Seagate Barracuda 36ES2

Seagate Barracuda 36ES2 Capacities Model Number Capacity ST318438LW 18 GB ST336938LW 36 GB Lowest Real-Time Price: Introduction Are 7200 RPM SCSI drives dead? It surely seems that way when one glances at the product landscape. Over the last year, only venerable Seagate has released a 7200 RPM product in the Barracuda 36ES (not formally reviewed but fully tested under SR's latest methodologies; results may be found in the database). And though the competition hasn't stirred, preferring to stick with 10k RPM "one size fits all" units, Seagate has followed up the 36ES with a successor.

The Barracuda 36ES2 shares much of the technology that went into the Barracuda ATA IV. It features the same spindle speed, similar density platters, and much of the same mechanics. The 36ES2 comes with a single platter only, yielding a flagship capacity of 36 gigabytes. A model utilizing only one side of the platter (18 GB) is also available. Specified seek times differ between the two, with the 36-gig unit at 8.9 milliseconds and the 18-gig unit at a more svelte 7.0 ms. A 2-megabyte buffer rounds out the offering.

Seagate's latest SCSI drive is unique in that it has been built exclusively for sale through retail channels. In other words, unlike all other SCSI drives, no large OEM demand stands behind the 36ES2. The 'Cuda targets setups already configured to accept SCSI drives such as older legacy systems as well as "non computers" such as heavy-duty copier machines that utilize SCSI disks to store their data. As a result, in addition to the standard 68-pin wide interface that's common among today's units, the 36ES2 is also available in a narrow, 50-pin configuration. Interestingly, the drive features a 3-year warranty… much more ATA-like than the 5-year standard that's the norm in the SCSI world.

Let's turn to our tests and see how the 36ES2 measures up.