WD Raptor 160gb - good deal?

If he is legit then you will have to pay VAT and import duty on the total price when it enters the UK - given that then you can probably pick it up cheaper in the UK (think DABs have one for £135 last time I looked). Even if they do send it as a "gift" then £15 seems worth while to me for the quicker delivery, less worry about it being dodgy and less issues with warrenties etc if anything goes wrong.

On a seperate note.... can anyone explain to me why the majority of the top performing hard drives are SATA 1/ 150 rather than SATA 2/ 300 which obviously on paper would naturally be quicker?
 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230062381895


Just purchased the following from a US seller. i think after shipping the total was approx £120, he seems to be legit, any views? would i be able to get it from a retailer for much or less the same price?

Do WD do a 160gb raptor? I thought it was 150. :confused:

On a seperate note.... can anyone explain to me why the majority of the top performing hard drives are SATA 1/ 150 rather than SATA 2/ 300 which obviously on paper would naturally be quicker?

I might be wrong but as far as I know even the raptor doesn't max out the 1.5 gb/s pipe. Until they get faster rpm or change the way it reads, sata 300 has no purpose. I think.
 
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ok that wasnt news i was looking for never mind, aparantly raptor OEM versions are 160 and retail are 150gb, although after both are formatted they are the same
 
On a seperate note.... can anyone explain to me why the majority of the top performing hard drives are SATA 1/ 150 rather than SATA 2/ 300 which obviously on paper would naturally be quicker?

Because SATA 2 is different to SATA 300.
 
ok so its in UK , WITH customs charges!!! im so angry, i am going to contact parcel force today at some point, is there any way of trying to avoid this charge??, the sender did assure me it was marked down and send as 'gift ' - so not sure why customs have made charges??? i am going to say it was a christmas present from my cusin (not really a lie as im sure we all trace back to adam n eve!!) is there anyway at all of avoidin the charge, if not what might i expect to pay??
 
you still pay a customs charge on a gift if its over £35 i think....

commercial limit is £18....

sometimes you get lucky and customs dont notice it, other times you get unlucky and customs do notice it...heh

only way around it completely is if the person sending it has the ability to stamp it as VAT/import charges pre-paid.....which basically means that company pays it on your behalf and providing the customs label on the package states this and matches up then you wont pay anything....

so in other words, yep, you gotta pay the charge as they have caught it in their net.....
also means paying an admin charge to parceforce or whoever too for handling the payments......this is why it isnt always a good idea to buy abroad on bigger items.....
 
You'll get charged at normal VAT rates of 17.5% of the total invoiced cost inc P+P. There will also be a charge by the carrier, this fee depends on the amount as well and starts at £4 with the PO up to £15+ with the courier companies. Even when marked as gifts customs still have the right to stop the package and ask for proof of purchase. If the declared value is wrong they can cease the package for duty avoidance but it doesn't happen often though and they just make you cough up the required duties.
 
They can also give you and the sender a criminal record for tax evasion if they show that you paid for the item and it wasnt sent as a gift to you - gift means the sender is giving it to you not that you are buying it as a gift to give someone else.
 
cheers guys, the total bill includin parcel force handlin fees, was £25, so altogether i think i paid about £140, not to bad, could of got it just as cheap from UK, but you live an learn
 
Always base your calculation on paying duty (normally 5% but does vary) and VAT (almost always 17.5% but there are exceptions) on items ordered outside of the EU and then if you dont get charged it think of it as a brucy bonus
 
On a seperate note.... can anyone explain to me why the majority of the top performing hard drives are SATA 1/ 150 rather than SATA 2/ 300 which obviously on paper would naturally be quicker?

The speed of hd's still can't reach IDE 100 speeds yet at burst never mind general use, so 150 and now 300 aremainly future poofing, and the cables are somewhat easier to deal with.

With the advent of hybrid hd + ss hard drives, the extra speed of 300 will be laped up with ease, althoguh it depends on how much solid state memory they stick with the drive.

If solid sate starts becoming cheap enough it might be the case that they are faster then sata can offer and could end up sticking drives into pci-e slots, but its more likly that we'll just have about 20 gb of ram, which win 64-bit will eat happy while idle.
 

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