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The new Rocket 622 and Rocket 620 SATA 3.0 controller cards from HighPoint.

(Credit: HighPoint)

In September, Seagate made the first 6Gbps SATA hard drive available. The new Seagate Barracuda XT hard drive offers twice the throughput speed of existing popular 3Gbps SATA hard drives. Now you're about to get the chance to take advantage of the new drive's performance with your current PC.

HighPoint, which makes controllers for storage devices, announced Monday the availability of the first SATA 6Gbps (or SATA 3.0) host adapters, the Rocket 600 series, which are based on PCI-Express 2.0 technology.

SATA 3.0 is the next generation of the SATA storage standard. Currently most computers use the second generation of this standard, the 3Gbps SATA (or SATA 2.0). At its full potential, the SATA 3.0 standard could theoretically transfer entire contents of a CD (about 800MB) in just one second. According to HighPoint, its new controller cards, however, offer the sustained speed of up to 500MBps.

HighPoint's new series of controller cards comes in two versions, the Rocket 622 that offers external eSATA connections to 6Gbps hard drives and the Rocket 620 that adds the higher-speed SATA to a computer's internal storage. Both of them, however, require an available PCI-Express slot inside the computer. You need the Rocket 620 if you want to install an operating system on the new and faster SATA 3.0 hard drive.

The two add-in controller cards are fully compliant with the Advanced Host Controller Interface (or AHCI) standard. They can also be installed in PCI-Express 1.0 slots and are backward compatible with previous generations of the SATA standard (the 1.5Gbps SATA 1.0 and the 3Gbps SATA 2.0). This means you can use them with any existing SATA-based hard drives and solid-state drives, other than the new 6Gbps SATA Barracuda XT from Seagate.

The new controllers are available this month. The Rocket 620 is slated to cost $70, while the Rocket 622 costs another $10.

Six months after showing off the demo, Seagate announced Monday that it is now shipping what it says is the word's first 3.5-inch 6Gbps 2TB hard drive.

The drive is based on the third generation of the Serial ATA (SATA) standard, roughly called SATA3. The majority of existing hard drives use the SATA2 standard that caps at 3Gbps. Theoretically, the new 6Gbps standard's throughput could be fast enough to transfer the entire contents of a CD (about 800MB) in just one second.

The new 6Gbps 2TB Barracuda XT hard drive from Seagate.

(Credit: Seagate)

The new hard drive is called Barracuda XT, and it belongs to the company's mainstream line of desktop hard drives. It spins at 7200rpm and boasts 64MB of cache memory, as opposed to the 16MB or 32MB of most existing hard drives. It is a four-platter drive with an areal density of 368 gigabits per square inch.

Of course, to take advance of the new 6Gbps throughput speed, the Barracuda XT needs to be installed in a computer with a 6Gbps SATA controller. The good news is that's also available now.

According to Marvell, a maker of hard drive controllers, the first SATA 6Gbps controller is now incorporated in high-end motherboards from Asus and Gigabyte, such as the Asus P7P55D Premium or the GA-P55-Extreme. There will soon also be expansion cards that add the new controller to existing computers.

However, the new drive is backward-compatible with previous versions of the SATA standard, including the SATA 1.5Gbps and SATA2 (3Gbps). This means you will be able to use it with your current computer at the speed of the current controller. Nonetheless, it's predicted that by the end of next year, the new SATA3 will be the mainstream standard that replaces the existing SATA2.

According to Seagate, the new Barracuda XT hard drive is ideal for high-performance desktops, low-cost servers, and external storage devices.

Together with the Barracuda XT, Seagate is also introducing Seagate SeaTool software, which allows for optimizing the drive configuration and tuning it for performance by sacrificing some capacity. For example, users can use the tool to format the 2TB drive into a 1TB drive that offers much faster performance.

The new Barracuda XT 2TB 6Gbps hard drive is available now and costs $299, which is the same price as other 2TB 3Gbps hard drives currently on the market.

For the first time ever, you can score a Blu-ray drive for under $50.

(Credit: Sony)

Two sweet deals from Sony in one week? Mercury must be in line with Neptune. First we got the refurbished PlayStation 3 for $237, and now you can pick up a Sony BDU-X10S Blu-ray drive for $49.99 shipped (plus tax in most states).

Just to clarify, this is an internal PC drive, not a standalone Blu-ray player. So it's really a deal only if you have a PC hooked up to a big monitor or an HDTV. (Sorry, slim pickings on deals today.)

Just make sure you're using a DVI or HDMI connection to avoid copy-protection issues.

The BDU-X10S is a SATA drive with an 8x DVD read speed and 2x Blu-ray read speed. It comes with PowerDVD 8, which is necessary if you want to actually watch Blu-ray movies on your PC.

Drives like these were selling for well over $100 just last year, so 50 bucks is a deal indeed.

Because it's a refurb, the warranty expires after 90 days--no big deal, IMHO, but I thought you'd want to know.

Also, make sure your video card is HDCP-compliant and supports 1,920x1,080 resolution so you enjoy full 1080p goodness on your big TV.

This is the lowest price yet on a 1TB external hard drive.

(Credit: Buy.com)

First up, some important business: I'm on vacation this week! But I couldn't leave you hanging without one more sweet deal, so here's my farewell post. See you next Monday! (Unless I just can't stay away... you never know.)

Holy ridiculously cheap storage, Batman! Buy.com has a Fantom G-Force 1-terabyte external hard drive for $69.99 shipped.

The catch? Yep, you guessed it: There's a $20 mail-in rebate [PDF]. I know that's a deal-breaker for some, but even in the unlikely event you get the short end of the rebate stick, $89.99's a pretty awesome price, too.

As for the drive itself, it features USB 2.0 and eSATA interfaces, Mac and Windows compatibility, and a one-year warranty. Fantom bundles no backup software to speak of, but there are plenty of great freeware backup utilities out there.

CNET hasn't reviewed the drive, but it averages 4.5 stars out of 5--from a whopping 342 users--on Buy.com's product page.

If you don't mind waiting a month or two on those 20 rebate dollars (the offer expires Aug. 23), this is the best deal yet on a 1TB external hard drive.

It's not much to look at, but this Lite-On drive adds Blu-ray capabilities to your PC.

(Credit: Lite-On)

What's cheaper than a $98 Blu-ray player from Wal-Mart? A $57 Blu-ray drive for your PC. That's the deal from ZipZoomfly, where you can get a Lite-On iHOS104-06 Blu-ray drive for $56.99 shipped.

Granted, this isn't the ideal solution for everyone, but if you have a PC hooked up to a big monitor or an HDTV, it's aces. (Just make sure you're using a DVI or HDMI connection to avoid copy-protection issues.)

The iHOS104-06 is a SATA drive with an 8x DVD read speed and 4x Blu-ray read speed. Although the specs don't mention it anywhere, my informants tell me the drive comes with PowerDVD 8, which is necessary if you want to actually watch Blu-ray movies on your PC.

Drives like these were selling for well over $100 just last year, so 57 bucks is a deal indeed.

Oh, one more thing: make sure your video card is HDCP-compliant and supports 1,920x1,080 resolution so you enjoy full 1080p goodness on your big TV.

Update: Looks like ZipZoomfly is out of stock, but fear not: SuperBiiz has the same drive for the same price (with coupon code SUPERSTEALS).

To celebrate Earth day, Seagate announced Wednesday the availability of its new, extra-low-power desktop hard drive, the Barracuda LP (LP stands for low power).

(Credit: Seagate)

If Western Digital's new WD RE4-GP desktop hard drive has no spinning rpm specification, Seagate's Barracuda LP has a rather unconventional spinning speed of 5,900rpm.

Generally, the spinning speed is associated with the performance of hard drives. For example, drives with 5,400rpm tend to have a lower performance than those with 7,200rpm, which is the current spinning speed of most desktop hard drives.

However, the faster the hard drive spins, the more energy it uses. It's almost impossible to increase the power efficiency of a hard drive without changing its spinning speed.

With that said, the new Barracuda LP is more suitable for applications that don't require a high level of performance, but rather stability and power efficiency.

Example of these applications are low-power personal computers, external PC storage and multiple-drive home networking systems, such as NAS servers. And these are exactly the market that Seagate is targeting with its new hard drive.

The company claims that the Barracuda LP helps reduce system power costs, runs more quietly than traditional drives, operates at lower temperatures and, most importantly, uses as much as 25 percent less electricity than competing "green" hard drives.

The new Barracuda LB comes in 3.5-inch form factor and uses SATA standard. It's available in 1TB, 1.5TB, and 2TB version that costs $118, $156, and $358, respectively.

You'll have to deal with a pair of rebates to get this 1TB drive for $80. But so what?

(Credit: Fantom Drives)

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new low! OnSale.com has the Fantom GreenDrive 1 terabyte external hard drive for $79.99. UPS Ground shipping will run you a very reasonable $4.99.

OK, you knew there had to be a catch, right? Actually, there's a pair: rebate No. 1 (PDF) and rebate No. 2 (PDF). They're $20 apiece.

I don't have a problem with rebates, but I know that some people hold them in the same regard as AIG bonuses. (Surely, they aren't that bad.)

As for the drive itself, it features USB 2.0 and eSATA interfaces, Mac and Windows compatibility, and a two-year warranty. Fantom bundles no backup software to speak of, but there are plenty of great freeware backup utilities out there.

And what puts the "green" in GreenDrive? "The latest advances in power-saving technology and ROHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive)-compliant materials and process." OK, then.

CNET hasn't reviewed the drive, but several dozen OnSale buyers rated it an average of 4.5 stars out of 5. If you don't mind waiting a couple months on those 40 rebate dollars, this is the best deal yet on a 1TB external hard drive. Act fast!

Seagate BlackArmor NAS server next to the Maxtor Central Axis.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET)

I got my hands on Seagate's BlackArmor 440 NAS server and it seems different from most NAS servers I've reviewed.

The BlackArmor 440 is one of two products in the BlackArmor NAS server family that Seagate introduced last Tuesday. The other is the BlackArmor 420. The only difference between the two is the 420 ships with only two hard drives preinstalled, leaving two bays empty, while the 440 comes fully populated with four drives. Both devices are aimed at business and home office environments.

These are the first NAS servers that are truly from Seagate. The company does sell and support a few others, such as the Central Axis, but under a different brand.

The BlackArmor NAS server has a rugged and compact look for a four-bay NAS server and comes with an easy-to-use, tool-free design. It can take up to four SATA hard drives of up to 2TB of storage.

Unlike other NAS servers I've seen, the BlackArmor has four USB ports and two Gigabit Ethernet ports. The USB port can host other external USB hard drives that can be set to contain the backup of the NAS server's internal storage. According to Seagate, this allows for offsite backup rotation.

Segate BlackArmor NAS server--photos

The next generation of SATA hard drives offers twice the speed cap of the existing SATA2 interface.

(Credit: Seagate)

In collaboration with AMD, Seagate announced Monday its demonstration of a new hard drive Serial ATA (SATA) interface, tentatively called SATA3, that offers speeds up to 6Gbps, or 600MBps.

(SATA3, or SATA 6Gb/second, was developed by the Serial ATA International Organization under the Serial ATA Revision 3.0 specifications.)

Currently most consumer-grade computers use either the SATA or SATA2 interface that offers cap throughput speeds of 1.5Gbps and 3Gbps, respectively, or 150MBps and 300MBps. However, it's important to note that because of software and hardware overhead, the actual speed of most SATA hard drives is still less than 200MBps.

The new interface will raise the ceiling of hard drive throughput speeds by 200 percent, and hopefully the actual transfer speed of hard drives will increase accordingly.

The new interface will be backward compatible with the existing SATA and SATA2 interfaces and share the same cables and connectors. SATA3 also enhances power efficiency and improves native command queuing, an inherent features of SATA standard, to increase overall system performance and data transfer speeds.

Right now, SATA3 is still in the final phase of development and there aren't any actual products yet. AMD said it would fully support the technology with a revision of its current 750 chipset and future chipsets.

According to Seagate, however, you can expect the first SATA3-based hard drive by the end of the year.