Seagate unveils 3TB Barracuda XT hard drive

Storage vendor Seagate has introduced a 3TB hard drive for enterprise and consumer desktop PCs.

The Barracuda XT line sets a new mark for storage capacity in desktop systems and overcomes storage hurdles posed by older systems, according to Seagate.

The 3.5in drives sport a 64MB cache, operate at 7,200rpm and support the higher throughput 6Gbit/s Serial ATA format.

The Barracuda XT is targeted at traditional high-performance markets such as media production, home servers and high-end gaming systems, but Seagate is also equipping the drive with tools for older systems.

The drives use the company's DiscWizard storage software tool for legacy operating systems, allowing users to overcome a 2.1TB hard drive storage ceiling that limits disk size in Windows XP.

Seagate said that the tool allows customers to easily configure Windows and PC BIOS to recognise and allow the larger 3TB storage capacity.

"Seagate is squarely focused on delivering storage performance, capacity and innovation to ensure that technology transitions remain seamless for our customers," said Seagate executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service Dave Mosley.

"The Barracuda XT hard drive epitomises our commitment to providing end-user customers and PC manufacturers with the world's most advanced storage solutions."