Test notes
We'll be comparing the performance of the Barracuda 7200.12 with that of a slew of competitors, including some of the latest and greatest Serial ATA drives from Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate, and Western Digital. These drives differ when it comes to external transfer rates, spindle speeds, cache sizes, platter densities, and capacity, all of which can have an impact on performance. Keep in mind the following differences as we move through our benchmarks:
| Max external transfer rate | Spindle speed | Cache size | Platter size | Capacity | |
| Barracuda 7200.11 | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 32MB | 250GB | 1TB |
| Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 32MB | 375GB | 1.5TB |
| Barracuda 7200.12 | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 32MB | 500GB | 1TB |
| Barracuda ES.2 | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 32MB | 250GB | 1TB |
| Caviar Black | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 32MB | 334GB | 1TB |
| Caviar GP | 300MB/s | ~5,400 RPM | 16MB | 250GB | 1TB |
| Caviar Green | 300MB/s | ~5,400 RPM | 32MB | 333GB | 1TB |
| Caviar Green 2TB | 300MB/s | ~5,400 RPM | 32MB | 500GB | 2TB |
| Caviar SE16 (640GB) | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 16MB | 320GB | 640GB |
| Deskstar 7K1000 | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 32MB | 200GB | 1TB |
| Deskstar E7K1000 | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 32MB | 334GB | 1TB |
| Raptor WD1500ADFD | 150MB/s | 10,000 RPM | 16MB | 75GB | 150GB |
| RE2-GP | 300MB/s | ~5,400 RPM | 16MB | 250GB | 1TB |
| RE3 | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 32MB | 334GB | 1TB |
| SpinPoint F1 | 300MB/s | 7,200 RPM | 32MB | 334GB | 1TB |
| VelociRaptor VR150 | 300MB/s | 10,000 RPM | 16MB | 150GB | 300GB |
Note that we have three versions of Western Digital's GreenPower desktop Caviar. The Caviar GP is the original GreenPower drive, model number WD10EACS, while the Caviar Green is the newer WD10EADS derivative with 333GB platters. The latest Caviar Green 2TB drive should be easy to spot because we've included its capacity in the graphs.
Performance data from such a daunting collection of drives can make our bar graphs a little hard to read, so we've colored the bars by manufacturer, with the Barracuda 7200.12 appearing in brighter green than the rest of Seagate's drives. Special thanks, a shout out, and mad props go to TR regular Usacomp2k3 for whipping up a slick VB script to automate graph coloring, saving me from entirely too much repetitive clicking.
Our testing methods
All tests were run three times, and their results were averaged, using the following test system.
Thanks to NCIX for getting us the Deskstar 7K1000 and SpinPoint F1.
Our test system was powered by an OCZ PowerStream power supply unit.
We used the following versions of our test applications:
- WorldBench 5.0
- Intel IOMeter v2004.07.30
- Xbit Labs File Copy Test v1.0 beta 13
- HD Tach v3.01
- Far Cry v1.3
- DOOM 3
- Intel iPEAK Storage Performance Toolkit 3.0
The test systems' Windows desktop was set at 1280x1024 in 32-bit color at an 85Hz screen refresh rate. Vertical refresh sync (vsync) was disabled for all tests.
All the tests and methods we employed are publicly available and reproducible. If you have questions about our methods, hit our forums to talk with us about them.
