CONCLUSION

   When we finished testing the 1200 SSD 400GB model that came wearing the very first firmware version 0001 i can't say we were really impressed and when you're testing an product aimed towards intensive enterprise workloads that costs quite a bit the least you expect is for it to perform a lot better compared to consumer oriented solutions. Because of that (and because i didn't want to bet everything on a firmware update glitch) shortly after wrapping up our tests we requested a new sample from Seagate wearing firmware version 0005 which we did get and started from scratch to see if our results were due to the original firmware version. Luckily we did get improved numbers in our results and although i have to admit that i did expect better ones from a brand new 12Gb/s SAS SSD model i can't at the same time ignore that this is the first attempt from Seagate using the latest standard. So although overall performance may not seem worlds apart compared to some 6Gb/s SATA III SSD models in our charts the fact that the 1200 SSD 400GB surpasses every other SATA/SAS SSD in IOPS and offers endurance numbers like the 7300 TBW (Total Terabytes Written) and the 2 million hours MTBF (Meantime Between Failures) mean that it's far more suitable for enterprise use.

   Performance and endurance are not the only two things one can expect from enterprise grade storage media, price is also one of them and in that couldn't be more true in the case of the 1200 SSD 400GB (ST400FM0053) SAS 12Gb/s model since it currently retails for USD1518.75 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 1298.60Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). That's not all however so unless you have a 12Gb/s card already along with a compatible 12Gb/s host adapter like the 9300-8i the 1200 SSD 400GB will set you back roughly a total of USD1800/1500Euros and for a single drive that's no small amount (although that means you'd be able to plug up to 8 such drives on that card). Superior performance and endurance for a hefty price tag is not something new and although for enterprise users money is not an issue still casual users, enthusiasts and even professionals will obviously be better off with a standard SATA III SSD like the 600 Pro by Seagate or the 850 PRO by Samsung. Still we can't deny that the 1200 SSD series of 12Gb/s drives by Seagate is the beginning of something great and since the 400GB variant surpassed the competition with ease and offers impressive endurance levels we're awarding it with our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Superior Build Quality/Endurance (2m MTBF/10DWPD/7300TBW)
- Superior Read & Write Performance
- One Of The First 12Gb/s SSDs
- Power Loss Protection
- Firmware Optimized For Extremely Heavy Enterprise Workloads
- 5 Year Warranty
- Available In 800GB
- Also Available In SED/FIPS 140-2/High Endurance Models (25DWPD)

CONS

- Price (For Some)