INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   One of the things i always recommend to friends is for them to never forget to backup all their extremely important files (like work data and/or family pictures and videos) not just in one but two separate external drives if possible since you really can never be too careful with these things. Now although for most people even a portable disk drive (or two) may just be sufficient to cover their needs for some their somewhat "limited" capacity (up to 5TB for portable models currently) automatically means they will need to turn towards a external desktop drive. External desktop drives are currently available with capacities up to 10TB (single drive models) but after testing the excellent D2 Thunderbolt 3 model by LaCie today we decided to thoroughly test the far more "affordable" Backup Plus Hub 8TB Desktop Storage by our friends over at Seagate.

   Founded in 1979, Seagate is the leading provider of hard drives and storage solutions. From the videos, music and documents we share with friends and family on social networks, to servers that form the backbone of enterprise data centers and cloud-based computing, to desktop and notebook computers that fuel our personal productivity, Seagate products help more people store, share and protect their valuable digital content. Seagate offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of hard disk drives, solid-state drives and solid-state hybrid drives. In addition, the company offers an extensive line of retail storage products for consumers and small businesses, along with data-recovery services for any brand of hard drive and digital media type. Seagate employs more than 50,000 people around the world.

   The Backup Plus Hub line by Seagate is currently available in 4/6/8TB capacities, comes in black color (in some areas there's a white MAC version available) and combines a single 3.5" internal hard disk drive with two front USB 3.0 charging ports (hub) and USB 3.0 host connectivity. The drive inside the Backup Plus Hub 8TB Desktop Storage which we have here with us today is Seagate's very own Archive HDD v2 SATA III model which features a total of 6 platters (1.33TB in capacity each) that rotate at 5900RPM, 128MB Cache, on-drive cache (almost 20GB in size - increases write performance) and several technologies including AcuTrac (sustained performance) and PowerChoice (reduces power consumption). In terms of endurance/durability the Archive HDD v2 has an MTBF (mean time between failures) of up to 800.000 hours and a workload rate limit of up to 180TB per year. Last but not least the Backup Plus Hub is compatible with both Windows and MAC systems and also comes with a free two-year 200GB OneDrive Cloud Storage license.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A large product image is placed at the front of the box along with the company logo and a sticker advertising the 200GB of free OneDrive Cloud Storage.

 

 

The OS compatibility list is printed on the left side.

 

 

Seagate showcases the two front USB 3.0 charging ports at the rear of the box.

 

 

The drive arrived wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two cardboard spacers.

 

 

Along with the Backup Plus Hub 8TB Desktop Storage we also got its power adapter (UK version), USB 3.0 host cable and the quick start guide.

 

 

THE BACKUP PLUS HUB 8TB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Backup Plus Hub 8TB measures 198.1mm in length, 118mm in height and 41mm in width.

 

 

To have a better idea about its size we placed it right next to the Seagate Personal Cloud Pro 4TB and the WD My Cloud 3TB.

 

 

The two front USB 3.0 ports can be used both to charge your mobile devices and also as extra ports for you to connect your devices into (we even tested them with flash drives and 2.5" PHDs and they work fine).

 

 

Both the top and base of the plastic enclosure are perforated so that hot air can exit with ease.

 

 

The rear of the enclosure is also perforated and has the USB 3.0 and power ports.

 

 

You can find the product serial and part numbers and barcodes on a small sticker located at its base.

 

 

The Archive HDD v2 8TB SATA III HDD is the HDD used in this product.

 

 

DASHBOARD SOFTWARE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
You can download easy to use backup software called Dashboard directly from Seagate's support page.

 

 

By clicking on the picture of the drive you can check the available capacity, create video thumbnails, enable/disable the front activity LED, perform drive diagnostics and configure the power saving mode.

 

 

Of course you can also use the program to backup all your important files (you can either select the preset task or create your very own).

 

 

The Dashboard software also gives you the ability to back up your important mobile files (you need an accont with Seagate for that).

 

 

Via the Dashboard software you can also upload or download files onto and from your social network pages like Facebook.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Complicating things is not really our way so once again our testing procedure will be almost identical to the one we use with 2.5" external drives and 2.5"/3.5" external docking stations. Naturally we will also be comparing the product at hand with previously reviewed 3.5" external drives so you know what you're getting (we no longer include 3.5" enclosures in our charts). Our standard selection of benchmark suites is used here as well including the famous HD Tach RW (Long Bench 32mb Zones), HD Tune Pro (read/write -when possible- speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read/Write - also when possible- speeds), AIDA64 (Linear Read/Random Read), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB/1000MB read/write speeds) and finally the quite outdated yet highly reliable ATTO 2.47 (Max Read/Max Write speeds). Every test was repeated for a total of 6 times and after that the average (not peak) numbers were recorded into our charts. As always every test was performed in a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 10 Pro with every update installed up to November 20th 2017.

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS – TEMPERATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   We’ve been using the Seagate Backup Plus Hub 8TB in the office for roughly 3 weeks and although it’s not quite as fast as the D2 Thunderbolt 10TB by LaCie still it comes pretty close and ontop of that it offers the two front USB 3.0 ports which can be used to connect pretty much everything you can throw at it. The charging feature for mobile devices although convenient is really nothing new since it can be also done by the USB ports of your computer (both while on and off). Still it’s not a feature we see often (if at all) so it’s certainly not a bad thing to have. As expected due to the plastic enclosure interior temperatures are getting somewhat higher compared to let’s say the D2 Thunderbolt or the Innov8 but well within safe/acceptable levels. Having 200GB of online cloud storage may not be a deal breaker (out of the 200GB I have I’ve used less than 10%) but it can come in handy so again it’s a good addition to this product.

   The Backup Plus Hub 8TB Desktop Storage by Seagate currently retails for USD199.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 202Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) and so as expected (this applies to most external drives) it costs less than the Archive HDD v2 8TB SATA III HDD. That being said although 8TB is more than enough to cover the majority of consumers we do hope Seagate will expand their external desktop drives to include 12TB models soon since you can never have enough space. With that out of the way we really think that the Backup Plus Hub 8TB represents a great value for money and that’s why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Design / Size
- Very Good Performance
- 8TB Storage Capacity
- Dual USB 3.0 Hub
- Free 200GB OneDrive Subscription

CONS

- Only Up To 8TB