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Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500GB USB 2.0 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £75
inc VAT

The FreeAgent GoFlex is neatly designed, but a standard USB3 portable disk is more than good enough for most people.

The FreeAgent GoFlex, Seagate’s latest portable hard disk, comes with a removable USB2 adapter instead of a fixed USB2 port. This external hard drive can be unplugged and replaced with a range of faster interface adapters – namely eSATA, FireWire 800 or USB3.

We tested the GoFlex over USB2 and USB3 – the USB3 adapter costs an extra £22 from More Computers. Its file transfer speeds over both interfaces were in line with what we’d expect, so it is fast. Interestingly, the adapter port is a modified version of the SATA connector used by internal hard disks.

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500GB USB 2.0

The FreeAgent GoFlex’s is no more expensive than most standard USB2 hard disks and the removable interface adapters are neat and well implemented. Although the GoFlex is theoretically future-proof, when you want a hard disk with a newer, faster interface you’ll probably want more storage capacity too.

USB3 portable disks, which are backwards compatible with USB2 ports, are available at the same price as the GoFlex and don’t have the added expense of an adapter. Though nicely thought out, this leaves the GoFlex as a bit of an oddity that will only appeal to those who use multiple high-speed interfaces.

Basic Specifications

Rating***

Storage

Hard diskSeagate Momentus 5400.6 500GB
Capacity500GB
Formatted capacity465GB
Price per gigabyte£0.15
Disk size2.5in
InterfaceUSB2, Seagate GoFlex
Power connectorUSB from host
Spindle speed5,400rpm
Cache8MB
Seek time14.0ms
Weight158g
Size13x82x127mm
Power consumption idleN/A
Power consumption activeN/A

Buying Information

Backup software includedMemeo InstantBackup
Price£75
Warrantytwo years RTB
Supplierhttp://www.lambda-tek.com/componentshop
Detailswww.seagate.com

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