A dual core ARM processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM on board, along with Seagate's OptiCache technology are said to improve performance by up to 45% over prior generation drives. Needless to say expectations were high going into the testing. In just about every test the "New" Barracuda XT outperformed the previous generation product. Higher average transfer rates and reduced access times mean an improved feel once you are in the operating system. The drive specification sheet shows a sustained read speed specification of 156MB/s, which the drive exceeded in my testing. This makes the New Barracuda XT the fastest spindle based drive I have tested to date, giving you capacity and speed all in one package.