X-bit labs

External Hard Disk Drives Roundup: 160GB Storage Capacity

Category: Storage

by Aleksey Meyev

[ 02/27/2008 | 09:51 AM ]

We would like to introduce to you 9 external storage solutions with 2.5”hard disk drives of 160GB inside. We will talk about products from Fujitsu, Maxtor, Seagate, TEAC, Transcend, Toshiba and ZIV.

Table of contents:

• Testing Participants
  
• Fujitsu HandyDrive
  
• Maxtor OneTouch III
  
• Seagate Portable External Hard Drive
  
• Teac HD-15 PUS
  
• Teac HD-15 PUK-B
  
• Toshiba PX1270E-1G16
  
• Transcend TS160GSJ25B
  
• ZIV 2
  
• ZIV Pro
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Performance in Intel IOMeter
  
• Sequential Read & Write Patterns
  
• Disk Response Time
  
• Database Pattern
  
• Multi-Threaded Read & Write
  
• Web-Server, File-Server, Workstation Patterns
  
• Performance in WinBench 99
  
• Performance in FC-Test
  
• FAT32 File System
  
• NTFS File System
  
• Conclusion
  

Mobile storage devices are still in our focus and this review is about 160GB models based on 2.5” hard disk drives. It is not a record-breaking capacity as there are 250GB (for details see our article called Roundup: Five 2.5-Inch Hard Disk Drives with 250GB Storage Capacity) and 300GB models available, with two and three platters, respectively, and Western Digital has recently announced a WD Passport with a capacity of 320GB.

160GB external storage devices are popular today. Such drives are considerably cheaper than those with larger capacities, and they are superior to 80GB and 120GB models in terms of price/capacity ratio.

Testing Participants

Let’s take a closer look at each of our testing participants.

Fujitsu HandyDrive

The black glossy case of the HandyDrive from Fujitsu looks cute but you should be aware that such a surface is going to be eventually covered with a web of tiny scratches. The included pouch should provide some protection against that, yet I wouldn’t count on it much.

The mini-USB and power connectors (you’ll need an additional power supply if your PC cannot provide a necessary current via the USB) are each closed with covers. No power adapter is included into the kit, though. Instead it, there is a cord for powering the device from a second USB port. Telling you the truth, I didn’t use even it during my tests. Otherwise, the box contains just a minimum of accessories: a brief user manual, a USB cord, and a disc with an electronic version of the user manual.