Seagate Barracuda ST3320620A 320 GB Internal Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620A (PATA -100, 7200 RPM, 16MB)

Strengths: Very fast, very Quiet, very easy install using Acronis and great 5 year warranty.

Weakness: None so far

I did a lot of research before purchasing this drive. There seems to be a lot of discussion regarding some of these drives using AAK Firmware. My drive has AAF firmware. Apparently the AAK firmware versions manufactured in China do not perform well in Benchmark tests compared with AAC, AAE, AAF & AAS Firmware manufactured in Thailand. However some owners with AAK firmware say that even though...
Read Full Review

I did a lot of research before purchasing this drive. There seems to be a lot of discussion regarding some of these drives using AAK Firmware. My drive has AAF firmware. Apparently the AAK firmware versions manufactured in China do not perform well in Benchmark tests compared with AAC, AAE, AAF & AAS Firmware manufactured in Thailand. However some owners with AAK firmware say that even though their hard drive may be slower than some other Firmware versions in benchmark tests, it is all relative and that their AAK version is still very fast compared to other drives on the market. Benchmark tests do not always duplicate real world performance as these people have observed. One discussion group indicates that Seagate has developed & unofficially offered one purchaser a firmware upgrade for the AAK version which improved benchmark performance. The SATA hard drives also seem to have these firmware versions. So be aware that Seagate may have a firmware upgrade available (if it is even necessary for the AAK firmware)for the general public in the near future. My benchmark tests show that my Seagate drive is 25 to 44 per cent faster than my current WD 80 GB drive and real life performance seems to back this up. I would definitely buy one of these drives again and I probably will.

By jrskalin - Nov 26, 2007

Good Drive at Good Price

Strengths: Fast and quiet.

Weakness: XP users may need to use DiskWizard to be able to access all 320 GB -- true size is less than that.

As windows XP (even with SP1) initially allowed me to create a 137 GB partition only, it took a little work to get the other 170 GB partition. Seagate website made the process bearable -- DiskWizard saved the day. Overall I am very satisfied with the drive (day 1). It is quiet, and 'feels' very fast relative to a two-year-old Maxtor that was in there previously. GREAT buy for the money (under...
Read Full Review

As windows XP (even with SP1) initially allowed me to create a 137 GB partition only, it took a little work to get the other 170 GB partition. Seagate website made the process bearable -- DiskWizard saved the day. Overall I am very satisfied with the drive (day 1). It is quiet, and 'feels' very fast relative to a two-year-old Maxtor that was in there previously. GREAT buy for the money (under $100).

By dnikelshpu - Dec 22, 2006

Seagate Barracuda

Strengths: Fast, Quiet

Weakness: slightly higher price tag

This is a great drive, with the new perpendicular write technology. It is definitely fast, enough that I would want to test what the difference is between this and my other SATA drive. No problem so far.

By cowfunone - Oct 29, 2006

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB Hard Drive

Strengths: None that I can be aware of

Weakness: The thing is DOA

I got this HD about 3 weeks ago. I really needed it and ordered from Tiger Direct. I've installed a lot of HD's before, the DiscWizard I had to download (NOTHING CAME WITH THE DRIVE HARDWARE CABLES, SOFTWARE, NOTHING) worked OK and XP reported the drive OK. I copied about 30 meg of songs to the drive as a test. Shut down, rebooted ...then windows don't see it anymore and I hear the drive make a...
Read Full Review

I got this HD about 3 weeks ago. I really needed it and ordered from Tiger Direct. I've installed a lot of HD's before, the DiscWizard I had to download (NOTHING CAME WITH THE DRIVE HARDWARE CABLES, SOFTWARE, NOTHING) worked OK and XP reported the drive OK. I copied about 30 meg of songs to the drive as a test. Shut down, rebooted ...then windows don't see it anymore and I hear the drive make a whine noise, a click, a whine noise, and a click.

I have a brand new system that as far as I know is built for SATA drives. Cables were brand new as Seagate doesn't see fit to ship 3 dollars worth of cables with the drive. Tiger Direct shipped the bubble wrapped drive in PEANUTS which invalids Seagates Warranty, yet Tiger Direct won't accept returns on THIS DRIVE.

I thought 109 dollars was a bit cheap for a 320 gig hard drive. ...anyway now I'm in the middle of it with Seagate and I can't tell you the grief I have endure so far to receive an "RMA" that will allow me to return the drive.

Advice: just go to a branded reseller and get an SATA drive WITH cables. The 30 bucks you may or may not save may or may not be worth the grief. And Seagate sucks, and most deliciously especially, TIGER DIRECT SUCKS.

Sincerely,

Steve Bennett

By anonymous; - Nov 11, 2006

Good Buy

Strengths: it is fast and rock solid.

Weakness: It is a noisy hard driver, i can hear it even when idle.

it survived with no problem whatsoever a fall from 6 feet, only minor damage to the outer shell and the information was there... i love it. the access to the information is fast and it can sustaing a good transfer rate.

By anonymous; - Aug 24, 2006