Western Digital My Book VelociRaptor Duo Review

The My Book VelociRaptor Duo is, like most of WD’s large-capacity external desktop units, a boxy affair. It’s virtually all matte black plastic except for a wide gray stripe that covers the top, back, and bottom and features a stylish grill design to allow heat to escape.


The top is hinged to allow access to the drives, and the back features the two Thunderbolt ports, an AC jack, and a lock port.

To get to the drives, you push the gray button on top, and the cover pops open and swings out of your way; note that one should be careful here, as the top is rather flimsy and could be easily broken.


Next, there’s a thumbscrew that needs to be loosened, and then the cage will come out with a firm, even pull. Use one of the pull tabs to gently tug a drive out. To put it all back together, you just perform the above steps in reverse, although it’s worth noting that the cage was a little tricky to fit back on properly.

With both drives installed, the My Book VelociRaptor Duo is somewhat heavy at 4.18 lbs, but considering that this is a desktop unit that’s not designed to go anywhere, that’s actually a good thing; between the weight and the sturdy rubber feet underneath, the VelociRaptor Duo won’t easily be accidentally knocked over nor slide around your workspace.


When in operation, we found that the VelociRaptor Duo was rather noisy and generated quite a bit of heat. The top grill area was always noticeably warm to the touch, and the Thunderbolt connector and the area of the unit around it were downright hot, so much so that it was uncomfortable to touch it for more than a few seconds. Loud and hot are ideal attributes for a summer rock concert perhaps, but not so much for an external storage unit.