The 750 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 has been available since July 2006, but its price was pretty high until recently ($300 and over from many outlets), which narrowed its appeal to well-heeled buyers or those with acute and chronic storage needs. Today, 500 GB drives whose performance matches this 750 GB model are readily available for between $100 and $130.

The appearance of the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 with its 1 TB capacity led to a price drop in the Seagate 750 GB drive, and you can purchase the 750 GB Barracuda 7200.10 these days for around $230. By comparison with drive prices of around $110 for 500 GB, this is still too expensive, but it leads us to speculate that the new WD drive will be more reasonably priced. If you figure on something in the $210 range, you shouldn't be too far off the mark. With its higher performance and capacity, WD should demonstrate good value for the price. Eventually, you might want to also consider the Hitachi terabyte drive, which costs just under $400.

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