Application Performance: Windows XP Start
Application Performance: File Writing
Welcome The Barracudas: 250, 320, 400, 500, 750 GB
We already talked about manufacturers cropping storage capacity for the sake of providing products for common "sweet spot" capacity points. Now let's check what the difference is between the slowest and the fastest Barracuda 7200.10 drives. As we'll see, the rule of thumb of the top model being the fastest clearly isn't valid here.
| Manufacturer | Seagate | Seagate | Seagate | Seagate | Seagate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 |
| Model | ST3250820A | ST3250820AS | ST3320820A | ST3320820AS | ST3400620AS |
| Capacity | 250 GB | 250 GB | 320 GB | 320 GB | 400 GB |
| Rotation Speed | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min |
| Platter | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Cache | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Native Command Queuing (NCQ) | no | yes | no | yes | yes |
| Interface | Ultra ATA/100 | SATA/300 | Ultra ATA/100 | SATA/300 | SATA/300 |
| Manufacturer | Seagate | Seagate | Seagate | Seagate | Seagate |
| Series | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 |
| Model | ST3400820A | ST3400820AS | ST3500630A | ST3500630AS | ST3500830A |
| Capacity | 400 GB | 400 GB | 500 GB | 500 GB | 500 GB |
| Rotation Speed | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min |
| Platter | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Cache | 8 | 8 | 16 | 16 | 8 |
| Native Command Queuing (NCQ) | no | yes | no | yes | no |
| Interface | Ultra ATA/100 | SATA/300 | Ultra ATA/100 | SATA/300 | Ultra ATA/100 |
| Manufacturer | Seagate | Seagate | Seagate | Seagate | |
| Series | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 | Barracuda 7200.10 | |
| Model | ST3500830AS | ST3750640A | ST3750840A | ST3750640AS | |
| Capacity | 500 GB | 750 GB | 750 GB | 750 GB | |
| Rotation Speed | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min | 7200 U/Min | |
| Platter | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Cache | 8 | 16 | 8 | 16 | |
| Native Command Queuing (NCQ) | yes | no | no | yes | |
| Interface | SATA/300 | Ultra ATA/100 | Ultra ATA/100 | SATA/300 | |
The versions with 250 and 320 GB utilize two platters, the 400 and 500 GB capacity points are based on three platters, and the 750 GB top model uses four platters. Only the 750 GB top model actually utilizes the maximum per-platter capacity of 190+ GB. The following table lists what the waste capacity is for each model.
| Barracuda 7200.10 | Theoretical Capacity Maximum | Waste in GB | Waste in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 GB, 2 Platter | 332 GB | 82 GB | 25% |
| 320 GB, 2 Platter | 332 GB | 12 GB | 3% |
| 400 GB, 3 Platter | 570 GB | 170 GB | 30% |
| 500 GB, 3 Platter | 570 GB | 70 GB | 12% |
| 750 GB, 4 Platter | 750+ GB | - | 0% |
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why only comparing seagate? what about WD?
They were comparing the minute differences or in this case indifferences within a range of nearly identical hard drives. Branding really didn't matter except to just have them all the same...