Not that long ago, Seagate’s arche rival (or at least ‘frenemy’) Western Digital released a ‘refreshed’ WD Black Black SN750 SSD series and still was able to secure a place in the hearts and minds of mainstream consumers. That drives combination of performance and relative good asking price really made for a very persuasive argument. So persuasive we considered it one of the better value, high performance NVMe series available at that time. On paper it still is one potent competitor. Seemingly better paper specifications or not, synthetic benchmark junkies’ opinions or not, the Seagate BarraCuda 510 series is not only less expensive but performs just as good and sometimes better in the real world.
The reason for the Seagate BarraCuda 510’s excellent overall value all boils down to a few salient facts. First and foremost, there comes a point where minor to even moderate differences in sequential r/w performance is just not noticeable. Whereas differences in small file performance can usually be noticed by the average buyer. This difference between these two drives only becomes more pronounced when dealing with drives with fifty or more percent of their capacity is being used (i.e. how most people actually use their new solid-state storage device).
Next, both the Western Digital Black SN750 and Seagate ‘Cuda 510 are single sided storage devices and both rely upon the same Toshiba BiCS 3 TLC NAND. This combination means that even though the layout of the ‘Cuda 510 is more ‘classical’ than the ‘unique’ layout of the WD Black SN750 series, the end results are the same: easily cooled NAND and an even easier to cool controller. The controller however is different, and the Phison E12 is simply newer and better than the older SanDisk based controller Western Digital has been using for two generations of Black SSD models.
On top of this inherent advantage Seagate has then included a better warranty that not only covers five years (like the WD SN750 and other premium NVMe drives) but also with free data recovery services for the first two years. That too is noticeably better than nearly any other companies’ warranty, and certainly the best in its price range.
When this better performance and warranty is then backstopped by an asking price that is right at the edge of what even the tightest budgets can afford the end result is pure, unadulterated value. The only thing the ‘Cuda 510 series lacks s larger capacity options. Thus, for those looking for more capacity the WD Black SN750 may still be a more optimal choice; however, this is where the Seagate FireCuda 510 series enters the equation. In a future review we will go over who the FireCuda 510 is right for, but it is safe to say that the Seagate BarraCuda 510 series is a great bargain for those who do not need 1TB of capacity but still requires good performance. If this describes your needs, then the Seagate BarraCuda 510 series should be on your short list for further consideration.
The Review
Seagate BarraCuda 510
With its combination of good controller, good firmware, good NAND and an excellent asking price the Seagate BarraCuda 510 certainly accomplishes its goal of making other manufactures options look over-priced in comparison. Now if they would only offer a 1TB capacity model and it would be even better for an even broader range of consumers.
