INTRODUCTION

   It may have taken more than what we were all hoping for but finally 4k Ultra High Definition material (primarily movies) has begun to arrive in large numbers so the data storage capacity needs of many people we know are most certainly about to skyrocket. Of course as many of you are aware although we may not be getting "true" uncompressed 4k (2160p) material still compared to Full HD (1080p) the difference in data size is quite significant. Luckily with the arrival of 12TB and even 14TB hard disk drives in 2017 it has become much easier for professionals and enthusiasts alike to store their valuable data and so after already taking a look at the Seagate IronWolf and IronWolf Pro 12TB variants today on our test bench we have the Barracuda Pro 12TB model.

   Founded in 1979, Seagate is the leading provider of hard drives and storage solutions. From the videos, music and documents we share with friends and family on social networks, to servers that form the backbone of enterprise data centers and cloud-based computing, to desktop and notebook computers that fuel our personal productivity, Seagate products help more people store, share and protect their valuable digital content. Seagate offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of hard disk drives, solid-state drives and solid-state hybrid drives. In addition, the company offers an extensive line of retail storage products for consumers and small businesses, along with data-recovery services for any brand of hard drive and digital media type. Seagate employs more than 50,000 people around the world.

   The Barracuda Pro line of 3.5" hard disk drives by Seagate currently includes models in 2/4/6/8/10/12TB capacities which according to Seagate are optimized for use in desktops, home servers and/or creative professional systems (this probably means PC and MAC). The Barracuda Pro 12TB model is a helium filled drive based on perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) featuring a total of 8 platters (1.5TB in capacity each) that spin at 7200RPM and 256MB DRAM cache (2/4TB models have 128MB). Aside using PMR Seagate has also used their multi-tier caching technology (MTC) to boost random write performance and their PowerChoice technology to enable power savings. The Barracuda Pro 12TB also features a maximum sustained data transfer speed of 250Mb/s, is rated for a workload rate of up to 300TB per year (or 820GB per day at 24x7 usage), has an MTBF (mean time between failures) of 1 million hours and is covered by a 5 year limited warranty.