Seagate introduced 3.5in hard drives in 2012; the series is called Barracuda 7200.14. This series achieved a new milestone as they contain 1TB platters. The presence of 1TB platters indicates that these drives have a high density in terms of data storage. This has two advantages, the presence of fewer platters translates to lower prices and better performance, as there will be more MB per square centimeter.
For full specifications of Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001, please visit https://www.allhdd.com/hard-drive/sata-6gbps/2tb-7.2k-rpm/seagate-st2000dm001-nbp/
Specifications:
- Size: 2TB
- Weight: 1.65 lbs.
- Dimensions: 5.91 x 4.13 x 0.98 inches
- Hardware: SATA 6.0 GB/s
- Rotational Speed: 7200 rpm
- Storage Capacity: 2 TB
- Cache Memory Installed: 256
Deep Dive:
Key advantages, as described by Seagate datasheet, are:
- Enhanced performance with capacity up to 2TB and 7200 RPM
- Equipped with Seagate AcuTrac® servo technology that ensures reliable performance even with 75 nanometers width of the hard drive track
- Double capacity and fewer costs as it is the first 1TB per disk hard drive in the industry
- Burst performance optimized with SATA 6GB/s hardware interface.
- Includes Seagate SmartAlign® technology that helps in smooth migration to 4K sectors with Advanced Format
- Includes free Seagate DiscWizard® software, it allows the installation of a 3TB hard drive in Windows without the need of UEFI BIOS.
- Also has OptiCache® technology that enhances overall performance by 45% compared to the previous generation
The applications that are best-fit to this hard drive include:
- Home servers
- Desktop RAID
- NAS (Network-attached storage devices)
- Desktop or all in one personal computer
- Gaming systems that are PC-based
- DAS (Direct attached external storage devices)
Seagate is marketing this new line-up as a successor to the 3.5in disks. This consisted of Barracuda 7200.12 (7200rpm), Barracuda XT (7200rpm, high-end performance), and Barracuda Green (5900rpm, energy-efficient). The company claims their new hard drives to be so efficient that they no longer require that existence of a Barracuda Green Series.
Experts at ITProPortal tested Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm, 2TB version, which is also known by its product code ST2000DM001. The average price for this disc is $114, this price for a 2TB drive is pretty under the budget. This is because, for the similar specifications, you need to pay quite more than this for a Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB and Hitachi 7K3000 2TB. Whereas Seagate acquired Samsung brand is only 5400rpm, 2TB for the same price range.
According to Linus Tech Tips, you can save two dimes per year going with a 5400rpm drive or a 5900rpm drive compared to a 7200rpm drive that is highly optimized for power efficiency. This is the reason Seagate has given for switching from the green, eco-friendly, and lower rpm, a lower performance-optimized hard drive to the middle of the range 7200rpm performance drive.
Conclusion:
According to Seagate, the savings on 5400rpm or 5900rpm are simply not worth the performance reduction it costs to consumers. In terms of manufacturing, these devices are very similar. But the previous versions take much longer in the testing and validation process as they spin slower. So, even in the manufacturing process, the older versions are not very efficient for savings.