INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   No matter how many portable hard drives I’ve used to date I’ve yet to find one which i can carry easily inside my rear pocket and without worrying about breaking it. There have been some exceptions to that in the past like a 1.8" drive manufactured by Plextor which i had the chance to review roughly 6 years ago and the brand new T1 portable SSD by Samsung (review coming soon) but unfortunately although i have to admit that both solutions look very nice they simply can't compete with regular 2.5" models, at least not in terms of capacity and enclosure durability. Seagate has been around for almost 4 decades now so I’ve always hoped that they'd step forward to create something unique in this segment of the market and with the recent release of the Seagate Seven (STDZ500400) steel external USB 3.0 drive i think that my quest for the ideal portable hard drive for use on the go is finally over (or almost over).

   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.

   As clearly stated by its name the Seagate Seven portable hard drive is just 7mm thick so amazingly as it may sound to some of you (or most) it's actually as thick as an 2.5" internal HDD/SSD. To accomplish that Seagate had to use one of their latest and most advanced SATA III drives and more specifically the 2.5" Laptop Ultrathin model (ST500LT032) which measures slightly over 5mm in thickness, can spin up to 5400RPM, has 16MB cache buffer, supports NCQ, has very low power requirements (less than 2W) and is virtually inaudible thanks to its Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) motor. Granted we don't expect to be blown away by the performance of a 5400RPM drive but performance is not the only thing when looking to get a portable model so let's move forward and see what the new Seven model by Seagate is all about.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seagate ships the Seven drive inside an elegant and rather thick box that has a product picture at the front.

 

 

At the rear Seagate has placed a second picture along with two drawings to showcase its thickness (the OS support list is right next to them).

 

 

The drive capacity, serial number, model number, part number and factory roll-out date are placed on a small sticker at the bottom of the box.

 

 

The box is even more elegant on the inside (and safe since the drive is stuck inside a piece of black foam).

 

 

It seems that the bundle is of secondary importance to Seagate since aside the Seven drive you're also getting a short USB 3.0 cable and the user guide.

 

 

THE SEVEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 7mm thick enclosure of the Seven drive is made out of steel and measures 122.5mm in length and 82mm in width (weighs just 178g).

 

 

Placing the Seven right next to a regular 2.5" PHD wouldn't make it justice so instead we placed it right next to a 2.5" (15mm tall) and a 3.5" drive (two other reviews we're currently working on).

 

 

The manufacturer name is placed at the lower end of the front right next to the drive capacity, connectivity and a blue activity LED.

 

 

Seagate has placed the USB port right next to the activity LED.

 

 

The part number, serial number, model number and country of manufacture are printed at the rear right next to contact information for Seagate and right beneath several certification logos.

 

 

This is the first time I’ve seen the Laptop Ultrathin model so i don't really know just how good it is (just 5mm thick means that Seagate has prioritized size and energy consumption).

 

 

SEAGATE DASHBOARD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Seven drive comes wearing Seagate’s Dashboard software but since by the time you get it chances are there will be a new version available you can either download it directly from the official support page or you can let the software in the drive do it (auto update).

 

 

You will need to register the drive to your name before you can use the dashboard software.

 

 

Through the dashboard software you can back up your local files (from your PC or mobile device) onto the Seven drive.

 

 

But that's not all since you can use the software to back up your files from the Seven drive and onto one of the 4 compatible Cloud solutions, adjust the activity LED effect and you can even test the drive.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

   Keeping things simple so even people new in the field of computers can understand will always be our way so once again our testing procedure is almost exactly the same as the one we use with 2.5/3.5" external docking stations. This time however we will be comparing the product at hand with a wide range of 2.5" portable drives and standalone 2.5" enclosures all of which were benched using a HGST 7K750 SATA II hard disk drive. 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 7 Service Pack 1 with every update installed up to March 31st 2015.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   As you can all tell from our charts the Seagate Seven is far from the fastest 2.5" portable hard drive in the market something which we did actually expect (and mentioned it earlier) as soon as we saw that beneath the hood there was an 5400RPM/16MB, 5mm thick hard disk drive. Still what it lacks in performance it makes up in build quality since simply put it's superb although i need to point out that unless you're wearing gloves the enclosure will get filled with your prints very quickly. Of course the Seven has no real competition in the market in terms of design and size (thickness) so in the end i guess we just can't have it all at least not until Seagate places an SSD inside the Seven (or a smaller version of the Seven).

   The way i see it the Seagate Seven has but a single serious drawback, its cost since currently it retails for USD99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 129.30Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which places it in the same vicinity as several 2TB models. Personally i can forgive Seagate for this (largely thanks to companies like Apple) since i do realize that performance may come second or even third after design and quality but for the majority of consumers out there the choice between a 2.5" 500GB and a 2.5" 2TB drive for around the same price is clear. With this out of the way however if you want to have one of the most elegant and superior built 2.5" portable hard drives as we speak then the Seven by Seagate is the way to go and for that it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Superior Build Quality
- Design/Size (7mm thick)
- Steel Enclosure
- Inaudible
- Low Power Consumption
- Temperatures
- Seagate Dashboard Software
- 3 Years Warranty

 

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Performance Levels
- Only Available In 500GB