I read it elsewhere, stating that removing the heatsink will void warranty. Defeats the purpose of owning Velociraptor TBH. One of the main reason for getting this drive is reduced vibration, lower noise. But installing the heatsink only made it worse.
I am not sure sure why but removing the icepack viod the warranty but you can purchase the version with or without, same price.
If I'm not mistaken, all retail units should be either WD3000GLFS or WD3000HLFS, both are with heatsink. Only the WD3000BLFS is bare drive only. I will go to Lowyat tomorrow to find out to see if I can purchase the non-heatsink version, or if removing heatsink voids warranty. AnandTech: Western Digital VelociRaptor: A Drive with a Bite Legit Reviews - Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB SATA Hard Drive - Western Digital - The VelociRaptor Arrives Western Digital Velociraptor | Maximum PC
There is no difference between the WD3000HLFS and GLFS as one is for back panel ready and one uses the SATA cable direct so heatseat a bit different. I do not think that they would bring in BLFS here as it more meant for server class usage. BTW, why are you looking for 2.5" version as the drive does not fit into regular notebook bay as it is 15mm thick to the norm 9mm.
I don't mount it on my casing. The reason why I want the drive without the heatsink is because of the noise. When the drive is mounted onto the heatsink, the seek noise, motor whining noise is amplified. Some of the hardcore silent PC enthusiast either purchase the server grade BLFS model, or void the warranty on GLFS/HLFS and remove the heatsink anyway. Velociraptor has excellent noise properties for a high performance drive, better than any Raptors, provided that there's no heatsink mounted. So your question is, how do I mount it on my case? I simply place it on top of some foam. I will take a picture of it when I have a chance. It has reduced the noise of the drive by a wide margin, now it's almost inaudible. I'm currently using WD740GD.
