When I first came to know about this drives rotational speed, I immediately assumed it to be pretty noisy, even during the drive's idle state. I was certainly surprised at just how quiet this drive is! Acoustic levels are much lower than the Quantum CR drive I use myself, and this is a 5400 rpm drive! Though noise levels are relatively low, the Quantum lct08 did exhibit a greater level of noise reduction through the use its Quiet Drive Technology. For Seagate to keep this drive so "hush-hush" re-installs confidence about other 7200rpm drives in the market. Hey, if Seagate can do it, why can't anyone else?

Temperature wise, this drive runs VERY hot. This is one of the stereotypes (along with drive noise) that are attached with drives running at this rotational speed. Unfortunately in this case the stereotype remained true. After about 15 minutes of operation, the drive's temperature slowly increases to levels which make the unit difficult to hold. Though many advise it isn't necessary to utilize an additional cooling fan for most 7200 rpm drives, I would certainly recommend it as a safeguard depending on where you live. As I live in a tropical climate area, it gets pretty hot even as we speak and it is only early April! Extremely high environmental temperatures make it all the more necessary to provide that extra cooling for your components and the Barracuda is no exception.

Conclusions

The Seagate Barracuda ST328040A would be perfectly suited for the power-hungry user looking for a high-performance, high-capacity drive at an affordable price. Its 28GB capacity makes it ideal for large databases, CAD, professional image work and allows you to somewhat future-proof your investment. Sure there are larger drives out there in the market but how many of us really need such space?

This particular make drive is available in various storage capacities, viz. 6.8GB, 10.2GB, 13.6GB and 20.4GB. This range allows consumers to choose the size of drive of their choice while at the same time enjoying the benefits of performance as its 28GB brother. And while upcoming 15,000 rpm drives will make this one look pale in comparison, this Barracuda holds its own against the fastest drive currently available in the market.

The only thing I could possibly gripe about is the amount of heat dissipated from the drive. As mentioned earlier, it gets very hot. After long hours of operation I would have to wait about a minute or so before even thinking about removing the drive. Hard disk manufacturers are going to have to find a better way of keeping their drives cool. I wouldn't be surprised to see CAUTION labels on faster drives being made in the future. Till then it is cooling fans for all!