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G-Technology High Performance 1TB External Drive
12.16.09 05:34 PM Filed in: Gear Reviews
If you’ve got a Macbook, then you’re probably in the market for an external drive. The reality of Time Machine backups and high definition iTunes content means most users will need storage beyond their original drives, especially if they have a Macbook.
There are a plethora of options to choose from, but this GeekGal wanted the best. Price was less important to me than reliability, looks, and most importantly a Firewire 800 interface. She settled of the gorgeous G-Technology High Performance 1 TB for $200. Was this drive just a pretty face, or was the performance there to justify the cost?
The Good
Geekgal confession time - she bought this drive primarily for it’s looks. The G-Technology line of drives are gorgeous brushed aluminum, a very fitting companion for the Apple line of unibody MacBooks. It’s just a beautiful drive that emanates quality. There is no other drive on the market that comes as close to capturing the Apple level of aesthetics.
The drive has every interface a Mac user could ask for - USB 2.0, SATA, and two FireWire 800 ports for daisy-chaining multiple drives. The size is much larger and heavier than I expected from the pictures, but not unreasonably so. It’s not a drive that’s especially suited for a laptop bag, but one that’s a gorgeous compliment on your desk at home.
The G-Tech is fast. It’s faster than the internal drive of my 17-inch Macbook Pro. Copying files, making Time Machine backups, and using it as a Photoshop CS4 scratch disk all yielded excellent results. In an informal poll of some of my geeky Mac friends, we all ran X-Bench benchmarks on our external drives to see how fast they were. The G-tech finished second best overall, being beaten by a statistically insignificant .02 percent. It was twice as fast as the fastest USB 2.0 drive.
The Bad
The G-Technology High Performance line of drives require you to plug in an external power adaptor to use their drives, unlike their “mini” line. This is the biggest detriment to the drive. It limits your on-the-go use to struggle to find an outlet to use with your adaptor. Geekgal suspects that many users will opt to leave their G-tech at home.
The other minor quibble with this drive? It’s a little loud. When it wakes up, you will hear it - there’s a loud click. It might bother some users, but the GeekGal understands that a performance hard disk is sometimes a little noisy.
The Technobabble
ProTip! Are you using your G-tech like I am, as a reservoir for a large library of iTunes content? Here’s an easy way to juggle two iTunes libraries. I have my main one for movies and every song I’ve ever bought on the G-Drive. I have a second, smaller one on my local hard disk. Hold down the option key as you boot up iTunes, and you can switch your libraries.
Conclusion
The G-Technology High Performance 1TB drive is a fine storage compliment for any Mac user. It’s the best-looking drive made, the performance is excellent, and the price is very reasonable. The GeekGal highly recommends this drive.
Geekgal confession time - she bought this drive primarily for it’s looks. The G-Technology line of drives are gorgeous brushed aluminum, a very fitting companion for the Apple line of unibody MacBooks. It’s just a beautiful drive that emanates quality. There is no other drive on the market that comes as close to capturing the Apple level of aesthetics.
The drive has every interface a Mac user could ask for - USB 2.0, SATA, and two FireWire 800 ports for daisy-chaining multiple drives. The size is much larger and heavier than I expected from the pictures, but not unreasonably so. It’s not a drive that’s especially suited for a laptop bag, but one that’s a gorgeous compliment on your desk at home.
The G-Tech is fast. It’s faster than the internal drive of my 17-inch Macbook Pro. Copying files, making Time Machine backups, and using it as a Photoshop CS4 scratch disk all yielded excellent results. In an informal poll of some of my geeky Mac friends, we all ran X-Bench benchmarks on our external drives to see how fast they were. The G-tech finished second best overall, being beaten by a statistically insignificant .02 percent. It was twice as fast as the fastest USB 2.0 drive.
The Bad
The G-Technology High Performance line of drives require you to plug in an external power adaptor to use their drives, unlike their “mini” line. This is the biggest detriment to the drive. It limits your on-the-go use to struggle to find an outlet to use with your adaptor. Geekgal suspects that many users will opt to leave their G-tech at home.
The other minor quibble with this drive? It’s a little loud. When it wakes up, you will hear it - there’s a loud click. It might bother some users, but the GeekGal understands that a performance hard disk is sometimes a little noisy.
The Technobabble
ProTip! Are you using your G-tech like I am, as a reservoir for a large library of iTunes content? Here’s an easy way to juggle two iTunes libraries. I have my main one for movies and every song I’ve ever bought on the G-Drive. I have a second, smaller one on my local hard disk. Hold down the option key as you boot up iTunes, and you can switch your libraries.
Conclusion
The G-Technology High Performance 1TB drive is a fine storage compliment for any Mac user. It’s the best-looking drive made, the performance is excellent, and the price is very reasonable. The GeekGal highly recommends this drive.