Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD review: Stylish, but slow for the price
Reviews
If your performance needs are basic, this USB drive will fill the bill nicely.
By Jon Jacobi
Freelance contributor, PCWorld
Seagate
At a Glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Attractive design
- Excellent SuperSpeed USB 5Gbps performance
- Sync software
Cons
- Slower than similarly priced NVMe-based USB SSDs
Our Verdict
For a SATA-based SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps SSD, the BarraCuda Fast is a very good performer. It’s also good-looking. But you could get a much faster NVMe-based drive for about the same price.
Seagate’s BarraCuda Fast SSD lives up to its name, but only if you’re talking about external USB storage with SATA drives inside from a couple of years ago. Most vendors have moved on to NVMe internals, to take advantage of the doubled bandwidth SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps offers.
That wouldn’t be a big deal if the BarraCuda Fast SSD were cheaper, but it’s priced nearly the same as NVMe drives such as the Samsung T7.
This review is part of our ongoing roundup of the best SSDs. Go there for information on competing products and how we tested them.
Most external drives opt for a rectangular shape, but the Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD marches to a different drummer. A squarish drummer, as the drive is about a half-inch longer in one direction. In fact, I hate to say it, but it made a very nice coaster for my desk.
Same price, much faster
Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch (500GB)
The BarraCuda Fast SSD is available in three capacities: 500GB ($110 on AmazonRemove non-product link), the 1GB size we tested ($180 on Amazon), and 2TB ($350 on AmazonRemove non-product link), respectively. It’s billed as a USB-C drive, which tells you nothing other than it sports Type-C connector.
As mentioned, the USB is SuperSpeed 10Gbps. As mentioned, the drive technology is SATA, not NVMe, as with some of the only slightly pricier competition.
The drive carries a three-year warranty. Seagate doesn’t provide a TBW (TeraBytes that can be Written) rating, however, for the normal user, that shouldn’t be a concern. SSDs are outlasting estimates in droves.
One design detail surprised me: The Type-C port is located on the same end of the drive as the thin, green LED band. If your cable orients the drive in the wrong direction, you can’t see the friendly Kermit-like lighting. Habits vary, but I would’ve put the port on the other end, or the side.
The drive ships with the Seagate Toolkit software, which is handy for syncing data to the drive. Alas, it won’t allow you to change the color of the LED as you can with the Seagate Gaming SSD.
Performance
The BarraCuda Fast SSD lives up to the second part of its name—within the limits (around 550Mbps) of its SATA internals.
It’s speedy, though not quite as speedy as Samsung’s three year-old T5. The results were so close, however, that performance really shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
IDG
CrystalDiskMark 6 pegs the BarraCuda as a faster writer, but slower reader, than the Samsung T5. Longer bars are better.
As you can see above, CrystalDiskMark gave the BarraCuda Fast a nice edge in write performance, and a statistically irrelevant deficit in reading.
IDG
The BarraCuda Fast largely held its own agains the Samsung T5. Shorter bars are better.
The BarraCuda Fast also played second fiddle to the T5 in the 48GB tests (above), but cut over a minute off of the T5’s 450GB copy time as shown below.
IDG
Where the BarraCuda Fast excelled was in endurance. Writing 450GB it was more than a minute faster than the Samsung T5. Shorter bars are better.
The BarraCuda Fast is a very good performer for a SATA-based drive, but so is the T5.
However, there’s that pricing issue again—much faster NVMe-based USB SSDs, such as the SanDisk Extreme Portable Pro SSD and Samsung T7, cost only a little more. The graphic below shows just how much faster in everyday use the competition is. Twice the performance for another $10? Yup.
IDG
The BarraCuda Fast holds its own against SATA-based drives, but can’t hold a candle to NMVe-based SSDs such as the Extreme Portable Pro SSD and Samsung T7 (though the latter slows down quite a bit on long copies). Longer bars are better.
Note that the Samsung T7 will slow down quite a bit when its cache runs out, but for most purposes, it’s significantly faster. The SanDisk Extreme Portable Pro SSD is easily the fastest of three.
Testing is performed on Windows 10 64-bit running on a Core i7-5820K/Asus X99 Deluxe system with four 16GB Kingston 2666MHz DDR4 modules, a Zotac (Nvidia) GT 710 1GB x2 PCIe graphics card, and an Asmedia ASM2142 USB 3.
1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) card. Also on board are a Gigabyte GC-Alpine Thunderbolt 3 card and Softperfect’s Ramdisk 3.4.6, which is used for the 48GB read and write tests.
A nice drive, but…
I like the Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD. There’s just something about the styling, and yes, the LED highlighting, that’s quite appealing. It’s also a good performer for the the technology involved. At a lower price point, I’d be all over it.
However, you can get twice the performance for only a little more. That, my friends, makes it a bit tough to recommend the BarraCuda Fast SSD. Unless of course, you’re dead-set on the idea that it’s hip to be square.
Author: Jon L. Jacobi, Freelance contributor
Jon Jacobi is a musician, former x86/6800 programmer, and long-time computer enthusiast. He writes reviews on TVs, SSDs, dash cams, remote access software, Bluetooth speakers, and sundry other consumer-tech hardware and software.
Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD review
With more and more laptops and PC motherboards supporting the latest USB 3.
2 Gen 2 standard these days, external SSDs such as the Samsung T7 and Crucial X8 are finally starting to come into their own. Touting maximum sequential speeds of well over 1000MB/s, they’re arguably some of the best external SSDs you can buy today, but that doesn’t mean that regular USB 3.0 drives like the Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD on test today should be overlooked. Indeed, while its rated read speeds of up 540MB/s may look positively pedestrian next to Samsung and Crucial’s external SSDs, Seagate’s Barracuda drive is true to its name, delivering fast transfer speeds and very comparable random read and write performance for everyday use, all at a very reasonable price.
Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD specs:
- Sizes: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
- Form Factor: External
- Interface: USB-C
- Warranty: Three years
- Price: Starting from £73 / $109
The Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD comes in three sizes right now: 500GB, 1TB and 2TB.
I was sent the middle 1TB drive to test, which currently goes for £121 / $138. That’s still quite a lot compared to an internal 1TB SSD, but unfortunately that’s the price you pay for being able to take your files and games on the road with you.
Indeed, the entry-level 500GB Barracuda Fast SSD is a much more wallet-friendly £73 in the UK, putting it pretty much on par with Samsung’s excellent and slightly older T5 SSD. The latter has been increasingly difficult to get hold of in recent months due to it going end of life, and its newer T7 successor is still quite a bit more expensive — £85 at time of writing — making the Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD a ripe replacement for those after a more cost-effective external SSD that doesn’t break the bank. The 500GB Crucial X8, meanwhile, is even more expensive at £90.
Over in the US, it’s a bit more complicated. The Samsung T7 is actually a very tempting $79 for its entry-level 500GB model right now, making it quite a bit cheaper than its $109 Barracuda and Crucial X8 rivals.
In this instance, it simply doesn’t make much sense to opt for Seagate’s Fast SSD here, especially when you get full USB 3.2 Gen 2 support on the Samsung T7 and Crucial X8, rather than just USB 3.0 on the Barracuda.
For those in the UK, however, the Barracuda Fast SSD is much more compelling. While its svelte, almost floppy disk-like form factor isn’t quite as lovely as the all-metal business card-sized Samsung T5 and T7, it still feels like a sturdy bit of kit that you’d feel safe chucking in a bag, and you still get dedicated USB-C to Type A and USB-C to C cables in the box.
A note on our benchmarking results:
When I wrote my original Samsung T7 Touch and Crucial X8 reviews last year, my results were limited by my then-motherboard’s USB 3.1 ports. I’ve since upgraded the motherboard inside my test PC, which finally has proper USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. However, while I’ve been able to retest the Crucial X8 with this new motherboard, I haven’t been able to do so with the Samsung T7 Touch.It would be unfair to use its old USB 3.1 speeds to compare its relative performance here, which is why I only mention the Crucial X8 in this review, rather than the Samsung.
I tested the Barracuda Fast SSD in a variety of USB ports, including the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A and Type C ports in my PC’s Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Master motherboard. Despite not being able to make full use of the faster speeds on offer with USB 3.2 Gen 2, I still recorded some pretty impressive random read and write speeds in AS SSD’s 1GB 4K random speed test when the drive was connected over USB-C, which came in at 28MB/s read and 40MB/s write. The latter is particularly impressive, as even the Crucial X8 only managed a result of 42MB/s in the same test. The X8 is still way out in front on read speed, admittedly, finishing the test with 36MB/s, but that’s still pretty good going considering the difference in price.
The Barracuda Fast SSD’s transfer speeds were pretty good, too. To test this, I used AS SSD’s copy benchmark, which transfers three different file types from my OS drive to the SSD — an ISO folder consisting of two large files, a Program folder with lots of little files, and a Game folder that’s made up of files both big and small.
The Barracuda Fast SSD finished the ISO test with a speed of 400MB/s, the Program test with 149MB/s and the Game test with 300MB/s.
Its ISO speed is a fraction slower than the Crucial X8’s result of 439MB/s, but the Barracuda Fast SSD is clearly the better drive for those who regularly deal with lots of small files on a daily basis, as the X8’s Program and Game results were miles behind, finishing with just 116MB/s in the Program test and 278MB/s in the Game test.
That’s quite the coup for the Barracuda Fast SSD, especially when it’s so much cheaper than its Crucial X8 rival. Indeed, you may even see faster game transfer speeds than its 300MB/s AS SSD result in daily use, too, as when I moved my 98GB Assassin’s Creed Odyssey folder from my PC’s WD Black 3D NVMe SSD to the Barracuda, I saw an average speed of around 350MB/s. The whole process took bang on five minutes to complete, too, which is pretty much identical to the 4 minutes and 48 seconds it took to copy it over to the Crucial X8.
Overall, then, despite not supporting the same latest and greatest USB standards, the Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD is still a stonkingly good external SSD drive that’s more than capable of holding its own with its more expensive counterparts, and for a much lower price to boot. As mentioned above, the Samsung T7 is still by far the better value drive over in the US, but for everyone else, the Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD is well worth considering if you’re in need of a nippy external SSD to take your files on the go.
Test & Review: Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD — Fast External Drive for Expanding Storage Space
Page 1: Test & Review: Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD — Fast External Drive for Expanding Storage Space
computer and outside. The volume of data being transferred is growing, and if a simple USB flash drive is no longer enough, external SSDs come to the rescue. Our test lab has received the BarraCuda Fast SSD, the fast external drive that Seagate is targeting gamers.
The advantages include a fairly low price. Let’s see what level of performance we get in practice.
At the beginning of the year at CES 2020, Seagate expanded its line of external drives with two models: FireCuda Gaming SSD and BarraCuda Fast SSD. Both SSDs are aimed at gamers, at least the case of both lines is decorated with beautiful backlighting. The difference lies in technology. While the FireCuda Gaming SSD promises maximum throughput with an internal NVMe SSD and USB 3.2 Gen2x2 connectivity, the tested BarraCuda Fast SSD line is aimed at buyers on a budget. Therefore, a SATA SSD is used internally, the throughput of which is already lower. And the connection is USB 3.2 Gen2.
If you are confused about the USB nomenclature, we recommend that you read our article on this topic. Seagate advertises the drive with a USB 3.1 connection, but the new nomenclature is USB 3.2 Gen2. The maximum connection speed is 10 Gb / s, both Type C and Type A ports are supported.
Both standards cables are included in the package.
Also included is the Seagate Toolkit backup and sync utility plus a two-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud Photo.
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We recommend that you read our SSD selection guide. When choosing an SSD for a computer, you will have to deal with many technical subtleties: the specifications indicate the controller, interface, type of flash memory, reliability characteristics, and much more. Therefore, inexperienced users can easily get confused in such information. In our guide, we will look at the most important characteristics and differences, talk about current technologies, interfaces and form factors. We also provide expert advice.
Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD in detail
Armed with a simple «RGB = Gamer» formula, many manufacturers have introduced a whole range of «gaming hardware», the distinguishing feature of which is backlighting.
The BarraCuda Fast SSD is no different in this regard, the drive has a beautiful LED strip, but only the FireCuda Gaming SSD variant has the ability to control RGB effects. However, the green BarraCuda backlight on the black matte case of the external SSD still looks pretty nice.
In general. The BarraCuda Fast SSD leaves a high quality impression. However, the drive is quite weighty — 140 g, which is three times more than the same PNY Pro Elite in an aluminum case.
When using an external SSD, there are a number of features to consider, which we will discuss below. The Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD provides fast transfer speeds, but if the USB cable is not properly chosen, the performance of the SSD may be reduced to USB 2.0 levels. In our case with a regular old cable, we initially got 45 MB / s, but only changing the cable allowed us to get a performance boost.
But when using an external SSD, Windows settings can also become a «pitfall». If you plan not only to read large amounts of information, but also to write, then in the properties of the drive on the «Policy» tab, you must activate the checkbox «Disable clearing the Windows write cache buffer for this device».
The performance gain after this action was not as significant as with the PNY Pro Elite drive, which uses an NVMe SSD, but still not superfluous. This checkbox only affects write performance, not read performance. Remember to safely remove before disconnecting the drive.
<>Test and Review: Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD — Fast External Drive for Expanding Disk Space
Test Configuration and Test Method
Review Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD 1 Tb (STJM1000400). Stylish external storage with speeds up to 540 MB/s
An increasing number of people, when choosing an external drive, opt for solid-state drives, and this is completely justified, because they are an order of magnitude faster and more reliable. Today we tested an external drive Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD 1 Tb, which has a read speed of up to 540 MB / s, an impressive design and high stability. Did it go without nuances? Let’s find out in this review.
Equipment
Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD 1 Tb comes in a small branded box. Inside it are the drive itself, a USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable, a USB Type-B to USB Type-C cable, a code for a two-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, and a small amount of documentation.
Appearance
The BarraCuda Fast SSD is the top model in Seagate’s external storage series. It includes three versions with memory capacities of 512 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. This drive is positioned as a product for working with documents and storing inp. Fortunately, its design is made in a laconic style without any hint of involvement in the gaming segment.
The body of the drive is made of matte plastic, which does not collect fingerprints at all.
The front panel, in turn, is made of aluminum that is pleasant to the touch.
In terms of size, the Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD is extremely compact and comparable to a small wallet.
A spectacular LED backlight is hidden in a small gap on the top of the case, which lights up every time it is connected to a computer.
The connector is USB Type-C. This is the most convenient solution that allows owners of Macbooks and other laptops with a USB 3.1 Gen. 2 connect to the drive using one universal cable.
There are no silicone feet on the bottom to increase stability. There is only a small table with all the certifications and markings of the device.
First run
From the factory, the drive runs on the exFAT file system, which means it is compatible with MacOS and Windows operating systems. Inside the BarraCuda Fast SSD are utilities for quickly registering the drive and obtaining an electronic warranty for the product.
After successful registration, the site will offer to download the proprietary Toolkit utility for monitoring the status of the drive and activate a trial subscription for two months in Adobe Creative Cloud
Tests
Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD 1 Tb is based on a SATA drive with an external USB 3.1 Gen. interface. 2, which made it possible to approach data transfer rates up to 540 MB / s. The actual storage capacity is 931 GB. In terms of benchmarks, we ran the Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD through most of the most popular synthetic benchmarks. In all of them, he gave similar results in sequential read / write speed and heating temperature.
SSD-Z
CrystalDiskInfo
CrystalDiskMark
AS SSD
AJA System Test
Anvil’s Storage Utilities
Atto Disk Benchmark
HD Tune Pro
Total
Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD 1 Tb is one of the most inexpensive external drives that work on the USB Type-C interface.