Seagate Desktop HDD 4TB Review: Big Capacity At 5900 RPM

Features
By Manuel Masiero, Achim Roos
published

First, Seagate renamed its Barracuda hard drive family to Desktop HDD.15. Then, it introduced the first model in the new line-up—the Desktop HDD.15 ST4000DM000. Does Seagate's first massive 4 TB desktop disk deliver the performance we want or disappoint?

Technical Specifications And Benchmark System

Technical Specifications

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ManufacturerSeagate
ModelDesktop HDD.15
Model NumberST4000DM000
InterfaceSATA 6 Gb/s
Form Factor3.5"
Capacity4 TB
Spindle Speed5900 RPM
Number of Platters4
Cache64 MB
Operating Temperature0 to 60 degrees Celsius
Average/Maximum Data Transfer Rate(According to Manufacturer)146 MB/s / 180 MB/s
Power Consumption at Idle(According to Manufacturer)5.0 W
Power Consumption at Idle(Measured)3.6 W

Benchmark System

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Benchmark System Hardware
HardwareDetails
CPUIntel Core i5-2500K (32 nm, Sandy Bridge, D2), 4C/4T, 3.3 GHz, 4 x 256 KB L2 Cache, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache, w/ HD Graphics 3000, 95 W TDP, 3.7 GHz max. Turbo
MotherboardGigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3, Revision: 0.2, LGA 1155, Z68 Express, BIOS: F3
Memory2x 2 GB DDR3-1333, Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D
SSDIntel X25-M G1, 80 GB, Firmware 0701, SATA 3Gb/s
ControllerIntel Z68 Platform Controller Hub, SATA 6Gb/s
Power SupplySeasonic X-760 760 W, SS-760KM Active PFC F3
Benchmarks
Synthetic Benchmarksh2benchw 3.16
Row 9 - Cell 0 PCMark 7 1.0.4
I/O Performance BenchmarksIometer 2006.07.27
Row 11 - Cell 0 File Server Benchmark
Row 12 - Cell 0 Web Server Benchmark
Row 13 - Cell 0 Database Benchmark
Row 14 - Cell 0 Workstation Benchmark
Row 15 - Cell 0 Streaming Reads
Row 16 - Cell 0 Streaming Writes
Row 17 - Cell 0 4 KB Random Reads
Row 18 - Cell 0 4 KB Random Writes
Benchmark System Software and Drivers
Software / DriverDetails
Operating SystemWindows 7 x64 Ultimate SP1
Intel Inf9.2.0.1030
Manuel Masiero
46 Comments Comment from the forums
  • vinhn
    Would rather take 3TB @ 7200 over 4TB @ 5800, I'm sure people would agree with that.
    Reply
  • guru_urug
    Good Read.
    Noticed a small insignificant error in the "Drive Surface Temperature" chart. It lists the 4TB HDD.15 as a 7200rpm drive rather than a 5900rpm one.
    Reply
  • outlw6669
    Now that everyone has a full lineup of 4TB drives out, how about finally releasing something larger?
    Bring on the 2160p content!
    Reply
  • SteelCity1981
    the thing is this hard drive geared towards speed it's mostly geared towards data storage, which is why it's only 5800rpm, so you wouldn't get this obv if you want fast read and write times, that's what SSD's are for.
    Reply
  • Mike Friesen
    The one graph, about temperatures, said "higher is better" beneath it...
    Reply
  • masterjaw
    Great media storage drive for those with SSDs as boot drive which is what is currently on the trend right now.
    Reply
  • csf60
    To all the people who say performance is not important, I would like to remind them we don't have a 4 terabyte SSD yet, and until then, if I need 4TB I have to use a hard drive. And it better be a fast one or I will be sitting for ever in a loading screen in-game, opening big programs and loading 8GB of sample sounds to RAM when I work with music.

    For me this is a big mistake for Seagate. I always bought their drives because they were the fastest, but it seems they are now joining the WD green lineup. I'll probably have to go with hitachi now to have some decent speed.
    Reply
  • wavetrex
    I personally only care about price / gigabyte. Give me the ability to store more HD pron and I'm happy. Don't care if it dies...
    Reply
  • daglesj
    Would anyone use a 4TB drive as a system drive anyway? Short stoked to 200GB maybe but otherwise......? Reliability has never been a strong point with drives over 1TB IMO.

    I just see these big drives as a huge liability really, but folks will hoard their data.
    Reply
  • Larry Bob
    Unique name Seagate.
    Reply