Seagate BarraCuda SSD 500 GB Internal Solid State Drive – 2.5 Inch SATA 6 Gb/s for Computer Desktop PC Laptop (STGS500401)

The drive came in an OEM package, ie no documentaion/driver cd or even Manufacturers packaging. The drive was packaged in an anti-static sealed bag, with plastic end supports inside a plain brown card box with I think Polish language writing on a label, this package was then inside a well packed Amazon box.Due to the packaging, I was a bit apprehensive that perhaps the drive was not actually brand new but having checked it out with CrystalDiskInfo, the run-time hours were very low indeed - I first installed Windows 7, then upgraded to W 10, so I expected to have some uptime and all was in line with my estimation. So my fears that the drive was not new were unfounded I am glad to report.I chose this 'Pro' drive over the straight Seagate 500GB Barracuda because the 'Pro' spins at 7200 vs 5400 rpm of the non-Pro and is therefore slightly quicker, 160MB/s vs 140MB/s, but even more important is the 5yrs for the 'Pro' vs 2yrs warranty for the non-Pro. The drive is for use in a low power email server (fanless Gigabyte BRIX N2807 GB-BXBT-2807, 8GB RAM, W10 Pro) running 24x7 so reliability and low power are my key considerations. The drive is not silent, as in how silent an SSD would be, but you need to be less than 2 feet away in a quiet room to hear the spinning. I don't have a non-Pro equivalent to compare the Pro version to. The email server sits about 4 ft away from my desktop machine and I can't hear any noises from the email server.The cost uplift between the Pro and non-Pro versions is about GBP 10 or about 30%. For me, GBP 10 more for increased reliability, ie 5yrs vs. 2yrs (it's not quite as simple as that, but generally a manufacturer will only offer longer warranty period if they believe that one device has a better expected life than another), is easily justified for my application, and my peace of mind.

Good purchase

I brought this HDD, it is very good for use in laptop or on playstation. when i first got it the HDD did not work all the time. but now it is working perfectly. And I would recommend the this harddrive if you have the money. It is fast and reliable.

I wanted an SSD for archival purposes. Not blistering speed - reliability was my primary concern.Baracuda has 1.8m hours MTTF (on average it'll last 1.8m hours, 75000 days, 205 years). I did those calcs twice because I didn't believe it either. However, that's not the whole story. SSDs can only be written to so many times; Drive Writes Per Day. From a famous search engine:“Drive Writes Per Day” tells how many times you can overwrite the entire capacity of the SSD every single day of its usable life without failure during the warranty period.Baracuda=485 TB. ie you can rewrite the entire thing 485 times. As I just want to write 1TB ONCE that's me sorted.Many reviews of this SSD are average, stating it offers nothing new, its Phison S10 controller is 4 years old, newer SSDs with new controllers (eg Crucial MX500 et al) offer better performance for roughly the same money.Maybe, but any SSD outstrips an HD - including this one. This is WAY faster than my old 1TB clanky HD, uses far less energy and is silent in operation.The fact the Phison controller is still being used (not just by Seagate) means it's reliable. I looked at the 1* reviews for the Crucial MX500 and nearly all state "stopped working after a few months". That put me off so I bought this.I don't need boy-racer performance for an archival drive. But playing with it, it reads and writes plenty fast and the read speed would make it ideal for videos, audio, games in a PS4 etc.In fact anandtech.com states "The Seagate BarraCuda had great sequential read performance". Perfect for me.I installed this into Windows 10.Needed to format it using:Windows Admin Tools / Computer Management / Disk ManagementI formatted it using "new" GPT instead of MBR. Up and running within minutes.1TB in 50g. Amazing how far we've come from lead brick 10MB HDs!

Good stuff too bad I had to return it, it barely fit in the laptop, because the left side of laptop had a curve after installing and I did not wanted to damage it, it's almost twice as ticc as a regular 9mm one so if you are not Shure if it fits put 2hard drives on top of each other try close the lid on the laptop.

Quick timeline of my nightmarish experience with the seller (Storage Kings):1.- I bought two hard drives from the Amazon Market that were mis-sold. They were advertised as having a two-year warranty and expected (although not specifically mentioned) to be new.2.- After one of the hard drives failed (after only two months) I have reached out to the seller and they have pointed me to the manufacturer's RMA site. That where I found out the hard drives were much older than expected and out of the manufacturer's warranty.3.- When asked for a return address, the seller provided an erroneous return label. Judging from a few reviews, they have done this to other people. However, not knowing any better and being of good faith (read gullible) I have shipped both items using the provided label.* as a note, I have asked your customer support team to provide me with the said labels as I don't have access to it, however, they did not saying all is in hand. Did not ask for which side that is.4.- I have tried to contact the seller numerous times via e-mail and phone. They do not respond.5.- I have reached customer support for at least five times, each time they have said the issue will be resolved and not to worry.6.- At some point, the a-z warranty team replied saying the items were returned to the wrong address. The seller has been doing that to other people, judging by the reviews on the site.7.- Looking at the tracking, the items did indeed bounce, however they were never returned to me. I have raised a complaint with Royal Mail, which is still pending.Strongly advise anyone to stay away.