Seagate Introduces 3TB Barracuda XT HDD

Seagate has launched the 3TB Barracuda XT hard drive for Rs 14,900 excluding taxes. While this may not be the first 3TB hard drive, it simplifies compatibility issues with legacy BIOS and operating systems that do not natively support drives over 2.1TB. Older OS like 32-bit Windows XP require additional drivers and software patches to support 3TB hard drives. The Barracuda XT ships with Seagate's DiscWizard software that makes it easy to configure the OS to enable full 3TB capacity support.

The Barracuda XT hard drive is equipped with 64MB cache, which comes handy in optimising cache intensive applications like gaming and video editing. The drive fully supports the Serial ATA 3.0 standard which provides a theoretical throughput of 6Gb/s. The 3.5-inch form factor drive spins its platters at 7200RPM giving a fair balance between speed and energy efficiency. With a cavernous capacity of 3TB, the drive should hold up well to the burgeoning collection of audio, video, photo and game data. However, the hefty price of Rs. 14,900 that makes the cost-per-MB sound quite ridiculous.