BlueSmoke - HDD Article : Seagate Barracuda ATA IV

		Date	: Sept 17th, 2001
		Category	: Storage
		Manufacturer	: Seagate
		Author	: Jin-Wei Tioh

The 7200 RPM IDE hard drive market is certainly competitive, with all manufacturers vying for top sales and performance. Thus, it was with great fanfare that Seagate launched their original Barracuda ATA, replacing the infamous Medalist Pro line and providing rapid storage at a very competitive price. What with the reputation of its SCSI brethren, the Barracuda ATA became a great success. Seagate seemed on top of their game.

Unfortunately, the next two incarnations did not shine on the performance front, with performance actually declining with each new version. The original Barracuda ATA practically leaves the Barracuda ATA II and III standing in every aspect, save flagship capacity. Fans of Seagate were no doubt disappointed, limited to a maximum capacity of 28GB if they wanted the performance of the Barracuda ATA. Will the Barracuda ATA IV buck this trend?

The Seagate Barracuda ATA IV is the successor to the Barracuda ATA III. While not breaking any capacity records, it is the first 7200 RPM drive that packs 40GB/platter to achieve a 2-platter flagship capacity of 80GB. This is also the first Seagate product to sport the "SoftSonic" sound barrier technology and the Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) motor. Seagate proclaims that these two key technologies make the Barracuda ATA IV "the fastest, quietest and toughest desktop drive in the world". Average seek time is specified at a conservative 9.5ms. A 2MB buffer, ATA-100 interface, and Seagate's excellent drive packaging, the SeaShell, round up the package. A industry standard, full 3-year warranty backs the drive.

The Barracuda is certainly a very "fresh" product; Seagate has even deviated completely from their usual enclosure design. This is probably to accommodate the finer mechanics of the drive which needs more protection against vibration, since the width of the data track has been effectively halved compared to the Barracuda III. While higher platter densities are a good thing, they generally give engineers headaches, as the head has to be ever more accurate when seeking data. Personally, we feel that the new enclosure lends a touch of classiness to the Barracuda line, making it look more distinguished than its predecessors.

Everything sounds good on paper so far. But is the Barracuda ATA IV just a paper pusher or a performance sceamer? Join us as we find out...

Testbed Low-Level Measurements Methodology

HDD	Disk Access Time	Disk Read/Transfer Rate
		Beginning	End
IBM Deskstar 60GXP (40.0GB ATA-100)	12.3	39800	21100
Quantum Fireball Plus AS (20.0GB ATA-100)	13.5	36000	21100
Seagate Barracuda ATA II (30.0GB ATA-100)	13.3	29700	19900
Seagate Barracuda ATA IV (80.0GB ATA-100)	14.9	42500	27200

The Barracuda ATA IV clocks in at 14.9ms, generally lagging the competition by roughly 1.5ms. Subtracting 4.2ms of rotational latency yields a measured seek time of 10.7ms, or 12% off Seagate's claim of 9.5ms. To be fair however, this is the most common occurrence amongst all drive manufacturers.

What the Barracuda lacks in seek time, it makes up in Sequential Transfer Rates (STRs). It practically reaches out and smacks all drives on the back of the head, including even our performance king, the IBM Deskstar 60GXP. The Barracuda has a 7% (2.7MB/s) outer-zone STR advantage over the 60GXP. Its inner-zone STR is simply breathtaking, 27.2MB/s! This is a full 30% or 6.1MB/s faster than both the 60GXP and Quantum Fireball Plus AS.

Business applications depend more on a drive's transfer rate rather than its average seek time. Seek time factors more heavily into server applications performance, or applications which incur fairly constant disk access. Therefore in theory, the Barracuda ATA IV should be the top contender in the higher-level WinBench 99 Disk WinMarks.

True of false? Let's scrutinize the cold, hard data.

Testbed Disk WinMarks Methodology

HDD	Business	High-End
IBM Deskstar 60GXP (40.0GB ATA-100)	4960	17700
Quantum Fireball Plus AS (20.0GB ATA-100)	5010	15500
Seagate Barracuda ATA II (30.0GB ATA-100)	4270	14000
Seagate Barracuda ATA IV (80.0GB ATA-100)	5350	17700

True enough, the Barracuda ATA IV obtained the highest Business Disk WinMark scores we have ever witnessed, besting our previous record holder (the 60GXP) by 8%. The High-End Disk WinMarks are equally impressive, coming up neck and neck with the Deskstar 60GXP.

WinBench 99 clearly shows the Barracuda ATA IV to be the new performance leader. Due to its nature, IOMeter is more seek time dependant than WinBench 99, which depends more on a drive's transfer rate. Therefore, the Barracuda shouldn't affect the rankings much.

Testbed IOMeter - Total I/Os Per Second Methodology

HDD	Load	Access Pattern
		File Server	Workstation	Database	Video Workstation
IBM Deskstar 60GXP (40.0GB ATA-100)	Linear	71.67	85.15	71.79	3136.53
	Light	106.22	118.65	104.63	3504.76
	Moderate	128.00	141.30	126.62	3504.72
	Heavy	143.43	156.94	142.72	3504.80
Quantum Fireball AS (20.0GB ATA-100)	Linear	73.28	84.93	77.49	2788.41
	Light	95.74	95.68	83.45	2838.38
	Moderate	106.66	103.55	103.15	2833.93
	Heavy	114.29	102.67	110.54	2830.29
Seagate Barracuda ATA II (30.0GB ATA-100)	Linear	66.25	77.56	63.49	3116.63
	Light	82.51	90.96	71.89	3304.99
	Moderate	92.32	100.48	76.37	3303.17
	Heavy	106.71	109.83	87.78	3303.24
Seagate Barracuda ATA IV (80.0GB ATA-100)	Linear	68.62	79.56	72.92	2868.30
	Light	86.00	96.34	88.36	3011.27
	Moderate	102.59	114.73	102.82	3005.34
	Heavy	119.29	133.76	117.64	2996.39

Before analyzing the data, please keep in mind that we have chosen the arbitrary label "Workstation" for one of the access patterns. It may or may not represent your actual workstation/desktop, as this access pattern simulates applications with relatively heavier disk access, something akin to a server environment.

The Deskstar 60GXP, with its excellent seek time, dominates the board under nearly all access patterns and loads. Interestingly, the Barracuda IV exhibits a significant improvement over the Barracuda II, despite its slower seek time. The improvements range from mild (2%) to stellar (23%), and make the Barracuda ATA IV the most competent IOMeter contender since the original Barracuda ATA. However, the is a reversal of trends under the Video Workstation access patterns, where the Barracuda IV lags behind the Barracuda II. Seagate has clearly optimized the Barracuda's firmware for non-NLE (non linear editing) applications.

Some readers have written in to voice their opinion that we should employ some form of tests to give a numerical value for drive heat and noise levels. While we certainly would love to, it is not an easy feat (not that we're lazy) nor does it seem feasible just yet. For starters, the sound power and sound quality (read : annoyingness) can vary by a considerable margin in drives, even those of the same model! The bearings and motors used are sometimes from different vendors, and consequently each drive sounds "unique". Furthermore, sound pressure is highly dependent on the placement of the sensing microphone, not being as absolute as sound power. Sound power is what manufacturers specify. Sound pressure is what you are measuring when you place the component in question into a soundproof box, with a single microphone. Marginally shifting the microphone would definitely impact the measured results. Moreover, there isn't a universal formula governing the correlation between sound pressure and sound power; it is a function of the drive itself. These factors make the results' consistency, reliability and reproducibility questionable.

Measuring drive heat levels would be more practical, though there is most certainly a temperature delta across the drive. The same problem exists in heatsink/fan testing, where there are significant temperature differences even on the tiny processor core.

The Barracuda ATA IV runs about as hot as the Deskstar 60GXP. While these drives are definitely not as cool as a cucumber, they should nevertheless run fine without any form of active cooling, though personally, we make it the rule of the thumb to cool any >= 7200 RPM drive in our systems. Thanks to its "SoftSonic" sound barrier technology and its 2-platter design, the Barracuda is quite possibly the quietest drive that has entered our labs. Its noise level is comparable to that of the Quantum Fireball lct20, a 4500 RPM value class drive, and we believe this speaks for itself.

With its stellar WinBench 99 scores, respectable showing under IOMeter, and capacity advantage compared to the IBM Deskstar 60GXP (80GB vs. 60GB), we have little choice but to place the Barracuda ATA IV nearly on par with the IBM. Seagate has finally got it right, landing the Barracuda ATA family back in performance enthusiasts' good graces. Coupled with its virtually noiseless operation (no exaggerating on our part), the Seagate Barracuda IV definitely warrants your attention if you're looking for a new high-capacity drive in the near future.

Seagate Barracuda ATA IV (ST380021A)
Other Models :	ST360021A (60GB), ST340021A (40GB), ST320021A (20GB)