The Barracuda ATA IV comes with a reassuring three-year warranty. Free, toll-free phone support is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT. Toll-free automated help is available 24/7. Plus, Seagate's excellent online support includes software downloads, jumper diagrams, FAQs, and manuals.
While not the quickest drive available by a long shot, the Barracuda ATA IV offers speeds that should be fast enough for the average user. Plus, its low noise factor and friendly packaging will undoubtedly win some fans.
eTesting Labs' WinBench 99 2.0 test Measured in kilobytes per second; longer bars indicate better performance
Disk-transfer rate: end
Disk-transfer rate: beginning
Western Digital WD1200JB (120GB; 7,200rpm; ATA-100)
28,800
48,900
IBM Deskstar 120GXP (120GB; 7,200rpm; ATA-100)
24,000
47,900
Seagate Barracuda ATA IV (80GB; 7,200rpm; ATA-100)
27,200
42,200
HD Tach 2.70 tests Measured in megabytes per second; longer bars indicate better performance
Write speed (maximum)
Read speed (maximum)
Read burst speed
IBM Deskstar 120GXP (120GB; 7,200rpm; ATA-100)
30.2
49.6
87.6
Western Digital WD1200JB (120GB; 7,200rpm; ATA-100)
29.6
50.3
86.1
Seagate Barracuda ATA IV (80GB; 7,200rpm; ATA-100)
20.8
44.3
69
CNET Labs' tests evaluate the range of performance you may expect from a hard drive. The eTesting Labs' transfer rates are measured at the beginning of the disk (or its outside, where data moves past the read head at a higher rate) and at the end of the disk (or its inside, where data moves past the read head at a slower rate). HD Tach performes similar tests, returning a drive's maximum sustained write and read speeds. In addition, it measures read-burst speed, which
evaluates the performace of the drive's read-ahead memory and the drive controller.
The Seagate Barracuda ATA IV trailed the IBM and Western Digital drives in all tests. If you want a drive with leading-edge performance, you'll need to consider other candidates.
