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Seagate is a globally recognized storage manufacturer that offers a wide range of products tailored to different needs.
Among its products, Seagate is especially known for its HDDs, with series such as BarraCuda, IronWolf, SkyHawk, FireCuda, and Exos, each designed for specific uses.
By understanding the differences between these series, it becomes easier to choose the right HDD for any purpose, making this information helpful for those considering installing an HDD.
- Seagate is a global storage manufacturer
- In the DIY PC market, Seagate holds the second largest HDD share after WD
- Series are divided by use case
- BarraCuda: For general use
- IronWolf: For NAS
- SkyHawk: For surveillance cameras and recording
- FireCuda: For gaming PCs and high-speed storage
- Exos: For data centers and enterprise use
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Table of Contents
What is Seagate?
Before discussing the HDD series, here is an explanation of what kind of company Seagate is.
A Global Storage Manufacturer
Seagate is a well-known global storage manufacturer, offering a variety of products such as SSDs and HDDs.
In addition to serving DIY PC users, Seagate provides solutions for industries like autonomous vehicles, healthcare, media, surveillance cameras, earth sciences, and energy, making it a company widely recognized by both individuals and businesses.
Seagate released its first storage product in 1980 and has been selling HDDs for over 40 years.
The company is especially highly regarded in the HDD field, consistently providing reliability and performance over many years.
Diverse Product Lineup (Especially Famous for HDDs)
Seagate offers a diverse product lineup, with HDDs being particularly well-known.
Seagate HDDs are recognized for their high reliability and performance, meeting the needs of both individual users and businesses.
For example, there are products for desktops, laptops, and servers, covering a wide range of uses.
There are also many models with different capacities and speeds, allowing users to choose the best HDD for their needs.
Seagate also prioritizes data safety, offering comprehensive data recovery services and warranties.
This allows users to use Seagate HDDs with peace of mind.
The main HDD manufacturers are:
- Western Digital (WD)
- Seagate
- Toshiba
While WD holds the top spot by a large margin, Seagate comes next and is also quite popular.
For DIY PC users considering an HDD, Seagate is likely to be one of the main options.
Focusing on Seagate, BarraCuda is the most chosen, followed by IronWolf (Pro), SkyHawk, and FireCuda.
Details about each series will be explained later, but BarraCuda is for general use, FireCuda is for gaming and high-performance PCs, offering high performance.
IronWolf is for NAS, and SkyHawk is for surveillance camera systems.
≫ Related Article: Popular HDD Rankings and Selection Rates by Specification [Statistical Data]
*This data is based on parts selected by users in the DIY PC Tool, which allows users to estimate, check compatibility, and calculate power consumption by simply choosing parts.
Introduction of Advanced Technologies
Seagate has greatly improved HDD performance and reliability by introducing advanced technologies.
Notably, helium-filled technology and recording technology have evolved.
Helium-filled technology replaces the air inside the HDD with helium, reducing disk rotation resistance and allowing more disks to be installed.
Helium is lighter and less dense than air, so it significantly reduces friction when the disks spin inside the HDD.
This increases data capacity and reduces power consumption and heat generation.
Seagate also uses two different recording technologies: SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) and CMR (Conventional Magnetic Recording).
SMR allows for higher data density (larger capacity) by overlapping data tracks, but may result in slower write speeds.
On the other hand, CMR is the traditional method, providing stable performance.
Some enterprise-grade large-capacity HDDs use MAMR (Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording) technology.
This technology uses microwaves to improve recording efficiency when writing data to the disk.
It is mainly used in data centers and fields that require large-capacity data storage.
By adopting these technologies according to purpose and usage environment, Seagate HDDs are flexible enough to meet various needs.
Seagate HDD Series
Seagate’s HDD series include BarraCuda, IronWolf, SkyHawk, FireCuda, and Exos.
Here is a detailed explanation of the features, uses, and differences of each series.
First, here is a simple table summarizing each series:
| Series Name | Use | Features | Warranty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seagate BarraCuda | General desktop PCs | – Balanced performance – 5400 RPM to 7200 RPM – Both HDD and SSD models available | 2 years |
| Seagate IronWolf | For NAS | – Optimized for 24/7 operation – Equipped with vibration sensors for multi-drive setups – Excellent durability and reliability – Pro includes 3 years of free data recovery service | IronWolf: 3 years IronWolf Pro: 5 years |
| Seagate SkyHawk | Surveillance cameras Recording use | – Supports up to 64 camera streams – ImagePerfect firmware for continuous recording – Stable operation even in high temperatures – 3 years of free data recovery service included | SkyHawk: 3 years SkyHawk AI: 5 years |
| Seagate FireCuda | Gaming PCs High-speed storage | – Combines large capacity and high speed – High cache performance reduces game load times – 3 years of free data recovery service included – Both HDD and SSD models available | 5 years |
| Seagate Exos | Data centers Enterprise use | – High reliability and data protection features – Large capacity and cost-effective storage – Enhanced vibration resistance for multi-drive setups | 5 years |
Each series will be explained in detail, but as a basic premise, HDD data transfer speeds are slower than NVMe SSDs or SATA SSDs.
For this reason, most current storage setups use NVMe SSDs as the main storage, and HDDs are mainly used for storing or backing up data where speed is not a priority.
There may be mentions of speed differences within the Seagate HDD series, but even the fastest HDD cannot exceed the data transfer speeds of SSDs due to their design and standards. Please keep this in mind.
Seagate BarraCuda
Seagate BarraCuda is an HDD series that combines performance and reliability.
It is suitable for a wide range of uses from home to business, especially for storing large amounts of data.
With capacities ranging from 1TB to 8TB, there is a wide lineup to choose from according to budget.
Its low power consumption design also provides high energy efficiency and stable performance even during long-term use.
As it is intended for general use, it is the most popular series.
It is recommended for users who do not need high data transfer speeds but want to increase storage capacity.
Seagate IronWolf
Seagate IronWolf is an HDD series designed especially for NAS (Network Attached Storage).
It is built for 24/7 continuous operation, offering high reliability and durability.
One feature of IronWolf is its technology to minimize vibration and noise.
This ensures stable performance even in environments where multiple drives operate simultaneously.
IronWolf also has a health management feature that constantly monitors the drive’s status and issues warnings before problems occur.
There are two types of Seagate IronWolf:
- Seagate IronWolf
- Seagate IronWolf Pro
Seagate IronWolf
Seagate IronWolf is mainly suitable for home and small to medium business NAS.
This model is designed for 24/7 operation and provides stable performance in always-on NAS environments.
It is especially ideal for data sharing and backup in homes and small offices.
IronWolf features AgileArray technology, which is optimized for NAS performance.
It reduces vibration and noise, ensuring stable operation even when multiple drives run in parallel.
The IronWolf Health Management feature constantly monitors the drive’s health and issues warnings if abnormalities are detected.
This helps protect data and optimize NAS system operation.
It supports up to 180TB of annual workload, providing sufficient durability for home and small business use.
It also comes with a 3-year warranty for long-term peace of mind.
Seagate IronWolf Pro
Seagate IronWolf Pro is the higher-end model, suitable for large NAS systems and multi-drive NAS for small businesses to enterprises.
Like IronWolf, IronWolf Pro supports 24/7 operation but is designed for even more demanding environments.
The main feature of IronWolf Pro is its high workload resistance.
It supports up to 550TB of annual workload and 2.5 million hours MTBF, making it stable for business use with frequent data reading and writing.
IronWolf Pro also has enhanced vibration sensors, minimizing the impact of vibration even when many drives operate simultaneously in a NAS.
IronWolf Pro comes with a 5-year limited warranty and 3 years of data recovery service.
This means that even in the event of data loss, the data recovery service can be used to protect important data.
It also features fast cache memory, improving data read/write speeds for handling large amounts of data quickly.
Seagate SkyHawk
Seagate SkyHawk is an HDD specialized for surveillance systems.
It is designed for 24/7 continuous operation, allowing stable recording of surveillance camera footage over long periods.
It supports up to 64 HD cameras, making it suitable for large-scale surveillance systems.
The data write speed is also fast, enabling real-time video recording.
There are two types of Seagate SkyHawk:
- Seagate SkyHawk
- Seagate SkyHawk AI
Seagate SkyHawk
Seagate SkyHawk is mainly designed for home and small to medium surveillance systems.
This model supports 24/7 operation in surveillance camera systems and can record up to 64 camera streams simultaneously.
This ensures stable recording even in environments that require constant monitoring.
SkyHawk features ImagePerfect firmware, which prevents dropped video frames and enables smooth, continuous recording.
It minimizes video skips and data corruption that often occur during recording, improving surveillance reliability.
It is also designed for low power consumption and provides stable performance even in high-temperature environments.
This makes it highly reliable for long-term surveillance camera use.
SkyHawk supports up to 180TB of annual workload, providing sufficient durability for surveillance use.
The warranty period is 3 years, making it suitable for general surveillance systems.
Seagate SkyHawk AI
Seagate SkyHawk AI is the higher-end model in the SkyHawk series, specialized for AI-enabled surveillance camera systems.
It is designed for use in high-performance surveillance systems that require real-time AI analysis.
SkyHawk AI can handle up to 64 camera streams plus 32 AI streams simultaneously.
This allows for real-time video analysis and recording at the same time.
For example, it is ideal for surveillance using AI features such as facial recognition and anomaly detection, providing a high-precision monitoring environment.
SkyHawk AI is equipped with enterprise-class vibration sensors, maintaining stable performance even in environments where multiple drives operate simultaneously.
This ensures reliable recording even in large-scale surveillance systems or commercial facilities where vibration is common.
SkyHawk AI supports 550TB of annual workload and 2.5 million hours MTBF, making it suitable for long-term, high-load use.
It comes with a 5-year warranty and 3 years of data recovery service, providing protection against data loss.
Seagate FireCuda
Seagate FireCuda is a hybrid HDD that combines performance and large capacity.
It is especially suitable for shortening game load times and efficiently storing large amounts of data.
However, the data transfer speed is only faster compared to other Seagate HDD series, so if fast load times or video editing speed is required, an SSD is recommended.
Seagate also offers SSDs, including FireCuda SSDs.
FireCuda is suitable for gaming and creative uses where high-speed read/write performance is needed.
Seagate Exos
Seagate Exos is a high-performance HDD series for businesses, offering large capacity and high reliability.
It is especially ideal for use in data centers and cloud storage, where large amounts of data are handled.
With a wide lineup including capacities from 2TB to 24TB, it enables efficient data storage and management.
It also uses advanced technology for long life and low power consumption.
Additionally, Seagate provides reliable support, including a 5-year warranty and 24/7 enterprise technical support, so it can be used with confidence.
Summary: Know the Features and Uses to Choose the Right One!
This article explained what kind of company Seagate is, as well as the features, uses, and differences of each Seagate HDD series.
Here is a summary of the key points:
- Seagate is a global storage manufacturer
- In the DIY PC market, Seagate holds the second largest HDD share after WD
- Series are divided by use case
- BarraCuda: For general use
- IronWolf: For NAS
- SkyHawk: For surveillance cameras and recording
- FireCuda: For gaming PCs and high-speed storage
- Exos: For data centers and enterprise use
Recently, the most popular storage setup is a single NVMe SSD, so opportunities to use HDDs are decreasing.
For now, it is common to use an SSD as the main storage, and then add an HDD when large capacity is needed for data storage where speed is not important.
Although Western Digital holds the top share, Seagate is second and still a strong option.
BarraCuda, IronWolf, SkyHawk, FireCuda, and Exos each serve different purposes, so if the goal is simply to increase storage capacity, BarraCuda is sufficient. For NAS, surveillance cameras, or enterprise use, choose the series that matches the intended use.
Select PC parts and online stores to instantly generate an estimate, check compatibility, and calculate power requirements. You can save up to five different builds, making it easy to try out multiple configurations.
≫ Tool：PC Parts Estimation & Compatibility Check Tool
