Seagate heeft onder de naam Barracuda ATA III de (volgens eigen zeggen) eerste vierde generatie 7200rpm IDE harddisk aangekondigd. De Barracuda ATA III heeft een platter grootte van 20GB en een 2MB grote buffer, vergelijkbaar met de laatste generatie IDE schijven van Maxtor, Western Digital, Quantum en IBM. Om de performance verder te verbeteren heeft Seagate een snellere 80MHz processor op de harddisk geprikt. Seagate hoopt middels het gebruik van vloeistof lagers de herrieproduktie terug te dringen en de levensduur van de schijven te verhogen. Verder is Seagate erg trotst op hun '3D Defense System', waarmee een uitgeschakelde Barracuda schokken van 350G kan doorstaan:
Seagate Technology (NYSE:SEG) today announced its new Barracuda ATA III, the industry's only fourth-generation 7,200-rpm ATA disc drive for proven reliability and superior ease of integration. As the world's fastest desktop drive, Barracuda ATA III is ideally suited for mainstream and high-performance commercial desktop PCs and economical ATA RAID systems. It offers industry-leading performance for business users and maximum power for consumer enthusiasts. With Seagate’s 3D Defense System, Barracuda ATA III is still the toughest and most reliable 7,200-rpm drive and can withstand 350 Gs non-operating shock – higher than any other 7,200-rpm drive.
Barracuda ATA III ships with the industry's only tested, mature, third-generation Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) motor as an option, for improved acoustics, reduced vibration, longer life and increased shock resistance. Seagate is the only company shipping FDB motors in volume, having shipped almost 3 million since Seagate developed and delivered the world's first fluid dynamic bearing motor for hard drives in 1996. With the Barracuda ATA III, Seagate maintains its advantage over other disc drive makers as the premium provider of advanced technology for the PC.
For performance-oriented users, Barracuda ATA III offers the fastest internal transfer rate available on any ATA disc drive, at 500 Mb/sec. This is a 37 percent increase over earlier drives. Barracuda ATA III also features a new 80-MHz processor for a 25 percent increase in processing speed. With its Ultra ATA/100 Interface, 8.9-msec seek, and 2-Mbyte buffer, it's the drive of choice for ATA RAID subsystems. The drive is available in capacities up to 40 Gbytes.
Seagate's Barracuda ATA family has earned more praise in the worldwide press than any other 7,200-rpm drive. Computer Shopper magazine said "the Seagate Barracuda ATA II offers an excellent value [and] delivers lightning-quick performance." Maximum PC agreed, “Seagate's Barracuda ATA II shows the company's determination to be a top performer in the ATA world.” And PC Shopping magazine concluded “Seagate's Barracuda ATA reigns supreme in the IDE category, and is the Editor's Recommendation.”