BarraCuda, FireCuda, IronWolf, SkyHawk, and Exos. While at first glance these may appear to be mythical creatures of legend from some Lord of the Rings fan fiction, Seagate has used these terms to represent different types of its hard drives and solid-state drives. So, suppose you’re in the process of building a computer, populating a RAID or NAS array, replacing a corrupted drive, or simply expanding/upgrading your current storage devices. How can you tell which type of Seagate drive is best suited for you? Today, this article will compare the differences between two types of Seagate SSDs: Seagate Ironwolf vs Barracuda.
Seagate Ironwolf vs. Barracuda Overview
Seagate Ironwolf
The IronWolf/IronWolf Pro series of hard drives are designed for NAS (Network Attached Storage) with capacities from 1TB to 14TB (4TB to 14TB for IronWolf Pro), providing an efficient data storage solution. Results for large or small businesses always keep up with the user’s data flow.
The IronWolf/IronWolf Pro series of hard drives use the SATA 3 connection protocol with a maximum transfer speed of 180Mb/s to 210Mb/s (from 195Mb/s to 250Mb/s for IronWolf Pro) and rotational speed from 5900RPM up to 7200 RPM with a cache from 64Mb to 256Mb (from 128Mb to 256Mb for IronWolf Pro) for fast data storage.
The IronWolf hard drive supports 1 – 8 bays (1 – 24 bays for IronWolf Pro). The rate of unrecoverable misread is 1 bit out of 1 x 10^14 and 1 x 10^15. The ability to operate continuously 24/7 and store up to 180 TB/year (300 TB/year for IronWolf Pro) allows users to download data from NAS workstations and constantly save data. Data storage at all times.
The IronWolf/IronWolf Pro series of hard drives are designed for multi-user and high-volume environments with AgileArray technology that enables 2-sided balancing and RAID optimization in multi-bay environments with power management the most advanced. High performance means no lag time for users in workflows that optimize user business data.
Seagate Barracuda
The mascot of this hard drive line is the Barracuda fish (Barracuda) with a ferocious shape, symbolizing enduring strength and speed – belonging to the Water group. The name of this hard drive line has also been very familiar to computer users for more than 20 years.
The Barracuda series of hard drives are designed to store business data or expand the inherent memory of your device, moreover with the Barracuda Pro series with outstanding capacity and high performance. Users can be used to store a large amount of multimedia data and support the user’s gaming experience.
Barracuda hard drives are available in two sizes:
- 2.5 inch for laptop, portable storage, AIO PC, external memory, etc.
- 3.5 inch – for PC, AIO PC, home server, direct mount memory, etc.
Barracuda drives are designed in capacities from 500GB to 5TB for 2.5-inch hard drives (500GB to 1TB) and 500GB to 8TB (2TB to 14TB) for 3.5-inch hard drives.
Barracuda series hard drives are designed with SATA 3 connection standard. The rotation speed is 5400RPM for 2.5-inch hard drives (7200RPM for Barracuda Pro series) and from 5400RPM to 7200RPM for 3.5-inch hard drives. With 128MB cache for 2.5-inch models and from 64MB to 256MB for 3.5-inch models (from 128MB to 256MB for Barracuda Pro series) support for fast, stable, limited data storage data loss due to unexpected incidents.
Furthermore, the hard drive is equipped with MTC (Multi-Tier Caching) technology that uses combined multimedia components to provide different levels of performance and capacity. By adjusting with careful firmware with appropriate cache types and sizes, users can experience better overall system performance. In addition, the Barracuda series of hard drives also meets RoHS standards for environmental protection, so users can rest assured when using them without having to worry about hazardous materials.
Seagate Barracuda vs Ironwolf Internal Hard Drive – Technical Data Comparison Differences
| Feature | IronWolf (12-18 TB) | IronWolf (4-10 TB) | Barracuda (2-12 TB) | Barracuda (500GB – 1TB) |
| 24/7 operation | ✓ | |||
| RAID support | All configurations | |||
| Recording technology | CMR | SMR | CMR | |
| Enclosure | 1-8 bays | Not supported | Not supported | |
| Drive design | Helium | Air | ||
| Performance | ||||
| Spindle speed | 7200 rpm | 5400/5900/7200 rpm | 5400 rpm / 7200 rpm | 7200 rpm |
| Cache | 256 MB | 64 / 256 MB | 256 MB | 32 / 64 MB |
| Max sustained data transfer rate | 210 – 240 MB/s | 180 – 210 MB/s | 185 – 220 MB/s | 210 MB/s |
| Reliability | ||||
| Power-on hours per year (24×7) | 8760 | 2400 | ||
| Workload | 180 TB/year | 55 TB/year | ||
| MTBF | 1 million hours | Not available | ||
| Load/unload cycles | 600,000 | 600,000 | 50,000 | |
| Non-recoverable Read Errors per Bits | <1 in 10^15 | <1 in 10^14 / <1 in 10^15 | <1 in 10^14 | |
| Vibration sensor (RV) | ✓ | ✕ | ||
| Data Recovery | 3 years (Seagate Rescue Data Recovery) | ✕ | ||
| Power Management & Noise | ||||
| Average power consumption | 7.3 – 7.8 W | 4.8 – 10.1 W | 3.7 – 5.1 W | 5.3 W |
| Idle power consumption | 5.0 – 5.5 W | 3.4 – 7.8 W | 2.5 – 3.9 W | 4.6 W |
| Standby power consumption | 1.0 – 1.2 W | 0.25 – 1 W | 0.25 – 0.30 W | 0.94 W |
| Noise levels | 28-30 dB | 23 – 32 dB | Not available | |
| Warranty | 1M hours MTBF- 3-year limited warranty | 2 years limited warranty | 2 years limited warranty | |
The Ironwolf vs Barracuda SSD Comparison
Performance
We should keep in mind that these drives are very different, created for different purposes, and have different prices for the same capacity. Comparing real-life benchmarks of the Ironwolf 4TB vs. Barracuda 4TB, the Ironwolf is much faster with an effective speed advantage of 30%.
Reliability
Compared to Barracuda’s workload of 55 TB/year, Ironwolf’s workload of 180 TB/year is much higher. Therefore, you can utilize it rather than a NAS disk if your data requirements are within Barracuda’s range. However, you should be aware that the Barracuda lacks rotational vibration sensors. The exchangeable Nonrecoverable Read Errors Rate of both drives also deserves consideration.
Noise Levels
Seagate doesn’t say how loud the Barracuda’s get but as they are desktop hard drives you would expect them to be louder than the Ironwolf drives.
Price
Deciding you want to upgrade your hard drive is one thing, but actually forking out for new parts for your PC is another. These costs can soon start to add up, which is definitely something to consider if you’re looking to add more than one new component, for example, if you’re building your own PC. A hard drive might not be the most expensive addition to your setup, but you’ll still want to get the most for your money whichever one you choose.
Both of them are readily available for purchase on Amazon, but keep in mind that these prices are for the 4TB versions. If you’re looking for higher storage capacity, you’ll end up paying more for the privilege.
Which one Should You buy?
The best hard drives to use in a NAS are the NAS-specific models like Ironwolf. They’re built to handle more workloads and have features that prolong the drive’s life. Plus, they come with a higher quality warranty in case something goes wrong.
For a desktop hard drive, the Seagate Barracuda will probably suffice. Just keep in mind that these drives use SMR technology from 2TB capacity and above. SMR can make these drives poor choices for applications that involve a lot of writing.
FAQs
Are IronWolf drives worth it?
The largest IronWolf M. 2 SSD NAS drive that Seagate does is the 1.92TB IronWolf 510 drive. Even with this one disk in your SSD cache, your workflow could improve in efficiency instantly. And for $482 it is well worth the investment, even if every other drive in your NAS is an HDD.
Which Seagate hard disk is best? – Seagate Expansion 5 TB External HDD
The Seagate Expansion 5 TB External HDD is an Amazon Bestseller for its high digital storage capacity, compact design, ultra-fast data transfer rates, high warranty, and plug-and-play simplicity.
Is Seagate good quality?
Seagate’s smaller drives are reliable and speedy and offer great value for money. This smaller drive is one of the most popular and best values out there. Offering 1 TB of storage devices it can be used with a PC or Mac. The Backup Slim Plus is fairly reliable.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this post has demonstrated the distinctions between the Barracuda SSD and Ironwolf SSD in some cases. We think that you can easily know which SSD hard drives are better for you.
