Cons: Slightly slower than comprable models from other companies.
The Bottom Line: A sturdy, reliable, and steady-performing drive. Slightly slower than comprable drives of other makes, but definitely worth a second look.
Action_Snark's Full Review: Seagate Barracuda ATA IV 60 GB ATA-100 Hard Drive
Probably wondering what in the blue blazes the title of this review is about, eh? Well, the title is a line from a song on a Paul Van Dyk album. (The Politics of Dancing, to be precise) "Paul Van Dyk!", you say, "What could he possibly have to do with the hard drive this fuzzhead is supposed to be reviewing?" Well, quite simple mate: The album is on an .mp3 that is living on the very chunk of Seagate brand steel that I'm reviewing.
I bought this drive to supplement/eventually replace an IBM Deskstar 60GXP 40.0 GB HDD that is in the process of dying on me. I (commence shameless plug) bought the drive online from Newegg.com, and it arrived within 72 hours of my order being placed. Such a shame that I can't seem to find Newegg in the 'online stores' category and give them a glowing review they so richly deserve. Hint hint, epinions staff. ( end shameless plug)
Specs:
Capacity: ~60GB
Cache Size: 2mb
Interface: Ultra ATA 100
Disk Speed: 7200 RPM
Avg. Seek time: 9.5 ms
Max non-operating shock: 350 GS
Installation: Installation was fairly simple. Aside from the usual troubles I have from shoehorning more hardware into my 'beige wonder' case, install was really no problem. Seagate was helpful enough to put a diagram for jumper settings and which cables go where right on the drive itself. (No hunting for little instruction pamphlets. Convenience ++; ) After shoving the drive into the bay and screwing it in, I plugged the appropriate cables in, jacked the power back into the box, and booted up. Good boot on the first go-round, and I was now ready to install my OS. The drive's formatted capacity was slightly less than advertised, with my copy of Windows XP reporting a final format and partition size of around 57.2 GB. Currently, this drive (The Seagate) is operating as primary master, with a Pioneer 16x slot load DVD as primary slave, a 40 GB deskstar as secondary master, and my plextor burner as slave. I've stressed the drive quite a bit (transferring about 7 gigs worth of data over from the IBM at a shot) and it hasn't even batted an eye at me.
Other stuff: First, I'd like to point out that I really like the sturdyness of the drive. I pulled it out of the box, and it weighs a ton in comparison to my deskstar. The entire drive is encased in what looks to be 2mm steel, and it is very solid and substantial feeling. (Unlike the IBM drive, which has part of the guts exposed, as well as feeling somewhat flimsy.) While the drive's robustness seems to be a secondary or tertiary consideration, the Seagate Barracuda will have a higher chance of survival in case the UPS man decides to drop-kick it onto the truck.
The drive's seek time is slower in comparison to the IBM Deskstar (9.5ms avg vs. 8.5ms avg for the Deskstar). However, Seagate drives have a repuation for being very reliable and even-tempered pieces of hardware. Windows XP has taken to it like a fish to water. I have yet to see how various flavors of Linux cope with the drive, but I'll be very surprised if they have any problems. (Unlike the IBM Deskstar, which was rather... unfriendly ... to my Red Hat installer.) The drive came OEM (bare drive only), so I cannot comment on Seagate's DiscWizard software, or any extra goodies that might come with the drive.
Overall: Overall, I'm going to stamp my seal of approval on this drive. It's a bit slower than a comprable drive from IBM, Maxtor, or Western Digital. However, the Barracuda has a reputation for being a robust, sturdy, and steady performer. So far, this drive appears to be no exception to the rule, and I'm quite enjoying it. Overall, I'd rate the Seagate Barracuda 60gb 8 out of 10. It's a tad bit slower than other 7200rpm drives of similar capacity, but it's robust, sturdy, and even tempered.
SEAGATE - BARRACUDA 60GB 7200 RPM EIDE / DMA/ATA INTERNAL HARD DISK DRIVE. 2MB BUFFER 100(ULTRA) 3.5 INCH LOW PROFILE(1.0 INCH). . ST360021A IN STOCK....More at Server Supply
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