Testing nine external hard drives. Choose the best drive
In the modern world, mobility and free access to information is highly valued. Therefore, the question of storing user data and simultaneous access to it, for example, for all family members, is very urgent. Of course, the best solution for this is networked storage that is installed indoors. If earlier this required a separate computer, now it is not difficult to organize it on the basis of a wireless router. In addition, modern models are based on ARM processors and have support for USB 3.0 port, which greatly enhances their capabilities. And what could be better for the household than to use the shared network resource at home, and then grab it with you on vacation and entertain yourself by watching movies from an external drive? Here we will deal with the choice of an external disk for these tasks.
For testing, I managed to get nine models of external hard drives with a capacity of 1 TB or 2 TB:
• ADATA HD710, 2 TB
• HGST Touro Mobile MX3, 1 TB
• Seagate Expansion Portable, 2 TB
• Seagate Expansion, 2 TB
• Silicon Power Armor A80, 1 TB
• TOSHIBA Stor.E Basics, 1 TB
• Transcend StoreJet 25H3, 1 TB
• Western Digital My Passport Ultra, 2 TB
• Western Digital Elements, 2 TB
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All hard drives have a USB 3.0 interface connector. Two of them (Seagate Expansion and Western Digital Elements) are of a large 3.5 ”form factor. Along the way, during the review, we will find out whether it makes sense to acquire these disks, which are large and require external power, for this type of task.
The hard drives were tested connected to the USB 3.0 port of the Intel NUC using the Crystal Disk Mark. Testing as a network storage was carried out on the basis of the ASUS RT-AC68U wireless router. The external drive was connected to the USB 3.0 port and then, using the NAS Perfomance Tester program, the speeds for read and write operations for files of 100, 200 and 1000 MB were measured.
External hard drives in this series are available in 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB in blue, yellow or black color. All of them have a waterproof (IPX7) and shockproof housing.
The USB cable fits into a special slot around the drive casing, thus ensuring its storage convenience. The length of the interface cable is 31 centimeters.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 132 × 99 × 22 millimeters, and the weight is 220 grams.
This model of external hard drives is made up of 500 GB, 1 TB and 1.5 TB. The body of the disc is made of matte plastic. Rubber feet to combat vibration is not provided.
The length of the USB cable is 43 centimeters.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 126 × 80 × 15 millimeters.
Seagate Expansion Portable External Hard Drive Series has a 2.5 "form factor. In the model range there are three drives with a capacity of 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. The body of the disc is made of matte plastic and has no rubber feet.
The length of the USB 3.0 interface cable is 44 centimeters.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 122.3 × 81.1 × 15.5 millimeters, and the weight is 170 grams.
Seagate Expansion external drives have a large 3.5 ”form factor. As a result, they have larger dimensions and need additional nutrition. The body of the disc is made of matte plastic. To combat vibrations on the bottom of the case there are four rubber feet. The model range of this series contains 1 TB, 2 TB, 3 TB, 4 TB and 5 TB drives.
The length of the USB 3.0 cable is 118 centimeters.
The drive is powered by a DC power adapter with a voltage of 12 V and a maximum current consumption of 1.5 A.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 179.5 × 118 × 37.5 millimeters, and the mass is 940 grams.
External drives Silicon Power Armor A80 have a waterproof (IPX7) and shockproof housing. The outer surface of the case is made of matt anodized aluminum. Rubber feet, for damping vibrations and imparting additional stability, are not available on the case. The drives are available in capacities of 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB.
Unlike all the other drives presented, the Silicon Power Armor A80 has not one interface cable in the kit, but two. The first cable has a length of 78 centimeters, and the second is 8 centimeters. Short cable can be stored in the slot of one of the ends of the case.
Another difference of these disks is the use of a USB 3.0 A socket on the disk case. All other drives use USB 3.0 Micro-B sockets.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 139.45 × 94 × 18.1, and the mass is 270 grams.
The body of the disc is made of black matte plastic. On the bottom of the case there are four rubber feet. Available in 500 GB, 750 GB and 1 TB drives.
The USB interface cable is 52.5 centimeters long.
The overall dimensions of the disks for versions with a capacity of 500 GB and 750 GB are 118.9 × 79 × 13.5 millimeters, and the weight is 150 grams. The 1 TB version of the disk has a thickness of 16.5 millimeters and weighs 180 grams, otherwise its dimensions are identical to less capacious models.
Transcend StoreJet 25H3 external hard drives have a rubberized casing that can withstand shock loads. Models of 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB in blue or violet-black are available.
The length of the USB cable is 45 centimeters.
A distinctive feature of the drive is the presence of a quick reconnect button that allows you to use a safely removed USB drive without disconnecting from the port and reconnecting it.
The overall dimensions of the models with a capacity of 500 GB and 1 TB are 131.8 × 80.8 × 19 millimeters, and the mass is equal to 216 grams. The 2 TB version has a thickness of 24.5 millimeters and a mass of 284 grams.
The case of Western Digital My Passport Ultra hard drives is made of black matte plastic. On its bottom there are four rubber feet. The top cover of the case can be black, red, blue or metal, depending on the model. Drives are available in 500 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB capacities.
The length of the USB cable is 46 centimeters.
A velvet pouch is included in the kit for easy storage and carrying.
The overall dimensions of the 500 GB version are 110 × 81.6 × 12.8 millimeters, and the mass is 130 grams. The 1 TB version has dimensions of 110.5 × 82 × 15.4 millimeters and weighs 160 grams, while the 2 TB version has dimensions of 110.5 × 82 × 20.9 millimeters and weighs 230 grams.
The case of the external hard drive Western Digital Elements is made of glossy plastic and is designed for vertical installation. On sale you can find drives with a capacity of 2 TB, 3 TB, 4 TB and 5 TB.
To connect the drive using a USB cable with a length of 126 centimeters.
The drive is powered by a DC power adapter with a voltage of 12 V and a maximum current consumption of 1.5 A.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 135 × 48 × 165.8, and the mass is 910 grams.
Based on the data, when testing drives in the Crystal Disk Mark, the following diagram was constructed:
Of course, two models of large form factor drives have emerged as leaders of this test. The undisputed leader was an external hard drive Seagate Expansion. It is followed by Western Digital Elements, with a backlog of about 30 MB / s, for read / write operations.
The leader among small form factor drives is the ADATA HD710 hard drive. Literally on the heels of its results comes the drive Seagate Expansion Portable, behind the leader by less than 10 MB / s. The difference between the results of drives with a small form factor and a large one is about 45-50 MB / s compared to the Seagate Expansion and about 20 MB / s compared to Western Digital Elements.
The rest of the drives failed to break through the 120 MB / s mark and they formed a rather dense group. According to the test results, the weakest disk was Western Digital My Passport Ultra. HGST Touro Mobile MX3 and TOSHIBA Stor.E Basics showed slightly better results. Even better results showed Silicon Power Armor A80 and Transcend StoreJet 25H3. But to speak about their clear advantage, over the same Western Digital My Passport Ultra, is not necessary.
The next step was testing drives as a network drive based on the ASUS RT-AC68U wireless router. Before testing, all disks were formatted in NTFS. Then they connected to the USB 3.0 port of the router and, using the NAS Perfomance Tester program, measured speeds for read and write operations for files of 100, 200 and 1000 MB in size.
Based on the data obtained, the following diagram was constructed:
As the external disks were tested as a network disk, the picture became clearer and duller with each new drive. Regardless of the used disk, their results practically did not differ from each other. That was until the turn of the Transcend StoreJet 25H3 drive arrived. Its results are out of the total number of all drives tested. If on read operations for files of 100 MB in size, the measured speeds coincide with competitors, then for files of 200 MB the read speed is 1.5 times higher, and for files 1000 MB is 2 times higher. On write operations, the results differ for files of 100 MB. The Transcend StoreJet 25H3 drive is about 1.4 times higher for files of any size.
According to the results of this test, we can conclude that even when using one of the most powerful routers with a dual-core ARM processor, 256 MB of RAM and a USB 3.0 port, its performance is not enough to fully unlock the potential of external hard drives as a network drive. Therefore, if you want to organize network storage on the basis of the router, it does not play a special role which disk for this you will use. The only exception may be the Transcend StoreJet 25H3, the results of which turned out to be the best in this type of testing.
Buying external drives of a large form factor for this task becomes simply ill-considered. They demonstrate absolutely identical results for small form factor disks, and have large dimensions and require additional power.
If you select from the total mass of any drives, then they can be:
• Seagate Expansion - a large form factor drive that demonstrated the highest speeds for read / write operations among all the contestants. This drive is perfect for those users who need to expand the amount of stored information and have access to it at the highest possible speeds.
• ADATA HD710 is a small form factor drive that demonstrated the highest speeds for read / write operations among small form factor drives. This drive is suitable for those who use portable devices (laptops, ultrabooks, etc.) and needs to expand the volume to store data at the highest possible speeds.
• Transcend StoreJet 25H3 - a small form factor drive that demonstrated the highest speeds for read / write operations when used as a network drive based on the ASUS RT-AC68U wireless router. This drive will perfectly cope with the task of using it as a network drive.
• Western Digital My Passport Ultra is a small form factor drive, although it has shown the worst results, but, in my opinion, it has the most attractive design, the widest color gamut in the model range and the presence of a velvet bag in the kit. This drive is perfect as a gift, especially if the user is important appearance, but not performance.
Previous articles in the PC Buyer's guide 2015 series:
» PC buyer's guide 2015: Motherboards, chipsets and sockets
» Twist-twirl, I want to confuse. Understanding the HDD lines
For testing, I managed to get nine models of external hard drives with a capacity of 1 TB or 2 TB:
• ADATA HD710, 2 TB
• HGST Touro Mobile MX3, 1 TB
• Seagate Expansion Portable, 2 TB
• Seagate Expansion, 2 TB
• Silicon Power Armor A80, 1 TB
• TOSHIBA Stor.E Basics, 1 TB
• Transcend StoreJet 25H3, 1 TB
• Western Digital My Passport Ultra, 2 TB
• Western Digital Elements, 2 TB
')
All hard drives have a USB 3.0 interface connector. Two of them (Seagate Expansion and Western Digital Elements) are of a large 3.5 ”form factor. Along the way, during the review, we will find out whether it makes sense to acquire these disks, which are large and require external power, for this type of task.
The hard drives were tested connected to the USB 3.0 port of the Intel NUC using the Crystal Disk Mark. Testing as a network storage was carried out on the basis of the ASUS RT-AC68U wireless router. The external drive was connected to the USB 3.0 port and then, using the NAS Perfomance Tester program, the speeds for read and write operations for files of 100, 200 and 1000 MB were measured.
ADATA HD710
External hard drives in this series are available in 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB in blue, yellow or black color. All of them have a waterproof (IPX7) and shockproof housing.
The USB cable fits into a special slot around the drive casing, thus ensuring its storage convenience. The length of the interface cable is 31 centimeters.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 132 × 99 × 22 millimeters, and the weight is 220 grams.
HGST Touro Mobile MX3
This model of external hard drives is made up of 500 GB, 1 TB and 1.5 TB. The body of the disc is made of matte plastic. Rubber feet to combat vibration is not provided.
The length of the USB cable is 43 centimeters.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 126 × 80 × 15 millimeters.
Seagate Expansion Portable
Seagate Expansion Portable External Hard Drive Series has a 2.5 "form factor. In the model range there are three drives with a capacity of 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. The body of the disc is made of matte plastic and has no rubber feet.
The length of the USB 3.0 interface cable is 44 centimeters.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 122.3 × 81.1 × 15.5 millimeters, and the weight is 170 grams.
Seagate expansion
Seagate Expansion external drives have a large 3.5 ”form factor. As a result, they have larger dimensions and need additional nutrition. The body of the disc is made of matte plastic. To combat vibrations on the bottom of the case there are four rubber feet. The model range of this series contains 1 TB, 2 TB, 3 TB, 4 TB and 5 TB drives.
The length of the USB 3.0 cable is 118 centimeters.
The drive is powered by a DC power adapter with a voltage of 12 V and a maximum current consumption of 1.5 A.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 179.5 × 118 × 37.5 millimeters, and the mass is 940 grams.
Silicon Power Armor A80
External drives Silicon Power Armor A80 have a waterproof (IPX7) and shockproof housing. The outer surface of the case is made of matt anodized aluminum. Rubber feet, for damping vibrations and imparting additional stability, are not available on the case. The drives are available in capacities of 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB.
Unlike all the other drives presented, the Silicon Power Armor A80 has not one interface cable in the kit, but two. The first cable has a length of 78 centimeters, and the second is 8 centimeters. Short cable can be stored in the slot of one of the ends of the case.
Another difference of these disks is the use of a USB 3.0 A socket on the disk case. All other drives use USB 3.0 Micro-B sockets.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 139.45 × 94 × 18.1, and the mass is 270 grams.
TOSHIBA Stor.E Basics
The body of the disc is made of black matte plastic. On the bottom of the case there are four rubber feet. Available in 500 GB, 750 GB and 1 TB drives.
The USB interface cable is 52.5 centimeters long.
The overall dimensions of the disks for versions with a capacity of 500 GB and 750 GB are 118.9 × 79 × 13.5 millimeters, and the weight is 150 grams. The 1 TB version of the disk has a thickness of 16.5 millimeters and weighs 180 grams, otherwise its dimensions are identical to less capacious models.
Transcend StoreJet 25H3
Transcend StoreJet 25H3 external hard drives have a rubberized casing that can withstand shock loads. Models of 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB in blue or violet-black are available.
The length of the USB cable is 45 centimeters.
A distinctive feature of the drive is the presence of a quick reconnect button that allows you to use a safely removed USB drive without disconnecting from the port and reconnecting it.
The overall dimensions of the models with a capacity of 500 GB and 1 TB are 131.8 × 80.8 × 19 millimeters, and the mass is equal to 216 grams. The 2 TB version has a thickness of 24.5 millimeters and a mass of 284 grams.
Western Digital My Passport Ultra
The case of Western Digital My Passport Ultra hard drives is made of black matte plastic. On its bottom there are four rubber feet. The top cover of the case can be black, red, blue or metal, depending on the model. Drives are available in 500 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB capacities.
The length of the USB cable is 46 centimeters.
A velvet pouch is included in the kit for easy storage and carrying.
The overall dimensions of the 500 GB version are 110 × 81.6 × 12.8 millimeters, and the mass is 130 grams. The 1 TB version has dimensions of 110.5 × 82 × 15.4 millimeters and weighs 160 grams, while the 2 TB version has dimensions of 110.5 × 82 × 20.9 millimeters and weighs 230 grams.
Western digital elements
The case of the external hard drive Western Digital Elements is made of glossy plastic and is designed for vertical installation. On sale you can find drives with a capacity of 2 TB, 3 TB, 4 TB and 5 TB.
To connect the drive using a USB cable with a length of 126 centimeters.
The drive is powered by a DC power adapter with a voltage of 12 V and a maximum current consumption of 1.5 A.
The overall dimensions of the disk are 135 × 48 × 165.8, and the mass is 910 grams.
Disk Testing in Crystal Disk Mark
Based on the data, when testing drives in the Crystal Disk Mark, the following diagram was constructed:
Of course, two models of large form factor drives have emerged as leaders of this test. The undisputed leader was an external hard drive Seagate Expansion. It is followed by Western Digital Elements, with a backlog of about 30 MB / s, for read / write operations.
The leader among small form factor drives is the ADATA HD710 hard drive. Literally on the heels of its results comes the drive Seagate Expansion Portable, behind the leader by less than 10 MB / s. The difference between the results of drives with a small form factor and a large one is about 45-50 MB / s compared to the Seagate Expansion and about 20 MB / s compared to Western Digital Elements.
The rest of the drives failed to break through the 120 MB / s mark and they formed a rather dense group. According to the test results, the weakest disk was Western Digital My Passport Ultra. HGST Touro Mobile MX3 and TOSHIBA Stor.E Basics showed slightly better results. Even better results showed Silicon Power Armor A80 and Transcend StoreJet 25H3. But to speak about their clear advantage, over the same Western Digital My Passport Ultra, is not necessary.
Testing disks in NAS perfomance tester
The next step was testing drives as a network drive based on the ASUS RT-AC68U wireless router. Before testing, all disks were formatted in NTFS. Then they connected to the USB 3.0 port of the router and, using the NAS Perfomance Tester program, measured speeds for read and write operations for files of 100, 200 and 1000 MB in size.
Based on the data obtained, the following diagram was constructed:
As the external disks were tested as a network disk, the picture became clearer and duller with each new drive. Regardless of the used disk, their results practically did not differ from each other. That was until the turn of the Transcend StoreJet 25H3 drive arrived. Its results are out of the total number of all drives tested. If on read operations for files of 100 MB in size, the measured speeds coincide with competitors, then for files of 200 MB the read speed is 1.5 times higher, and for files 1000 MB is 2 times higher. On write operations, the results differ for files of 100 MB. The Transcend StoreJet 25H3 drive is about 1.4 times higher for files of any size.
According to the results of this test, we can conclude that even when using one of the most powerful routers with a dual-core ARM processor, 256 MB of RAM and a USB 3.0 port, its performance is not enough to fully unlock the potential of external hard drives as a network drive. Therefore, if you want to organize network storage on the basis of the router, it does not play a special role which disk for this you will use. The only exception may be the Transcend StoreJet 25H3, the results of which turned out to be the best in this type of testing.
Buying external drives of a large form factor for this task becomes simply ill-considered. They demonstrate absolutely identical results for small form factor disks, and have large dimensions and require additional power.
If you select from the total mass of any drives, then they can be:
• Seagate Expansion - a large form factor drive that demonstrated the highest speeds for read / write operations among all the contestants. This drive is perfect for those users who need to expand the amount of stored information and have access to it at the highest possible speeds.
• ADATA HD710 is a small form factor drive that demonstrated the highest speeds for read / write operations among small form factor drives. This drive is suitable for those who use portable devices (laptops, ultrabooks, etc.) and needs to expand the volume to store data at the highest possible speeds.
• Transcend StoreJet 25H3 - a small form factor drive that demonstrated the highest speeds for read / write operations when used as a network drive based on the ASUS RT-AC68U wireless router. This drive will perfectly cope with the task of using it as a network drive.
• Western Digital My Passport Ultra is a small form factor drive, although it has shown the worst results, but, in my opinion, it has the most attractive design, the widest color gamut in the model range and the presence of a velvet bag in the kit. This drive is perfect as a gift, especially if the user is important appearance, but not performance.
Previous articles in the PC Buyer's guide 2015 series:
» PC buyer's guide 2015: Motherboards, chipsets and sockets
» Twist-twirl, I want to confuse. Understanding the HDD lines
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/374649/
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