Real Gentlemen: Performance IDE Hard Drives

Seagate Barracuda ATA IV, ST380021A

Voilá, here it is: The latest Seagate Barracuda ATA, fourth generation.

Many people have been waiting for the fourth generation Barracuda IDE drive, called Barracuda ATA IV. The first Barracuda ATA was a kind of pioneer because it was one of the first models to run at 7,200 rpm (the other model was IBM's DTTA drive). Now, the Barracuda ATA IV is much faster and behaves like a gentleman: It is modest and actually one of the quietest hard drives we have tested.

In terms of performance, other drives (like the good old DTLA 307030 or the DiamondMax Plus 60) may achieve higher maximum transfer rates. But usually, the data transfer rate almost collapses if you read or write data at the end of the medium. However, that doesn't happen with the Barracuda ATA IV, which is able to sustain remarkable 23 MB/s throughout the entire medium. This factor could be more important than the maximum performance if you want to do audio or video editing.

The bottom surface of the Barracuda ATA IV is shielded in an exemplary manner by an aluminum plate. This protects the PCB from damage during installation or transport.

You have probably already noticed the insulating material (blue). On the one hand, it ensures that the ICs on the PCB do not come into contact with the metal cover. On the other hand, it also probably helps to reduce the noise generated, with the result that the drive is very silent, even during access.

For more information about this drive, please go to the Seagate website .