Seagate, WD nearing launch of 3TB internal hard drives
updated 03:55 pm EDT, Mon October 18, 2010
3TB internal drives from Seagate, WD show up
Seagate and WD will soon release the first 3TB internal hard drives on the market, says Dutch site Hardware.info. Images of the drives have surfaced, with European online retailers listing them for pre-orders as well. The 3.5-inch drives are called the Seagate Barracuda XT and Western Digital Caviar Green.
German e-tailer Schottenland.de posted the 3TB WD drive and Seagate drives, though pricing hasn't been revealed, and neither have ship dates.
The preliminary specs include a 7,200RPM speed for the Seagate drive, along with a 64MB memory buffer. It has a 6Gbps SATA interface and an average access time of 8.5ms, while producing as much as 32dB(A) of specified noise. The WD drive as a low-power Caviar Green model is slower, at 5,400RPM and with a 3Gbps SATA interface, but has the same 64MB of buffer memory. Its average access time is slightly slower, at 8.9ms, but comes with a quieter 29dB design.
3TB disks already exist on the market, but they have so far been limited to external drives where any early power or size issues can be sorted out. [via NordicHardware]
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2008
Avoid Seagate
Stick with Western Digital.