Seagate Firecuda SSHD 2TB 64mb cache vs Seagate Barracuda HHD 2TB 128mb cache

sklappen12 · Mar 28, 2018

Since I found out that I can add an internal HDD drive to my laptop, I started looking and found these two options as the best ones. The barracuda option is an HDD drive with 128mb cache, and the firecuda is a SSHD with 64mb cache. I never heard about hybrid drives before this one, so I don´t know if it would be better to get the HDD with more cache, or the SSHD with half the cache. Which drive would it be better if I want to play video games and watch movies mainly? Thank you very much for your help.

These are the links for my computer model, and for both drives:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XFGDD8P/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-FireCuda-Gaming-2-5-Inch-ST2000LX001/dp/B01M1NHCZT/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522288366&sr=8-2&keywords=firecuda+2.5+2tb+sshd

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-2-5-Inch-Internal-ST2000LM015/dp/B01LX13P71/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1522288499&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=barracuda+2.5+2tb+hhd

USAFRet · Mar 28, 2018

"play video games and watch movies mainly?"

The extra $15 for the FireCuda won't really give you any benefit in that usage.

Solandri · Mar 28, 2018

Given the minuscule price difference and that they're both 5400 RPM drives, I'd get the SSHD. It won't help speed up movies, but it will help your games load quicker. Hard drives, especially laptop 5400 RPM hard drives, are atrocious at small file read/writes. The SSHD, once it has cached commonly used small files, can improve small file reads from about 0.5 MB/s to over 30 MB/s.

The DRAM cache starts to lose effectiveness after about 8 MB. HDD manufacturers are putting more RAM cache onboard simply because the smallest single memory module you can buy nowadays are 256 megabit (32 MB), 512 megabit (64MB), and 1 gigabit (128 MB). 1 Gb is usually more expensive, but we're getting to the point where sometimes 512 Mb modules are cheaper than 256 Mb.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/understanding-hard-drive-performance,1557-7.html

Flash cache does not lose this effectiveness with increasing size because it can retain its cache through power cycles, whereas RAM cache is wiped every time you power cycle the computer. SSHDs typically have 8 GB of NAND cache, which doesn't sound like a lot until you understand that it's mostly small files (which are HDDs' achilles heel) which are put into the NAND cache.

sklappen12 · Mar 29, 2018

Solandri :

Given the minuscule price difference and that they're both 5400 RPM drives, I'd get the SSHD. It won't help speed up movies, but it will help your games load quicker. Hard drives, especially laptop 5400 RPM hard drives, are atrocious at small file read/writes. The SSHD, once it has cached commonly used small files, can improve small file reads from about 0.5 MB/s to over 30 MB/s.

The DRAM cache starts to lose effectiveness after about 8 MB. HDD manufacturers are putting more RAM cache onboard simply because the smallest single memory module you can buy nowadays are 256 megabit (32 MB), 512 megabit (64MB), and 1 gigabit (128 MB). 1 Gb is usually more expensive, but we're getting to the point where sometimes 512 Mb modules are cheaper than 256 Mb.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/understanding-hard-drive-performance,1557-7.html

Flash cache does not lose this effectiveness with increasing size because it can retain its cache through power cycles, whereas RAM cache is wiped every time you power cycle the computer. SSHDs typically have 8 GB of NAND cache, which doesn't sound like a lot until you understand that it's mostly small files (which are HDDs' achilles heel) which are put into the NAND cache.

Thanks for your answer. There's clearly a lot I need to learn about computer hardware... Now, would you suggest me to get the firecuda or is there another 2.5 inch drive that would do a better job?

seagate_surfer · Mar 29, 2018

Hello sklappen12. First of all thank you for considering Seagate. As gaming is important to you a Hybrid Drive like the FireCuda would be most beneficial as this drive was designed for gaming, high performance and comes with a 5 years warranty.
The FireCuda combines both NAND flash technology with a traditional hard drive for a compact blend of capacity and speeds up to 5 times faster than typical hard drives. This means your games and cut scenes will load faster and the drive has enough storage for your games. Hope this helps you out and game on!

Solandri · Mar 29, 2018

sklappen12 :

AFAIK your only other choice of SSHD is WD, and I would suggest avoiding theirs because of a head parking issue they've had with their 5400 RPM drives for years, which can cause stuttering in games and even normal use. I know several people who ended up returning entire laptops because of stuttering caused by a WD SSHD.

sklappen12 · Mar 30, 2018

Solandri :

sklappen12 :

AFAIK your only other choice of SSHD is WD, and I would suggest avoiding theirs because of a head parking issue they've had with their 5400 RPM drives for years, which can cause stuttering in games and even normal use. I know several people who ended up returning entire laptops because of stuttering caused by a WD SSHD.

Ok, I'll be getting the Firecuda then. Thank you very much for your help!

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Seagate Firecuda SSHD 2TB 64mb cache vs Seagate Barracuda HHD 2TB 128mb cache

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