IT SEEMS like only yesterday Serial ATA drives were little more than an unfulfilled promise. Seagate's Barracuda V was the first Serial ATA drive to see widespread retail availability. Despite also being the first drive to provide native rather than bridged Serial ATA support, the Barracuda V's platter technology was a little behind the competition, and performance suffered. Since releasing the Barracuda V, Seagate has been hard at work on its second generation Serial ATA drive, the Barracuda 7200.7. The 7200.7 is now widely available in retail, and we've managed to snag one for testing. Can the 7200.7 keep up with the competition? Read on to find out.