USB 3.0
Data data everywhere, but not a drop to drink! Ok, that makes no sense, but while the digital age has led many to a life of drink, it need not be the only way! In Part Three of our hard drive roundup we look at the next generation of USB 3.0 drives from Seagate and Western Digital, and FireWire 800 drives from Hitachi. It isn’t proper to consider the introduction of USB 3.0 a trend instead it’s best to realize that USB 3.0 is a reality that is significant enough to be a major but almost invisible change for all computer users. USB 3.0 systems are already shipping and offer far faster performance then USB 2.0 that is the current standard. By next year it is predicted that most new systems and motherboards on the Windows side will include a USB 3 port. This year saw the introduction of many portable and desktop USB 3.0 drives on the market along with matching PCI and XPress Card slot adapters.
Why do I say invisible? Because the new drives are completely and seamlessly backward compatible and will work with older systems without USB 3, but alas they can’t run at the new higher speed. As of this writing there are only a couple of Mac compatible cards and drivers, but more are in the works. This won’t help iMac, Mac Mini, or laptop users unless they have older units with Xpress card slots, however, many consumers are purchasing USB 3.0 drives to “future-proof” them, since they will compatible as newer computers are released. Windows users won’t have this issue since USB 3.0 native systems are already shipping.
We tested Western Digital’s new My Passport Essential with USB 3.0 and 2.0 compatibility. This is a small, fit in your pocket USB only portable hard drive. For Windows users it comes preloaded with WD SmartWare backup software that includes versions that run on Windows and Mac. For Mac users, the native format is NTFS, so my suggestion would be to copy the Mac disk image of SmartWare from the drive to your system, then use disk utility to reformat as a Mac disk, most likely with a GUID partition map for full compatibility with your Intel based Mac. While this drive is natively USB 3.0 and the connector is different, what’s interesting and little noticed is that you should probably consider the USB 3.0 port a Mini-USB port with a bit more tacked on to the end. So you can use any standard Mini-USB cable into the port for a legacy system, but if you are one of the lucky folks with a USB 3.0 port, then you need to purchase a USB 3.0 to USB 3.0 cable to take advantage of speeds that on average approach 3 times the transfer speed. According to Western Digital on a properly equipped PC, the typical time difference to transfer 500 songs between the older and new protocol amounts to a USB 3.0 time of 4 minutes, versus 8 minutes, 27 seconds for USB 2.0. Naturally your speeds will vary, and the size of the download vs. the number of files will affect times with larger files tending to take advantage of the speeds gains more then a lot of smaller files. We think this is a solid USB 3 drive at the cost of many USB 2 drives.
An interesting and flexible approach is the Seagate Free Agent GoFlex series with a unique docking system for it’s new line of drives so that you don’t have USB 3 now, but think you will in the future, then all you would need to do is buy a new dock, which could also work with extra drives, conversely if you want FireWire 800 or E-SATA they have a dock for that too. We tested the GoFlex Desk and the GoFlex Pro portable drives. They both ship with a dock that connects to your system do it’s easy to just place the drive on the dock, which sport a set of indicator bars letting you know the amount of capacity left on the drive, and by using fast 7200 RPM mechanisms they are speedy units especially when coupled with our recommended is FireWire 800/USB 2.0 dock.
The series have a slew of options in terms of additional docks and cables, ranging from USB 3, FireWire 800, e-SATA, and even a nifty GoFlex Net Media Sharing Device that incorporates the well-regarded PogoPlug technology into the dock allowing for a painless way to access your files from afar. Yep, your own little piece of the “cloud”! One benefit of the dock approach is that you can have several drives in rotation, allowing for offsite backup, as well as having drives to shared data from, and it ships with apps for your iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Android unit. The downside to all this flexibility is that the optional cable adapters all add to the final cost, and if you lose one, for example the USB adapter cable for your drive, you can’t replace it with a universal alternative. Those minor issues aside, the Seagate Free Agent GoFlex series represents a flexible look at creating a drive for all people in different situations. They ship with Mac and PC software that encrypts your drive data during backups, and the Pro units have a 3-year warranty, while the GoFlex Desk’s warranty is 2-years.
FireWire / 1394
AARRRRGGH! Where be ye FireWire/1394 systems? Aye Matey that tis a good question! With the introduction of USB 3.0 and the as yet unseen promise of Intel and Apple’s LightPeak technology, FireWire’s future is a bit uncertain. FireWire is firmly entrenched in the embedded sector with avionics, industrial, and other areas that are slow to change due in part to the complexity and cost of gaining certifications, not to mention that it works great. In the consumer space it always had a small (by USB comparisons) and loyal following due to it’s speed, ease of use, and inclusion on upper level computer systems. Not to overlook its inclusion on just about every Apple product. So, hopefully FireWire/1394 will continue on strong and stick around and we won’t see it walking the plank anytime soon!
There is still significant investment in FireWire based digital video, audio, and drive technology. It’s a sold mature technology, one that offers speed, backwards compatibility, and new drives are released for it on a regular basis. We decided to look at a couple from Iomega and Hitachi.
One of our favorites is the Iomega eGo™ BlackBelt Portable Hard Drive, Mac Edition, which is designed for the Mac platform, comes pre-formatted, is designed to survive a 7-foot fall, and comes complete with a strong set of Mac specific bundled software and a 3 year warranty. The bundled Iomega Protection Suite via download includes TrendMicro™ Smart Surfing software for Mac (12 month subscription), Iomega QuikProtect and MozyHome Online backup service (2GB free). With dual FireWire 800 ports and one USB 2.0 port, it is a solid choice. In our tests with the 1TB, 5400 RPM version it proved fast and reliable, and in basic black is perfect with any outfit. Iomega also features great deals if you visit their Online Store and visit their Specials and Outlet areas where some serious bargains are to be had.
Hitachi has earned an enviable reputation among hard drive aficionados for their drive stability and reliability. Their G|Drive Mobile series is drive preformatted for the Mac with FireWire 800, a 5,200 RPM mechanism in the 500GB unit we tested. There are less expensive drives out there, many pro’s rely on Hitachi mechanisms, and the G|Drive Mobile series is no exception. We would like to see a bit more bundled software, and the drive speed upped to 7,200 RPM as available in their TravelStar K750 drives, but for the folks who look to these drives, I don’t think that would make a difference. They are banking on Hitachi’s reputation and performance. Spindle speed doesn’t always make that big a difference since different mechanisms and bridge circuits impact the actual speed in use. The G|Drive Mobile come with a standard 3-year warranty. We look forward to reviewing more of their products in the year to come.
Most folks may not know it, but the first USB 3.0 external hard drive to hit the market was introduced by Buffalo Technology way back in November 2009 with their DriveStation HD-HXU3 desktop unit. We tested the Buffalo MiniStation™ Cobalt USB 3.0 hard drive which is available in 500mb and 640mb sizes. They don’t ship with any accessories save for the USB cable. It comes preloaded with Buffalo Tools, a suite of PC only tools to manage performance and conserve energy with their ECO Manager software, as well as Buffalo's Backup Utility software. When we received this drive from Buffalo the admonition was that for the Mac it would remain a USB 2.0 drive since there were no cards, drivers, or supporting software for the new USB 3.0 standard. Unfortunately except for a couple of proprietary solutions this is still the case. We did test it on a Windows machine fitted with a USB 3.0 card and suddenly the promised speed jump was clearly evident. It is the least expensive USB 3.0 portable hard drive solution we tested, and a good bargain, albeit without frills. For the Mac, just reformat as a GUID drive and it’s ready to go. It comes with a one-year warranty.
A few thoughts in high-speed rotational conclusion
In terms of performance, while published graphs and charts may show what seem like significant differences in data transfer rates and times, in reality when you compare similar mechanisms on the same bus, they are surprisingly close in performance, however all of them showed significant speed increases over similar drives from a couple of years ago. On the Mac platform, FireWire 800 is still the fastest way to drive data back and forth, since only one of Apple’s products; the MacPro, is capable of having e-SATA or the potential for USB 3.0. The spec for USB 3.0 has serious legs though, with theoretical and practical bandwidth that challenges even the fastest drives and beyond.
It is doubtful that Apple can ignore USB 3.0 for too long despite recent statements attributed to Steve Jobs. Apple and Intel’s Light Peak may prove to be fantastic technology, but if they are too late out of the gate and it’s deemed too proprietary, it might face the same roadblocks FireWire faced resulting to a niche in the consumer space. My hunch is that while the spec and technology demonstrations of Light Peak are very cool, it seems a bit far off for true adoption, but if Intel and Apple are right it might be the ring, I mean the port that rules them all! For Windows users there is doesn’t seem a good reason not to consider USB 3.0 capable drives in their decision making process. The speed gain is considerable and the spec promises even more, along with current backwards compatible technology makes it a no-brainer to look towards 3.0 compatible units.
When looking at drives online or on a store shelf don’t assume that all the drives are the same, under the hood there is a lot of new technology and features to consider, and as always you are getting better, faster, safer storage at lower prices. What’s not to love?
Harris Fogel, Posted 12/10/2010
For more information on the Iomega eGo™ BlackBelt Portable Hard Drive, Mac Edition visit: www.iomega.com
For more information on the Western Digital My Passport Essential with USB 3.0 visit: www.westerndigital.com
For more information on the Hitachi G|Drive Mobile series visit: www.hitachi.com
For more information on the Seagate Free Agent GoFlex series visit: www.seagate.com
For more information on the Buffalo MiniStation™ Cobalt USB 3.0 series visit: www.buffalotech.com
