Seagate ST3250823AS 250 GB SATA Hard Drive
- HDD Form Factor: 3.5' x 1/3H (Low Profile)
- Capacity: 250 GB
- Designation: Desktop Computer
- Interface: Serial ATA
- Enclosure: Internal
- Spindle Speed: 7200 RPM
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Seagate SATA Drives Keep Raising the Bar...
Pros
low heat, low noise, good throughput all-around, slightly better performance than previous generation
Cons
Reaching an advertised 150MB/s is still a long way to go...
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
A well-performed hard drive overall, with large storage capacity, good read/write speed, and very quiet. Excellent price.
Recently, Seagate Barracuda SATA generation explodes with impressive option on storage capacity. Not long ago, I used to view that a hard drive with 120GB or 160GB would be more than enough for my data-storage need. Of course, it was true, because back then I mostly used my hard disk drive for text, photo images and mp3 files. It does not take long to realize that a multimedia project related to DVD authoring, DVD backups, etc, would inevitably require larger capacity on hard drives.
Having been a satisfied user of Seagate SATA product in the past, the logical choice is to stick with my good experience. Nowadays, a hard drive with capacity of 400GB or 500GB is not an uncommon sight. In the Barracuda SATA 7200.8 series, one can choose the large capacity from 200GB, 250GB, 300GB or 400GB. I chose the 250GB based on my personal preference. I ordered mine at newegg.com for $115. (This was $10 cheaper than the 200GB 7200.7 SATA that I bought back in January 2005). At $115, only the hard drive was shipped (i.e., an OEM product); it did not come with data cable, CD driver, mounting screws or instruction manual. That's the only difference between an OEM and retail packaged product, while the drive itself is identical. But that's what I needed; I have plenty of SATA data as well as power cables that came with the motherboard. Both the OEM and retailed they each carry a 5-year warranty from Seagate.
Seagate ST3250823AS
The new Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 SATA 250GB is quite unique in that it features a fast 8ms access time (a 0.5ms increase from its predecessor and is currently the fastest SATA hard drive). Like all Barracuda SATA 7200.x series, this one also features native SATA power interface, that is, it uses a 15-pin power connector as opposed to the standard Molex 4-pin type that other manufacturers still use. (SATA hard drives from Maxtor, Hitachi, etc, come with both SATA and Molex power connector.)
Currently, new power supply unit comes with SATA power connector (at least for two devices). Therefore, the direct use of SATA 15-pin power connection as opposed to the 4-pin Molex is more advantageous and strongly encouraged. The reason is that there is no overhead power conversion involved. This process reduces heat and it speeds up the response time, thus increasing the overall performance of the drive.
But this doesn't mean that older power supply cannot be used on Seagate SATA hard drives. There is a 4-pin-to-15-pin power adapter that can be purchased separately at a nominal price. The power converter should also come with retail packaged motherboard that supports SATA devices.
Software/Hardware Compatibility
The good thing about large capacity hard drive is that it provides plenty of disk space. The not-so-good thing is compatibility. Older operating systems do not support large-capacity hard drives bigger than 137GB.
The following lists operating systems that support 48-bit large block addressing (LBA), able to access large-capacity hard drives beyond 137GB.
Windows OS: Windows 2000 Pro SP-4, Windows XP SP-1 or SP-2 (Home or Pro Edition), Windows Server 2003.
UNIX/Linux: Linux with kernel version 2.4.20 or higher, such as Red Hat Linux 9, SuSE Linux 9, Mandrake Linux 9.2, Fedora Core, etc.
Some older motherboards supporting two SATA devices have their ports directly bridged with the system bus allowing each to act as an IDE device. With an operating system that does not support 48-bit LBA, disk space is accessible up to 137GB. The most viable approach to break the 137GB barrier without having to use an operating system that supports 48-bit LBA is to use a PCI controller card (such as, Promise Technology SATA150II, Silicon Image, Adaptec, etc) with SATA devices directly connected to it.
Most new motherboards supporting four SATAs have data signaling ports linked by a separate chip (e.g., Silicon or Promise SATA link chip) enabling non-48-bit LBA operating systems like Windows 2000 SP-1 or Windows XP Pre-SP to access the entire disk space, once an appropriate driver is installed.
Preparing Hard Drive for Use
Hard drive installation is quite straightforward, which only requires an empty drive slot in the computer case. The cabling process is far simpler than that done with the PATA (40-pin IDE hard drive), because we do not have to deal with configuring master or slave using the jumper shunt; and Seagate SATA hard drives do not have jumper pins on them. Each is connected to each port on the motherboard using a 7-pin signaling cable the size of an Ethernet line. This cable is also easy to connect, which can be fitted in one way only. The motherboard's BIOS can be configured to control SATA devices and which to boot from, such as assign which one to be the primary and which secondary, etc. This process ultimately depends on the motherboard's BIOS. Therefore, it is important to consult the motherboard's manual.
As a Storage Disk
My Seagate 250GB is used solely for data storage. This makes it easier for me to prepare the hard drive for usage. First, I do not have to worry about the 137GB barrier. Second, the SATA port on my motherboard is linked via a separate chip (Silicon Image S3114 Link) that controls the traffic of data and supports 48-bit LBA. In other words, I can access all the 250GB disk space (at least 233GB of it after formatting).
However, there is one problem with preparing the hard drive for data storage if it is added to the existing, working system. It requires Seagate's Disc Utility CD that comes with the hard drive if purchased in retail packaged. Windows OS cannot partition and format a new drive, unless it is done by booting the system from Windows XP SP-1 CD-ROM to configure the partition; then reboot the system and format the drive. Or we can use third-party system disc utility.
I do have the Seagate Disc Utility CD from my previous purchase. But by habit, I prefer to use the fdisk utility in Linux operating system, which has fundamental operations similar to MS-DOS; it's far easier and much quicker. I basically divide the drive into three partitions, with the last one the largest to contain about 140GB of space. Then I can format them using my Windows XP SP-1 when I boot into it. The first partition is formatted in FAT32 (20GB), the second and third are formatted in NTFS. Needless to mention, my system has a dual-boot configuration with Windows XP SP-1 (updated to SP-2) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 AS (updated to 64-bit), both installed on a separate and low-capacity but extremely fast hard drive. It is for this reason that I reserve the first partition as a share between Windows and Linux. The last partitions are for my Photo and Video, respectively.
As a System as well as Storage
While I have not done it with this drive, I have done it in the past with my Seagate Ultra ATA IDE 160GB Barracuda. It is straightforward to install the operating system on it and use the rest as HUGE data storage device. The disk can be prepared during Windows setup and installation. However, it requires one of the operating systems listed above to access disk space beyond the 137GB.
Personally, I think if you can afford a hard drive as big as this one, you can surely afford a smaller one, say, 40GB or 80GB. I further think that having two hard drives in a system will make the most of it in terms of overall performance. For this reason, use the smaller hard drive solely (if not partly) for the operating system and the 250GB for data storage or backup. This configuration eliminates the problem associated with the 137GB barrier imposed on the single 250GB hard drive (if a non-48-bit LBA operating system resides on it). With an operating system that does not support 48-bit LBA installed on the smaller hard drive (say, Windows 2000 Pro SP-1), then update it to SP-4. This will result that the entire 250GB disk space be accessible. The greatest advantage with multiple hard drives is the increase in response and accessing time that Windows OS will perform.
If this 250GB is, however, used as a secondary hard drive in addition to your exiting one, it is the best overall. If your operating system does not support 48-bit LBA (such as, Windows 2000 Pro SP-1 or Windows XP Pre-SP), simply update it with the appropriate Service Pack (to support 48-bit LBA) and the rest will be just a smooth ride…
On some high-end motherboards, SATA bus link is mostly controlled by a separate chip that allows a non-48-bit LBA operating system, like Windows XP Pre-SP, to access the entire disk without having to update the Service Pack, once its driver is installed. In the past, I have used such approach on my Intel-based motherboard Abit IC-7G Adv. II on my 200GB SATA hard drive without any problems (using Windows 2000 Pro SP-1 and WinXP Pre-SP).
Checking for Errors
After partitioning my drive and formatting them, I use Windows XP's check disk utility to scan for any errors. If there are any uncorrectable errors, I can take care of it right away, especially for a large capacity hard drive like this one. My previous experience with a bad sector on my old Western Digital 40GB hard drive left me a scar of paranoia. I had a scanned photo image of a client I was working on and suddenly I could not retrieve the image. A combination of too many fragmented files and unrecoverable bad sectors resulted in a lost of that image.
For a fast and highly capable computer, using Windows XP's built-in Check Disk Utility to scan for bad sectors is quite manageable. It took about 10 minutes to scan my Photo (second) partition with 75GB of disk space. For the third partition with 140GB of disk space, I set my computer to scan while I went to sleep…too tired to wait for it, even though it probably took 20 or 30 minutes. I set the system to scan and attempt recovery for bad sectors and report to me the results.
Well, the results came back good for the entire hard drive!
Performance (as a Data Storage)
For any new hard drive, I often like to see how it performs relative to the rest of its class. I have been using SATA hard drives in 120GB and 200GB (both were Seagate 7200.7 series) prior to using this 250GB. So I set up a benchmark to test the 250GB using SiSoftware Sandra 2005 and compare the results with those I obtained with my 200GB. I also used HD Tach benchmark on the 250GB drive. Both hard drives have roughly the same partition configuration (except the last one on the 250GB).
SiSoft Sandra 2005 on Windows XP Pro SP-2
Seagate 250GB 7200.8 ST3250823AS
Average Drive Index: 56MB/s
Average Buffered Read: 55MB/s
Average Random Read: 46MB/s
Average Buffered Write: 62MB/s
Average Random Write: 38MB/s
Average Access Time: 7ms
Seagate 200GB 7200.7 ST3200822AS
Average Drive Index: 51MB/s
Average Buffered Read: 50MB/s
Average Random Read: 40MB/s
Average Buffered Write: 57MB/s
Average Random Write: 38MB/s
Average Access Time: 7ms
HD Tach benchmark gave somewhat different results on access time on the 250GB.
HD Tach on Windows XP Pro SP-2
Seagate 250GB 7200.8 ST3250823AS
Average Read: 57.5MB/s
CPU Time: 7%
Average Access Time: 15.2ms
Burst Speed: 85.6MB/s
I did not get a chance to run the HD Tach test on my 200GB. However, the above results from SiSoft Sandra 2005 indicate their nearly identical performance, with the 250GB leading slightly with sustain throughput, especially on buffered read and write speeds.
In the past, I have done a SiSoft Sandra 2005 test on 200GB hard drive on my system using Abit IC-7G Adv. II motherboard, and found that the drive's write speed was very high in the upper 90MB/s (while the rest of the characteristics were the same) compared to the write speed (shown above) tested on my new motherboard (Tyan S2875ANRF). The results basically showed how SATA bus link depends on different motherboards. My Tyan S2875ANRF's SATA is at a slight disadvantage, using a 32-bit 33MHz bus.
Under real-world performance, the 250GB performed exceptionally well. To test the throughput performed by the 250GB, I transfer a large chunk of data (DVD folder 4.34GB) out and into my fast SCSI hard drive; then transfer it back into the first, second and third partition in the 250GB.
External File Transfer
4.34GB file into first partition (FAT32): 1 minute and 41 seconds (43MB/s).
4.34GB file into second partition (NTFS): 1 minute 27 seconds (50.5MB/s).
4.34GB file into third partition (NTFS): 1 minute 43 seconds (42MB/s).
4.34GB file out into another drive (NTFS): 2 minutes 6 seconds.
Internal File Transfer
4.34GB file from third partition into second partition: 4 minutes and 10 seconds.
Internal transfer of large data file is slow, perhaps due to the hard drive's 8MB cache memory unable to keep pace with large chunk of data. Furthermore, its read speed is slower than its write speed (for external transfer), a result also confirms with SiSoft Sandra 2005. For smaller files, this drive is quite responsive. For external file transfer, it seems that the drive is quite consistent throughout its sectors (from one partition to the next). I suspect that if the first partition was an NTFS, its file transfer rate would be slightly faster then the last two.
Noise and Heat
The Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200.8 SATA operates at an acoustic noise of 21.5dBA, based on Seagate specs sheet. At this noise level, it can easily disappear itself in the background of the computer chassis fan or CPU fan. In short, this drive is extremely quiet.
As for heat, it depends on how the drive is being used. That said, my 250GB is a data drive and mostly sits idling. Therefore, the heat generated by it is very nominal. In other words, it is quite cool. Quiet and minimal heat – an excellent hard drive! However, when it is in use, it generates heat but reasonably low.
If this drive has an operating system installed on it, running all the time, heat would be higher. In fact, when I did a data transfer from my 200GB into this 250GB, I had to place both drives outside the computer case, and they both were very warm, running constantly for about 30 minutes. But this was also because no fan or air passing through them. If placed in the computer case with good cooling, this drive has no problem.
Therefore, in terms of noise and heat, this drive is excellent compared to other drives I have used.
Conclusion
Obviously, SATA's hype on 150MB/s data transfer rate is still illusive, based on my experience with many SATA hard drives (Seagate and Western Digital). However, the same is true for an Ultra ATA's (IDE) 133MB/s or 100MB/s rate, which I have yet to see with a transfer rate of 60MB/s or higher (despite the 133MB/s claim). The bright side is that in general SATA drive performs slightly better than its PATA IDE counterparts – that, I have seen. No doubt, installation and drive configuration are far simpler to do on SATA than on PATA. Plus, the wiring cable is less complex in the computer case and easy to arrange to allow an excellent airflow compared to the 40-pin IDE cable (even its round one).
I believe an explanation for the never-reaching 150MB/s has a lot do to with the drive's accessing time and spindle speed. For a drive with 7200RPM spindle speed and an 8ms average seek time, it seems rather bold to have claimed to achieve a throughput up to 150MB/s. My SCSI hard drive (Fujitsu/Compaq) MAP-series 18GB 10000RPM spindle speed with 8MB cache and 4.7ms seek time can transfer data up to 160MB/s through its ultra160 SCSI cable. SiSoft Sandra 2005 (running on the same system as I did with the Seagate 250GB) showed an impressive 86MB/s average read speed with an access time less than 6ms on an Adaptec 29160N SCSI 32-bit PCI card. When done on an Adaptec 29160 64-bit PCI card (using Tyan S2466MPX's 64-bit PCI slot), this same drive boosts an average of 120MB/s! For a drive with maximum rate of 160MB/s, seems modest to the SATA's 150MB/s, can boost this 120MB/s read speed is sheer confidence.
For this reason, I have configured my desktop system to use three SCSI hard drives: one for the operating system, one for the programs and software applications, one for editing my video and photo files. I use the fourth drive, which is this Seagate 250GB, to store my final data (mp3's, movies, final edited photos and videos, etc) and use them on a daily basis.
Compared to its relatives, the Seagate 7200.8 SATA 250GB performed very well, overall. For large data storage capacity and good-all-around read/write performance, this drive is good for the money, especially when I paid $0.46 per gigabyte. Thus far, I am quite satisfied with this drive; easy to set up and install.
If you are looking to expand your computer's storage capacity, the Seagate SATA 7200.8 family should be an excellent choice. Backed by a 5-year warranty, this drive only gets better.
---------------------
My desktop PC system using the Seagate 250GB ST3250823AS (and for test results reported above) is currently as follows.
Motherboard: Tyan Tiger K8W S2875ANRF (dual processor)
CPU: Opteron 246 HE, dual-processor configuration
RAM: Transcend PC3200 1024MB (2x512MB) ECC Registered RAM
Hard Drives (SCSI): Three Fujitsu SCSI with Adaptec 29160N PCI controller
Hard Drive (SATA): Seagate 250GB SATA 8MB 7200.8RPM
----------------------
Specifications: Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200.8 250GB ST3250823AS
Capacity: 250GB (233GB after formatting)
Interface: SATA150
Spindle Speed: 7200
Cache Buffer: 8MB
Average Seek Time: 8ms
Shock Operating: 63Gs
Shock non-operating: 300Gs (excellent guard during shipment)
Operating Temperature: 0 to 60 degrees C (ambient temp.)
Read/Write Heads: 16
Bytes per sector: 512
Sector per track: 63
Height: 1.028 inches
Width: 4.010 inches
Length: 5.787 inches
Weight: 1.39 lb
Having been a satisfied user of Seagate SATA product in the past, the logical choice is to stick with my good experience. Nowadays, a hard drive with capacity of 400GB or 500GB is not an uncommon sight. In the Barracuda SATA 7200.8 series, one can choose the large capacity from 200GB, 250GB, 300GB or 400GB. I chose the 250GB based on my personal preference. I ordered mine at newegg.com for $115. (This was $10 cheaper than the 200GB 7200.7 SATA that I bought back in January 2005). At $115, only the hard drive was shipped (i.e., an OEM product); it did not come with data cable, CD driver, mounting screws or instruction manual. That's the only difference between an OEM and retail packaged product, while the drive itself is identical. But that's what I needed; I have plenty of SATA data as well as power cables that came with the motherboard. Both the OEM and retailed they each carry a 5-year warranty from Seagate.
Seagate ST3250823AS
The new Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 SATA 250GB is quite unique in that it features a fast 8ms access time (a 0.5ms increase from its predecessor and is currently the fastest SATA hard drive). Like all Barracuda SATA 7200.x series, this one also features native SATA power interface, that is, it uses a 15-pin power connector as opposed to the standard Molex 4-pin type that other manufacturers still use. (SATA hard drives from Maxtor, Hitachi, etc, come with both SATA and Molex power connector.)
Currently, new power supply unit comes with SATA power connector (at least for two devices). Therefore, the direct use of SATA 15-pin power connection as opposed to the 4-pin Molex is more advantageous and strongly encouraged. The reason is that there is no overhead power conversion involved. This process reduces heat and it speeds up the response time, thus increasing the overall performance of the drive.
But this doesn't mean that older power supply cannot be used on Seagate SATA hard drives. There is a 4-pin-to-15-pin power adapter that can be purchased separately at a nominal price. The power converter should also come with retail packaged motherboard that supports SATA devices.
Software/Hardware Compatibility
The good thing about large capacity hard drive is that it provides plenty of disk space. The not-so-good thing is compatibility. Older operating systems do not support large-capacity hard drives bigger than 137GB.
The following lists operating systems that support 48-bit large block addressing (LBA), able to access large-capacity hard drives beyond 137GB.
Windows OS: Windows 2000 Pro SP-4, Windows XP SP-1 or SP-2 (Home or Pro Edition), Windows Server 2003.
UNIX/Linux: Linux with kernel version 2.4.20 or higher, such as Red Hat Linux 9, SuSE Linux 9, Mandrake Linux 9.2, Fedora Core, etc.
Some older motherboards supporting two SATA devices have their ports directly bridged with the system bus allowing each to act as an IDE device. With an operating system that does not support 48-bit LBA, disk space is accessible up to 137GB. The most viable approach to break the 137GB barrier without having to use an operating system that supports 48-bit LBA is to use a PCI controller card (such as, Promise Technology SATA150II, Silicon Image, Adaptec, etc) with SATA devices directly connected to it.
Most new motherboards supporting four SATAs have data signaling ports linked by a separate chip (e.g., Silicon or Promise SATA link chip) enabling non-48-bit LBA operating systems like Windows 2000 SP-1 or Windows XP Pre-SP to access the entire disk space, once an appropriate driver is installed.
Preparing Hard Drive for Use
Hard drive installation is quite straightforward, which only requires an empty drive slot in the computer case. The cabling process is far simpler than that done with the PATA (40-pin IDE hard drive), because we do not have to deal with configuring master or slave using the jumper shunt; and Seagate SATA hard drives do not have jumper pins on them. Each is connected to each port on the motherboard using a 7-pin signaling cable the size of an Ethernet line. This cable is also easy to connect, which can be fitted in one way only. The motherboard's BIOS can be configured to control SATA devices and which to boot from, such as assign which one to be the primary and which secondary, etc. This process ultimately depends on the motherboard's BIOS. Therefore, it is important to consult the motherboard's manual.
As a Storage Disk
My Seagate 250GB is used solely for data storage. This makes it easier for me to prepare the hard drive for usage. First, I do not have to worry about the 137GB barrier. Second, the SATA port on my motherboard is linked via a separate chip (Silicon Image S3114 Link) that controls the traffic of data and supports 48-bit LBA. In other words, I can access all the 250GB disk space (at least 233GB of it after formatting).
However, there is one problem with preparing the hard drive for data storage if it is added to the existing, working system. It requires Seagate's Disc Utility CD that comes with the hard drive if purchased in retail packaged. Windows OS cannot partition and format a new drive, unless it is done by booting the system from Windows XP SP-1 CD-ROM to configure the partition; then reboot the system and format the drive. Or we can use third-party system disc utility.
I do have the Seagate Disc Utility CD from my previous purchase. But by habit, I prefer to use the fdisk utility in Linux operating system, which has fundamental operations similar to MS-DOS; it's far easier and much quicker. I basically divide the drive into three partitions, with the last one the largest to contain about 140GB of space. Then I can format them using my Windows XP SP-1 when I boot into it. The first partition is formatted in FAT32 (20GB), the second and third are formatted in NTFS. Needless to mention, my system has a dual-boot configuration with Windows XP SP-1 (updated to SP-2) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 AS (updated to 64-bit), both installed on a separate and low-capacity but extremely fast hard drive. It is for this reason that I reserve the first partition as a share between Windows and Linux. The last partitions are for my Photo and Video, respectively.
As a System as well as Storage
While I have not done it with this drive, I have done it in the past with my Seagate Ultra ATA IDE 160GB Barracuda. It is straightforward to install the operating system on it and use the rest as HUGE data storage device. The disk can be prepared during Windows setup and installation. However, it requires one of the operating systems listed above to access disk space beyond the 137GB.
Personally, I think if you can afford a hard drive as big as this one, you can surely afford a smaller one, say, 40GB or 80GB. I further think that having two hard drives in a system will make the most of it in terms of overall performance. For this reason, use the smaller hard drive solely (if not partly) for the operating system and the 250GB for data storage or backup. This configuration eliminates the problem associated with the 137GB barrier imposed on the single 250GB hard drive (if a non-48-bit LBA operating system resides on it). With an operating system that does not support 48-bit LBA installed on the smaller hard drive (say, Windows 2000 Pro SP-1), then update it to SP-4. This will result that the entire 250GB disk space be accessible. The greatest advantage with multiple hard drives is the increase in response and accessing time that Windows OS will perform.
If this 250GB is, however, used as a secondary hard drive in addition to your exiting one, it is the best overall. If your operating system does not support 48-bit LBA (such as, Windows 2000 Pro SP-1 or Windows XP Pre-SP), simply update it with the appropriate Service Pack (to support 48-bit LBA) and the rest will be just a smooth ride…
On some high-end motherboards, SATA bus link is mostly controlled by a separate chip that allows a non-48-bit LBA operating system, like Windows XP Pre-SP, to access the entire disk without having to update the Service Pack, once its driver is installed. In the past, I have used such approach on my Intel-based motherboard Abit IC-7G Adv. II on my 200GB SATA hard drive without any problems (using Windows 2000 Pro SP-1 and WinXP Pre-SP).
Checking for Errors
After partitioning my drive and formatting them, I use Windows XP's check disk utility to scan for any errors. If there are any uncorrectable errors, I can take care of it right away, especially for a large capacity hard drive like this one. My previous experience with a bad sector on my old Western Digital 40GB hard drive left me a scar of paranoia. I had a scanned photo image of a client I was working on and suddenly I could not retrieve the image. A combination of too many fragmented files and unrecoverable bad sectors resulted in a lost of that image.
For a fast and highly capable computer, using Windows XP's built-in Check Disk Utility to scan for bad sectors is quite manageable. It took about 10 minutes to scan my Photo (second) partition with 75GB of disk space. For the third partition with 140GB of disk space, I set my computer to scan while I went to sleep…too tired to wait for it, even though it probably took 20 or 30 minutes. I set the system to scan and attempt recovery for bad sectors and report to me the results.
Well, the results came back good for the entire hard drive!
Performance (as a Data Storage)
For any new hard drive, I often like to see how it performs relative to the rest of its class. I have been using SATA hard drives in 120GB and 200GB (both were Seagate 7200.7 series) prior to using this 250GB. So I set up a benchmark to test the 250GB using SiSoftware Sandra 2005 and compare the results with those I obtained with my 200GB. I also used HD Tach benchmark on the 250GB drive. Both hard drives have roughly the same partition configuration (except the last one on the 250GB).
SiSoft Sandra 2005 on Windows XP Pro SP-2
Seagate 250GB 7200.8 ST3250823AS
Average Drive Index: 56MB/s
Average Buffered Read: 55MB/s
Average Random Read: 46MB/s
Average Buffered Write: 62MB/s
Average Random Write: 38MB/s
Average Access Time: 7ms
Seagate 200GB 7200.7 ST3200822AS
Average Drive Index: 51MB/s
Average Buffered Read: 50MB/s
Average Random Read: 40MB/s
Average Buffered Write: 57MB/s
Average Random Write: 38MB/s
Average Access Time: 7ms
HD Tach benchmark gave somewhat different results on access time on the 250GB.
HD Tach on Windows XP Pro SP-2
Seagate 250GB 7200.8 ST3250823AS
Average Read: 57.5MB/s
CPU Time: 7%
Average Access Time: 15.2ms
Burst Speed: 85.6MB/s
I did not get a chance to run the HD Tach test on my 200GB. However, the above results from SiSoft Sandra 2005 indicate their nearly identical performance, with the 250GB leading slightly with sustain throughput, especially on buffered read and write speeds.
In the past, I have done a SiSoft Sandra 2005 test on 200GB hard drive on my system using Abit IC-7G Adv. II motherboard, and found that the drive's write speed was very high in the upper 90MB/s (while the rest of the characteristics were the same) compared to the write speed (shown above) tested on my new motherboard (Tyan S2875ANRF). The results basically showed how SATA bus link depends on different motherboards. My Tyan S2875ANRF's SATA is at a slight disadvantage, using a 32-bit 33MHz bus.
Under real-world performance, the 250GB performed exceptionally well. To test the throughput performed by the 250GB, I transfer a large chunk of data (DVD folder 4.34GB) out and into my fast SCSI hard drive; then transfer it back into the first, second and third partition in the 250GB.
External File Transfer
4.34GB file into first partition (FAT32): 1 minute and 41 seconds (43MB/s).
4.34GB file into second partition (NTFS): 1 minute 27 seconds (50.5MB/s).
4.34GB file into third partition (NTFS): 1 minute 43 seconds (42MB/s).
4.34GB file out into another drive (NTFS): 2 minutes 6 seconds.
Internal File Transfer
4.34GB file from third partition into second partition: 4 minutes and 10 seconds.
Internal transfer of large data file is slow, perhaps due to the hard drive's 8MB cache memory unable to keep pace with large chunk of data. Furthermore, its read speed is slower than its write speed (for external transfer), a result also confirms with SiSoft Sandra 2005. For smaller files, this drive is quite responsive. For external file transfer, it seems that the drive is quite consistent throughout its sectors (from one partition to the next). I suspect that if the first partition was an NTFS, its file transfer rate would be slightly faster then the last two.
Noise and Heat
The Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200.8 SATA operates at an acoustic noise of 21.5dBA, based on Seagate specs sheet. At this noise level, it can easily disappear itself in the background of the computer chassis fan or CPU fan. In short, this drive is extremely quiet.
As for heat, it depends on how the drive is being used. That said, my 250GB is a data drive and mostly sits idling. Therefore, the heat generated by it is very nominal. In other words, it is quite cool. Quiet and minimal heat – an excellent hard drive! However, when it is in use, it generates heat but reasonably low.
If this drive has an operating system installed on it, running all the time, heat would be higher. In fact, when I did a data transfer from my 200GB into this 250GB, I had to place both drives outside the computer case, and they both were very warm, running constantly for about 30 minutes. But this was also because no fan or air passing through them. If placed in the computer case with good cooling, this drive has no problem.
Therefore, in terms of noise and heat, this drive is excellent compared to other drives I have used.
Conclusion
Obviously, SATA's hype on 150MB/s data transfer rate is still illusive, based on my experience with many SATA hard drives (Seagate and Western Digital). However, the same is true for an Ultra ATA's (IDE) 133MB/s or 100MB/s rate, which I have yet to see with a transfer rate of 60MB/s or higher (despite the 133MB/s claim). The bright side is that in general SATA drive performs slightly better than its PATA IDE counterparts – that, I have seen. No doubt, installation and drive configuration are far simpler to do on SATA than on PATA. Plus, the wiring cable is less complex in the computer case and easy to arrange to allow an excellent airflow compared to the 40-pin IDE cable (even its round one).
I believe an explanation for the never-reaching 150MB/s has a lot do to with the drive's accessing time and spindle speed. For a drive with 7200RPM spindle speed and an 8ms average seek time, it seems rather bold to have claimed to achieve a throughput up to 150MB/s. My SCSI hard drive (Fujitsu/Compaq) MAP-series 18GB 10000RPM spindle speed with 8MB cache and 4.7ms seek time can transfer data up to 160MB/s through its ultra160 SCSI cable. SiSoft Sandra 2005 (running on the same system as I did with the Seagate 250GB) showed an impressive 86MB/s average read speed with an access time less than 6ms on an Adaptec 29160N SCSI 32-bit PCI card. When done on an Adaptec 29160 64-bit PCI card (using Tyan S2466MPX's 64-bit PCI slot), this same drive boosts an average of 120MB/s! For a drive with maximum rate of 160MB/s, seems modest to the SATA's 150MB/s, can boost this 120MB/s read speed is sheer confidence.
For this reason, I have configured my desktop system to use three SCSI hard drives: one for the operating system, one for the programs and software applications, one for editing my video and photo files. I use the fourth drive, which is this Seagate 250GB, to store my final data (mp3's, movies, final edited photos and videos, etc) and use them on a daily basis.
Compared to its relatives, the Seagate 7200.8 SATA 250GB performed very well, overall. For large data storage capacity and good-all-around read/write performance, this drive is good for the money, especially when I paid $0.46 per gigabyte. Thus far, I am quite satisfied with this drive; easy to set up and install.
If you are looking to expand your computer's storage capacity, the Seagate SATA 7200.8 family should be an excellent choice. Backed by a 5-year warranty, this drive only gets better.
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My desktop PC system using the Seagate 250GB ST3250823AS (and for test results reported above) is currently as follows.
Motherboard: Tyan Tiger K8W S2875ANRF (dual processor)
CPU: Opteron 246 HE, dual-processor configuration
RAM: Transcend PC3200 1024MB (2x512MB) ECC Registered RAM
Hard Drives (SCSI): Three Fujitsu SCSI with Adaptec 29160N PCI controller
Hard Drive (SATA): Seagate 250GB SATA 8MB 7200.8RPM
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Specifications: Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200.8 250GB ST3250823AS
Capacity: 250GB (233GB after formatting)
Interface: SATA150
Spindle Speed: 7200
Cache Buffer: 8MB
Average Seek Time: 8ms
Shock Operating: 63Gs
Shock non-operating: 300Gs (excellent guard during shipment)
Operating Temperature: 0 to 60 degrees C (ambient temp.)
Read/Write Heads: 16
Bytes per sector: 512
Sector per track: 63
Height: 1.028 inches
Width: 4.010 inches
Length: 5.787 inches
Weight: 1.39 lb
