Seagate Firecuda vs Barracuda: The Ultimate SSD Showdown

Which Seagate SSD will come out on top - the Barracuda 510, or the FireCude 510?

Seagate Firecuda vs Barracuda
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With over 40 years of experience under their belts, Seagate is a reputable brand, most notably for their hard drives, all of which have proved popular amongst gamers who build their own rigs or wanted to improve their console of choice.

As solid-state drives (SSD) flood the market thanks to their performance-enhancing qualities, however, they’ve had to step up to the plate and branch out, increasing their repertoire to include these superior designs. 

Where hard drives are cheaper and might offer a larger capacity, though less so as technology improves, SSDs are not only much quicker and far more lightweight, but require less power to run and are more durable to boot, so their popularity is unsurprising.

In response to Western Digital’s popular Blue and Black SSDs, Seagate developed the Barracuda 510 and FireCuda 510 lines, with the former being more affordable and the latter a pricier option for committed gamers with broad budgets.

Since the FireCuda is a solid-state/ hard-drive hybrid, it combines both designs to maximize a gamer’s potential, whereas the Barracuda opts for a standard SSD design.

Initial SSDs from Seagate were modest, but these two have had an upgrade.

Which one is best suited for your rig, though? Looking at specifications, features, performance power, and an overall rating, we’ve put both drives through their paces here to truly answer that question. Let’s dig in and find out!

Specifications

For the sake of brevity, we’ll be looking at two specific models from each range, the Barracuda 510 ZP1000CM30001, and the FireCuda 510 ST1000LX015, as we believe these two are the best of the best when it comes to gaming.

The following tables outline their specifications – see our more in-depth articles across the site to learn more and help make sense of the random letters and numbers if you’re not especially tech-savvy, as it’s pretty complicated stuff!

Seagate FireCuda (1TB)

Seagate FireCuda (1TB)

Storage

1TB Hybrid

Cache

128Mb

Speed

6GB/s

Pros

Great intermediate storage

Great for the price

Plenty of room for games and media

Far faster than a 7200RPM HDD

Can fit in laptops/consoles

Cons

Sacrifices storage gains for speed

Seagate Barracuda (1TB)

Seagate Barracuda (1TB)

Storage

1TB

Cache

64MB

Speed

7200RPM

Pros

Great intermediate storage

Great for the price

Plenty of room for games and media

Cons

Can be outperformed for just a bit more

From a pure value standpoint, opting for a 2TB/3TB/Hybrid would make more sense

Can’t fit in laptops/consoles

Features

Barracuda 510

Ideal for contemporary gaming laptops that are both ultra-thin and incredibly lightweight, the compact M.2 2280 form factor is an ideal storage solution that won’t compromise your setup’s sleek and stylish nature.

Using a Phison E12 controller, as opposed to a patented Seagate model, works well as their in-house designs have a tendency to suit business or industry settings rather than an average at-home gaming rig where Phison’s are perfect for such use.

Likewise, they have also opted for a Toshiba 64-layer BiCS 3 TLC NAND, enabling a fast, budget-friendly drive that honors their huge contract with the Tokyo-based tech giant whilst bringing superior performance to consumers without thousands to spend.

Capable of accelerating the applications of your desktop or laptop with incredibly speedy read/write speeds up to 3400/3000 MB/s, not only will you reduce power consumption overall but vastly improve your gaming experience.

Power consumption is low at only 5.3 watts of active power, whilst multiple low power modes allow users to choose their own experience to enable a longer battery life and cooler running overall. Pick the setting best for each individual game!

Design-wise, this ‘Cuda is extremely simple to install. The manufacturers have gone for a “plug and play” approach here, so you’ll be able to upgrade your rig with very little effort – great for newbies without much building experience.

As part of your purchase, you’ll also receive some nifty software free of charge. Also in the box is SeaTools, Seagate’s software for monitoring, testing, and analyzing their drives to monitor and send health data, which should keep it running perfectly.

System Requirements:

  • M.2 (M key) slot, PCIe G3x4 interface
  • Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10
  • Linux

FireCuda 510

Purpose-built for superior gaming, the FireCuda SSD pairs a lower latency with an ability to withstand constant play for those all-night online sessions; it’s substantially faster sequential read/write speeds produce respawn rates that will blow your mind.

Also utilizing a Phison PS5012-E12 controller – let’s face it, this is the chip found in most Barracuda/Firecuda drives – it’s an especially powerful component that can communicate with up to eight varied NAND channels simultaneously.

Multi-tier Caching Technology (MTC) is able to use NAND flash, DRAM, and media caching technology, enhancing performance by enabling applications and files to load up speedier than ever before.

With speeds up to six times faster than a SATA based SSD, your gaming setup stands to improve exponentially in the form of a super slim internal drive created to offer 1.8 million hours of mean time between failures, so you know it’s built to last.

Ideal for desktop or laptop gaming, it’s a hybrid hard drive boasting flash enhanced speeds – not only will your Steam library be fuller, but games will boot up faster and levels will load with a swiftness your co-op buddies will envy.

Compatible with most PCIe M.2 slots, you’ll be able to store up to 40 games (working at an estimation of 25GB per game, so with the potential for even more!) thanks to the 1TB of capacity, though you do have the choice to increase or decrease this.

A Green Hybrid feature extends the drive’s life and reduces overall power consumption for your device. Not only is it built to last, but your costs will be minimized thanks to its power efficiency – a win-win situation!

System Requirements:

  • Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10
  • Linux

Performance

Barracuda 510

Customer feedback suggests that, in spite of its more affordable price point versus competitors, performance is of exceptional quality, managing top speed boot times of just a few seconds, and ample sequential read/write speeds as advertised.

Likewise, the majority of screenshots from CrystalDiskMark (a software used to test drive performance, for those not familiar) do seem to indicate that the drive is capable of running in accordance with all of the specifications Seagate provides. 

Not only will you be able to instantly access data when you load games, but opening applications and downloading files are also achieved at superior speeds, thanks to that all-important PCIe NVMe power.

A couple of reviews do indicate that it can reach high temperatures after long periods of use, though, so if you’re looking to pull back-to-back gaming sessions you may want to invest in an additional cooling system for added protection.

Special features it boasts include TRIM and S.M.A.R.T software, with the former being an ATA command that improves data writing performance, whilst the latter is used to monitor and report on performance and internal issues

As a primary game drive at such a budget-friendly price point, it’s a miracle worker, but you may find that the models below the 1TB capacity don’t quite have enough room for all of your games if you’re a Steam veteran.

FireCuda 510

Again, though this is a cheaper option for rig upgrading, the majority of gamers and creative professionals alike who have shared their experiences as customers of the FireCuda are full of love for its impressive performance rate.

As it’s a solid state and classic hard drive hybrid, it packs more punch than a standard factory-installed drive would, but might not be as mighty as a complete SSD – when you’re looking for more power on a budget, this is your buy.

As it’s flash accelerated, you’ll gain instant access to many of the titles in your library, with quicker loading times accommodate by multi-tier caching and an adaptive memory that also utilizes less power, saving energy and, more importantly, money.

Much like its bigger brother the Barracuda, many customers report they would like to see some larger sizes available, capacity-wise, as though performance is optimum, the storage space for hardcore download-only PC gamers just isn’t there.

Some feedback insinuates there is a period of acclimatizing once installed, wherein a performance upgrade is not noticeable until the drive “learns” which assets you use the most and adjusts accordingly, so it is worth exhibiting a little patience.

Many PS4 fans have suggested that this FireCuda, in particular, is a dream match for their console, so if you’re looking to upgrade your Sony software and not your PC, you know where to go.

Pricing and Availability

Barracuda 510

An especially versatile offering, you’ll find this drive comes in sizes between 250GB and 1TB, allowing you to determine exactly which one is right for the job you have, as well as obtain a quality product within your budget.

The more you’re willing to spend, though, the more capacity you’re going to get access to, so it’s a compromise between money and storage space when it comes to the Barracuda, as that’s the only difference between this particular model.

Prices vary from site to site, but the best deals seem to come through Seagate’s affiliation with Amazon, which is why we’ve chosen to link to their listing of  the drive and not the official store.

FireCuda 510

Ranging in sizes from 500GB to 4TB, as well as offering internal and external SSD models, the FireCuda line has a drive to suit everyone, from the tentative newbie to those hardcore players with the most extravagant setups around.

You can also choose between an external SSD, the SSHD hybrid or an SSHD plus an additional Desktop Memory Kit, as well as the more expensive SSD 510 and 520 series, which are more expensive but boast greater power.

For a drive that combines the power of both solid state and hard disk drives, you’re managing to obtain more bang for your buck without having to spend a fortune, so it’s great as a gift to younger gamers who are seeking an upgrade.

In Summary

According to Seagate, the Barracuda is the best fit for those especially thin laptops, business PCs, and workstations, as well as all-in-one setups, so it’s certainly got the range to work for a variety of setups.

Their recommendations for applications in terms of the FireCuda indicate that it serves to greatly upgrade a mainstream or high-performance PC for the ultimate gaming rig, so again, applicable to a variety of devices.

Capacity wise, both the Fire and the Barra are quite versatile in that you can choose between four or five different sizes, but the FireCuda is your best bet for maximizing download space as it manages to hit 4TB – that’s 40,000GB of room for games!

Where the FireCuda is a hybrid, the BarraCuda is a complete solid-state design featuring an M.2 interface as opposed to the former’s 6GB SATA, so it’s going to run noticeably quicker and smoother, but there aren’t huge differences between the two.

As with the majority of products from Seagate, both the Barracuda and the FireCuda come with a five-year limited warranty, ensuring continued peace of mind and customer service support should you face any issues.

Because the Barracuda also comes with SeaTools, their specialist software for monitoring the health of your drive, diagnosing problems, and performing tuneups, you’ll get extra protection and prolong its lifespan, as well as your computer’s!

We think that both are a great option for either end of the budget spectrum, with the FireCuda suiting a newer gamer making their first or second upgrade and the Barracuda for those who’ve been playing for a while and can really wield its power.

Regardless of which one you choose, thanks to the Seagate quality we’ve come to expect, and some help from other top names in gaming tech, you’re bound to see an improvement over your PC or console’s original drive.