VelociRaptor is overall faster, consumes less power, and quieter, and does not put out as much heat compared to regular Raptors, due to newer tech and denser platters.
You may regret buying a normal raptor now, as new 7200RPM nowadays are getting better and better eg. WD Black (said to be only 5-10% difference with raptors).
7200.12 is not even contender in fast HDDs. Random access time is poor, 7200.11/and 640AAKS are more balanced drives.