest SATA drives to be had ?

The 74GB Raptors are currently the fastest IDE drives, PATA or SATA. The 36GB versions are a bit slower and from what I've heard, a bit noisier as well.

I agree with xaotic...I have a 740GD raptor and it hauls...it's really quiet except when it's seeking or whatever, the clicking is a bit loud, but it's still quieter than my 200gb 7200rpm maxtor...and it doesn't whine...great hard drive, 5 year warrenty and all. As far as I know, the 740GD is still the fastest on the market, and yes, from benchmarks, the 360GD is a bit slower, mainly because of the areal density of the platters. are you planning on buying one?

The access times are so fast on the raptors that whatever noise they might make is so very short that it makes them quieter overall. What I mean is since I switched over to a pair of raptors in raid-0, my computer is actually a lot quieter and the hard drive light barely blinks after the machine is finished booting. If you screw them down tightly and tighten up the rest of your case, they aren't noisey. The larger the file is that you are accessing, the more of a difference in speed you will see with the raptors. The price per unit of storage is ridiculous, but as always, you pay a premium price for a premium product. I am very satisfied with mine.