I wouldn't take any specification as gospel. In fact Seagate's documentation is fraught with errors.
For example, look at Section 2.8 (Power specifications) of the Rev D SV35 manual.
Table 4 lists the "DC power requirements (3-disk, 2TB)", yet the first column header is "Power dissipation (4-disk values shown)".
Similarly, Table 5 lists the "DC power requirements (1 and 2-disk, 1TB and 500GB)", yet the clumn header is "Power dissipation (3-disk values shown)".
Furthermore, the average power consumption figures in Tables 4 and 5 are do not tally with the average currents.
For example the operating power is shown as 5.8W for the 2TB drive, and 7.0W for the other models, yet their average current demands are identical. Moreover, applying the P=VI formula to the data suggests that neither set of figures is correct.
Average power consumption = (5V x 0.496A) + (12V x 0.341A) = 6.57W
The results for Standby and Sleep are similarly in error.
As for the Seek Times, section 2.6 specifies average read and write seek times of 8.5 and 9.5ms, respectively. However, the "Drive specifications summary" in Table 1 of Section 2.1 specifies average read and write seek times of 12ms and 13ms. I'm wondering whether the differences are the result of confusion between seek times and access times. Access time is the time required to access a target sector, whereas seek time is the time required to access the target track. Therefore the overall access time would include an average rotational latency component, ie the time required for the target sector to pass underneath the head. The average latency would be equal to one half of a rotation, either 4ms for a 7200 RPM drive, or 5ms for a 5900 RPM drive.
In short, access time = seek time + rotational latency.
As for the "Acoustics emissions", section 2.10 of the SV35 manual specifies 2.3 bels (min) and 2.4 bels (typ) during seeking for the ST2000VX002, and 2.8 / 3.0 bels for the 1TB and 500GB models. The Barracuda Greens are specified for 2.4 and 2.5 bels, respectively. I believe the higher noise levels for the 1TB SV35 model are due to the fact that it spins at 7200 RPM whereas the ST2000VX002 spins at 5900 RPM.
That said, I can't find any reference to spindle speed in the SV35 manual. This begs the question, is Seagate deliberately avoiding publishing the RPM spec? I notice that WD has resorted to using "IntelliPower" marketing-speak to obfuscate the actual speed (5400 RPM) of its green drives, but this is the first clue that Seagate may be embarking on a similar path. I suppose having a 2TB 5900 RPM drive in the same stable as a 1TB 7200 RPM model would pose embarrassing questions, so I wonder if that's the reason for the omission.
References:
SV35.5 Series SATA Product Manual, Rev. A (ST31000525SV, ST3500410SV, ST3250311SV):
http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/disc/manuals/ce/SV35%20Series/SV35.5%20Series/100562053a....SV35 Series SATA Product Manual, Rev. D (ST2000VX002, ST31000526SV, ST31000525SV, ST3500411SV, ST3500410SV, ST3250311SV:
http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/disc/manuals/ce/SV35%20Series/SV35.5%20Series/100562053d....Barracuda Green SATA Product Manual, Revs A, B,C:
http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/disc/manuals/desktop/Barracuda%20Green/100649225a.pdfhttp://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/disc/manuals/desktop/Barracuda%20Green/100649225b.pdfhttp://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/support/docs/manual/desktop/Barracuda%20Green/100649225c.pdf
