Seagate Barracuda ATA IV vs. Barracuda ATA V
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Specification
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Barracuda ATA IV
ST320011A
ST340016A
ST360021A
ST380021A |
Barracuda ATA V
ST340017A
ST360015A
ST380023A
ST3120023A
ST3120024A |
| Capacity |
20/40/60/80 GB |
40/60/80/120/120 GB |
| Spindle speed |
7200 RPM |
| Buffer size |
2MB |
2/2/2/2/8 MB |
| Heads |
1/2/3/4 |
2/2/3/4/4 |
| Platters |
1/1/2/2 |
1/1/2/2/2 |
| Latency |
4.16 ms |
| Average search time |
8.9/8.9/9.5/9.5 ms |
9/9/9.14/9.14/9.14 ms |
They differ mainly in the record density. Besides, the new model has
a significantly lower average search time.
Tests
The test system is standard.
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Mainboard - Iwill WO2-R (BIOS ver. 6.00PGN);
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Processor - Intel Pentium III 800EB;
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Memory - 256 MB PC133 SDRAM;
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System disc - IBM DTLA 307015;
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OS - Windows 2000 Professional SP2.
The test suite is the same.
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Ziff-Davis WinBench 99;
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HDTach 2.61;
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Intel IOMeter.
Ziff-Davis WinBench 99
The maximum linear read speed has increased marginally. The maximum of the
record density is reached apparently at the expense of the increase in the track
density rather than in the number of sectors on a track. Such approach is typical
of Seagate - just take the U6 model.
The access time is lower with the drive size being greater. Moreover, it's
lower than the specified one (9.4 + 4.16 = 13.56 ms).
The High-End Winmark remains almost the same which proves that the density
increase doesn't influence directly the performance gain. The lower scores in
the Business WinMark can be explained by the fact that the cache algorithms are
not adjusted for so small files. But it's only my opinion.
Intel IOMeter
The new model leads by a small but steady margin.
Conclusion
The new generation of the Seagate Barracuda ATA drives offers a higher
density, a lower cost of information unit storage and a tad higher performance.
But I wouldn't recommend owners of the 4th Barracuda to change it as the
performance gain is not great.
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