Seagate Barracuda ES

INTRODUCTION

Storage devices for the computer industry is one product line that would likely cause many of the founding fathers of modern day economic theory, production theory, and quality improvement methodology to rethink their wisdom. A bold statement? I don't really think so, but allow me to elaborate. As with any industry there are peaks and valleys with regard to new products and their availability. This premise is also true when you look at supply and demand. The aspects we're talking about here are the ever increasing need for more storage, smaller size with larger capacity, faster yet more stable drives, a significantly greater meantime between failure, and more rugged construction.

Each of these captioned aspects are while not overwhelming difficult to improve upon when you consider them individually. Unfortunately, the consumer demand focuses on all these aspects with an "I need it yesterday" mentality. Now back to my initial statement...the incredible or should I say should I say tumultuous thing about all of this is that the product manufacturers are meeting and in some cases exceeding this unyielding demand. I have been reviewing storage devices along with many other computer products for over five years now. During this time I've seen few if any of the other non-storage product manufacturers come even close to the speed, quality, and technology improvement demonstrated by the data storage industry.

Seagate, Inc. is rated by many of my proteges in computer product reviews as the number one manufacturer in the world of computer storage devices. Having reviewed many of their devices over the years and used their products in my own non-review specific computers, I must wholeheartedly concur with my peers. Seagate's recent acquisition of Maxtor and their associated technology should only serve to strengthen this position in the market. All this being said, the evidence clearly points to Seagate being the best of the best.

Today we have the good fortune to the latest iteration of Seagate's work, the 750GB Barracuda ES SATA drive, an enterprise level drive that boasts many new features. Please join me in the Bjorn3D lab where we fully intend to rigorously test this device with the intent of determining if the adorned title of being #1 transcended from Seagate the company into the production of this drive.

Seagate:  A Brief Overview

Seagate was founded in 1979 and was the first company to build 5.25-inch hard disc drives for the PC. And while it may have seemed like a minor milestone at the time, today this hard disc drive introduction is regarded as one event that helped fuel the PC revolution. Suddenly, people could access unprecedented amounts of information, which eventually gave rise to the Internet and other developments. And for nearly a quarter of a century, Seagate has been developing the technology and manufacturing the products that helped make it all happen.

25 years later, the world runs on information. Every time you access the Internet, use an ATM, watch TV, listen to digital music, enjoy a movie with computer-generated special effects, or use a consumer-electronics device, you access and share large amounts of digital information on disc drives -- the core of Seagate's business.

Seagate also has its sights set years into the future. From hand-held computers and web phones, to intelligent storage that knows what information you want and when you want it, to home networks that deliver entertainment, education and services on demand -- Seagate has the knowledge and resources to develop the technologies required for tomorrow. The company is committed to developing new solutions and technologies, pushing storage further than anyone could have imagined in 1979.

At the core of Seagate's success is its advanced development of hard disc drive products. Seagate is the market leader with products in 1-inch, 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors in internal and external formats. In capacities ranging from 2.5 gigabytes to 750 gigabytes, this comprehensive line includes products for the price-sensitive desktop market, consumer electronics devices (hand-held to in-home audio/video), pocket and portable storage, notebook computers and enterprise-class network servers.