The Raptor WD1500 ADFD drive still is not cheap, at ~$250 for a 150Gig drive.  As The Tech Report discovered though, with the new firmware on these newer models, they can actually out-perform the earlier windowed models.

"For those with no desire to spend countless hours staring at the Raptor X's drive head dart back and

forth across the platter, Western Digital makes the Raptor WD1500ADFD. This drive lacks a window, but

otherwise, it's mechanically identical to the Raptor X—same spindle, cache, platters, and

theoretically, performance. The WD1500ADFD also sells for roughly $50 less than the Raptor X, making

it even more tempting for enthusiasts looking for a speedy storage upgrade.

Thanks to identical internals, we can expect the WD1500ADFD's performance to at least match that of

the Raptor X. But how much faster are these Raptors than the best 7,200-RPM desktop drives on the

market? Can they keep up with Seagate's latest perpendicular Barracuda 7200.10? Read on to find out"

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

  
STORAGE

• Workstation

  RAID Card Shootout @ ExtremeTech

• Plextor PX-755SA 16x SATA DVD Burner @ ClubOC
• A-DATA my Flash USB

  Fingerprint Disk 512MB @ HEXUS

• Vantec

  NexStar DX 5.25" External Enclosure @ hi-techreviews.com

• Plextor PX-760A

  18x DVD±RW @ CDRLabs

• OCZ Ultra-Slim 1GB Mini-Kart USB 2.0 Flash Drive Review @ Virtual-Hideout
• Seagate

  Barracuda 7200.10 750GB HD @ HotHardware.Com

• Price Guide, June

  2006: Storage @ AnandTech

• Western Digital 500GB My Book Pro Edition HDD @ DailyCE.com
• Crucial Gizmo! overdrive

  Flash Drive @ 3dGameMan