Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500413AS 500GB 3.5-inch Hard Drive: specs

The Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500413AS is a 500GB internal hard drive in the 3.5-inch desktop format. It spins at 7,200 RPM and connects over SATA. Seagate positions it for replacing or adding storage in desktop computers, workstations and home servers. It is a bare drive, so it comes without cables, brackets or software.

Core specifications

• Capacity: 500GB on a single disk (Seagate describes this as its first one-disk 500GB drive)
• Speed: 7,200RPM
• Cache: 16MB
• Interface: SATA with Native Command Queuing (NCQ); the listing title says 6Gb/s
• Size: 3.5 inches, about 5.7 x 4.0 x 0.8 inches, and 0.2 lb in the listing's measurements
• Warranty: two years, as Seagate states

What 7200RPM, cache and NCQ mean

The platters spin at 7,200 revolutions per minute. Faster spin generally means shorter waits for data and quicker sustained transfers than 5,400RPM drives. Seagate's text mentions sustained rates of up to 125MB/s for the family. That is well below what a modern solid-state drive offers, but it is typical of mechanical drives from this period.

The 16MB cache is a small memory buffer that smooths out reads and writes. NCQ lets the drive reorder queued requests so the head moves more efficiently, which typically helps when several programs access the disk at once.

The SATA speed question

The title says SATA 6Gb/s, while the manufacturer's description refers to a SATA 3Gb/s interface. SATA is designed to be backward compatible, so a drive of either type generally works on ports of either speed. A single mechanical disk rarely fills even the slower link, so the difference is unlikely to matter in daily use. Check Seagate's datasheet for the exact specification of ST3500413AS.

Quiet and efficient design

Seagate says a fluid dynamic bearing motor reduces noise, power use and heat. The description says up to 70 percent of the materials in each drive are recycled and that it is RoHS compliant. Seagate also mentions perpendicular recording, a method of storing data that lets more fit on each platter.

What it fits

Seagate lists desktop PCs, workstations, direct-attached external storage, network attached storage, PC-based game systems and home servers. It states compatibility with modern versions of Windows, Mac OS X and most Linux versions. Because the drive is a few generations old, check that your system and any enclosure support a 3.5-inch SATA drive. The 3.5-inch size normally needs a desktop bay or an external enclosure, not a laptop slot.

Who it suits

It suits people who maintain an older desktop, build a simple home server or backup box, or need a spare drive of this exact type. It is not meant for anyone who needs fast boot and load times, where a solid-state drive is the usual choice.

What to check before you buy

• Bay and cabling: confirm you have a free 3.5-inch bay, a SATA data cable and a SATA power connector.
• Capacity: 500GB is small by current standards; check it covers your needs.
• Existing data: if replacing a drive, plan how to copy or clone your files first.
• Backups: any single drive can fail, so keep copies of important files elsewhere.
• Age and condition: confirm the drive's stated condition and the warranty that applies to it.
• Noise and heat: make sure the case has airflow, as the manual advises.

The short version

• A 500GB, 7,200RPM, 3.5-inch internal SATA hard drive with 16MB cache and NCQ.
• Single-platter design with a fluid dynamic bearing motor and a two-year warranty, as Seagate states.
• Aimed at desktop upgrades, external storage, NAS devices and home servers.
• Bare drive only, with no cables or mounting hardware.

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