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Seagate ST3320620AS 320GB Hard Disk

Sudeep Naik, Sep 27, 2007 2101 hrs IST

A Perpendicular Magnetic Recording hard disk for the capacity hungry masses

Expert Rating:

Good performance, Silent operation, Decent price.

No NCQ.

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EXPERT REVIEW

By now, we've all adjusted well to the fact that Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) are getting faster and bigger with every passing day. Fortunately, now, this shift in HDD technology isn't isolated to only for those with deep pockets; PMR has already percolated down to the not-so-high capacity drives as well. The best news is that PMR has come to even 320GB HDDs from all manufacturers. Why is this the best news you ask? Because the 320GB drive has been one of the best value-per-GB options out there for a while. And today, I've got a PMR-based 320GB HDD from Seagate to review. Let's see what zing PMR brings to this HDD.

The Drive

A formatted Seagate ST3320620AS can store up to 298GB of data. The drive sports a 16 MB buffer. It has a SATA interface with theoretical transfer speeds of up to 3 GBps. It spins at 7200 RPM and has an average latency of 4.16 milliseconds. Random seek times are rated at < 8.5 ms (Read) and <10.0 ms (Write), respectively. All these figures are suggestive of the fact that the HDD performs commendably well.

Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of the HDD is 700,000 hours. (MTBF is a figure that hints at the reliability of an HDD. So, higher the figure, the more reliable the HDD.)

Specifications

USER COMMENTS

Dear I want purchase ~200 GB Hard disc let me price of different size and its price. Please let me know your shop address. Regards, Jeevan.

by Jeevan kumar. Y, kolkata, on Aug 25, 2009 11:29 AM, Report abuse Reply

by satish, pune, on Apr 14, 2008 01:38 PM, Report abuse Reply

better performance,high speed

by aneesh, thriruvanandapram, on Mar 12, 2008 12:04 PM, Report abuse Reply

Wt is the current price of it ? Surprisingly this review written in Sept 07 and price was mentioned Rs 3400/-. But after 3 months I'm getting the price as rs 3950/- in Pune !!! In pune all the comp h/w shops thay are looting the customers and if you ask then why ur quoting such big amnt then even Mumbai they will say DO NOT COMPARE WITH OTHER CITIES !

by Anonymous, Pune, on Nov 29, 2007 02:47 PM, Report abuse Reply

Hi, I am using this 320 GB, and there is a bit noise, I am afraid to loose my data instead of preserve it on this new disk... really disgusting !

by Samser, Kolkata, on Nov 19, 2007 08:40 PM, Report abuse Reply

I want to purchase 160GB & 320GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive of Seagate, tell me the dealers name & also the indicate price in Hyderabad(India) This is very URGENT. PLEASE inform me ASAP. Thanks & Regarding RAJ.

by Raj, Hyderabad, on Nov 02, 2007 10:43 AM, Report abuse Reply

its not for 3400 as mentioned..its misleading...got it from authorized dealer for 3650/-

by varun, delhi, on Oct 08, 2007 09:52 PM, Report abuse Reply

Give me dealer name i want to purcahse this disk

by Vijay Shinde, Vashi Navi Mumbai, on Oct 06, 2007 05:54 AM, Report abuse Reply

looks good sound good and will run as smooth as a babys backside...i like it but how much is it?

by lyndon, barnsley, on Oct 03, 2007 02:01 PM, Report abuse Reply

The 500GB models are what are popular nowadays. 320GB doesn't make sense with all the downloading you can do via broadband.

by dookie, Bangalore, on Sep 28, 2007 09:55 AM, Report abuse Reply

havent you heard of raid?

by pdogg, mumbai, on Sep 28, 2007 08:08 PM, Report abuse

What?? What RAID are you referring to? RAID 0 doubles your risk of data loss(though it is quite overhyped). Raid 1 uses an extra HDD for backup purposes only. Other RAID options require more HDDs. On any day, getting a single HDD is better than two from power consumption point of view and heat generated inside cabby.

by dookie, Bangalore, on Oct 01, 2007 10:53 AM, Report abuse

^^ Actually thats a bit off from reality. Even if you don't want to buy into the RAID 0 hypes due to the risk of data loss its always better to have multiple HDDs. Apart from reducing the chances of data loss, if executed properly you can make sure that both the HDDs are accessed at any given time giving you better speeds. For ex keeping your OS on one and games on other would cause both the drives to be accessed ;)

by anonymous, Delhi, on Oct 02, 2007 06:45 AM, Report abuse

Well my reply was specifically for RAID being a better capacity solution and not for standalone HDDs. What you have suggested is a good way to plan HDD usage without the complexity of RAID but there will be no backup of the OS or games. If one is not concerned about HDD power consumption(which is quite minimal) and heat generated inside cabby, a solution I have to offer is this - Get two single platter 250GB Seagate HDDs and set them up in RAID 0. You get 500GB plus a fast boot system. Then back this combination up with a 500GB HDD in RAID 1. You are saved the hassle of syncing up your primary 500GB combined disk space on a daily/weekly basis and avoid accidental HDD damage (maybe you might drop the ext HDD) and messy usage of an external powered case + adaptor.

by dookie, Bangalore, on Oct 02, 2007 01:20 PM, Report abuse

The performance is not greater because of PMC, PMC merely increases capacity as compared to longitudinal recording. Try out a 7200.9 160 GB(non-PMC), it will perform almost the same. This is because it has a single platter, ie higher areal density. The 320 gig, based on two 160 GB platters will of course perform similar. The real performer is the new 7200.10 single platter 250 GB drive. It has a sustained transfer rate of 85 MB/s and costs only Rs 2800

by hunt3r, bangalore, on Sep 29, 2007 01:56 AM, Report abuse Reply

^^I meant PMR, typo.. Anyway for those who doubt me i own both a 250 gig single platter and 320 gig two platter drives

by hunt3r, bangalore, on Sep 29, 2007 01:57 AM, Report abuse

PMR seek times are costlier. But, @85Mbps and 250GB on a single platter, the drive could challenge the Raptor.

by marantz, Bangalore, on Oct 01, 2007 10:55 AM, Report abuse

Im presently Using SEAGATE drive... Its fantastic Guyssssss....

by satya, KAKINADA, on Sep 30, 2007 05:45 PM, Report abuse Reply

ppl, Im currently using the reviewed drive. It heats very quickly, does make quite a bit of noise! and i already have it replaced once from seagate! I guess 5 yr warranty will come in handy...U will hav to return it and get it replaced atleast twice in that period!

by chakrapani, Hyderabad, on Sep 30, 2007 12:56 PM, Report abuse Reply

good,but what is the price of this product? how do we come to know about price? TT please place the price tag above the all products .

by Vijendra, Mumbai, on Sep 29, 2007 11:13 PM, Report abuse Reply

and yea i bought it for 2800 4m lamington. I hope it lasts me atleast a couple of years!

by Anand, Mumbai, on Sep 29, 2007 06:34 PM, Report abuse Reply

by Anand, Mumbai, on Sep 29, 2007 06:32 PM, Report abuse Reply

Please s3end me the details of the Product availabality in Hyderabad

by Anonymous, Hyderabad, on Sep 29, 2007 06:00 PM, Report abuse Reply

Please Send me what is the price of Segate 320GB hard Disk, Model-ST3320620AS

by Tushar Ranjan J, Kolkata, on Sep 29, 2007 05:55 PM, Report abuse Reply

Regarding rate of ST3320620AS hdd

by Ravi, Belgaum, on Sep 29, 2007 03:24 PM, Report abuse Reply

Its good and i think more trustable

by anupgv, pathanamthitta, on Sep 29, 2007 12:27 PM, Report abuse Reply

So u r saying you reviewed a Seagate Factory repaired HDD for a Tech review??? I've had enough with Seagate Any capacity above 160GB be it SATA/PATA is really realy bad

by Swap, Chennai, on Sep 29, 2007 07:47 AM, Report abuse Reply

price not disclosed as stated in the page.

by VIJAYARAGHAVAN., CHENNAI, on Sep 29, 2007 05:45 AM, Report abuse Reply

Why the hell are we reading this "sponsored" crap of a "certified Repaired" HDD.... I am having serious doubts about the ability of the author in question here..

by Manish, Kolkata, on Sep 28, 2007 08:16 PM, Report abuse Reply

Hey Sudeep, are you sure there's no NCQ in this model? I think that all Seagate 7200.10 HDD have NCQ. It's there in Seagates technical papers (http://www.seagate.com/docs/pdf/marketing/po_barracuda_7200_10.pdf). Please confirm and edit if required...

by Grawp, The Dark Forest, on Sep 28, 2007 04:54 PM, Report abuse Reply

the future is SSD(Solid State Disk), wish SSD availability soon, they are faster, reliable and live much longer compared to HDD. well at present we have to live with HDD. Seagate 7200.10 series of HDDs are faster in HDD segment, but they come at second place, first place belongs to Western Digital 'Caviar SE' series of HDDs.

by NaveenChaudhary, Meerut, on Sep 28, 2007 04:26 PM, Report abuse Reply

Amazing capacity one can forget about the capacity in home PC....

by Rajneesh, Ahmedabad, on Sep 28, 2007 02:52 PM, Report abuse Reply

TT y the hell dont u place the price right under the ratings? Everyone gets confused where the price is. I mean how many times have u been asked the same q?

by Concerned, Concerned, on Sep 28, 2007 12:36 PM, Report abuse Reply

Agreed.TT should put a link below the ratings,...and also why cant you guys at TT put a link to the page numbers and a NEXT link to the next page???

by Nishant, hyderabad, on Sep 28, 2007 01:33 PM, Report abuse

Can there be one article where someone does not ask for price? Why not read the whole article. Price is ALWAYS mentioned in the last page.

by badvt@rediffmai, Chennai, on Sep 28, 2007 11:37 AM, Report abuse Reply

price if you include then it is useful more

by B R daniel, Pollachi, on Sep 28, 2007 07:59 AM, Report abuse Reply

last page if you reach, price u will know

by Dart, Blue, on Sep 28, 2007 11:12 AM, Report abuse

good

by jp ray, bhubaneswar, on Sep 27, 2007 10:08 PM, Report abuse Reply

LOL Hitachi Deskstar picture, copied review? Admins give oppurtunity to UR senior forum members, instead of these hired copy cats, They will give U better results. U should give them chance of writing articles, and stop spam in Ask TT if U can. Where is Ameya? Thank U for excellent review, 320GB is now mainstream HDD, review 500GB models.

by Nevarre, Gurgaon, on Sep 27, 2007 09:22 PM, Report abuse Reply