To test the drive, we copied over a folder containing 100 10MB files to the Go, duplicated the folder on the drive and then copied them back, running each test a handful of times and averaging the speed. Respectively, these operations yielded data transfer rates of 12.56MBps, 11.75MBps and 14.05MBps. As you can see from the chart, that's slower than Seagate's 750GB FreeAgent Pro's USB 2.0 bandwidth figures in all but the duplication operation. But then the bigger drive's result was surprisingly, perhaps anomalously poor.
Seagate FreeAgent Go performance results
Data throughput figures in MBps
Longer bars are better
The Pro spins at 7200rpm, the Go at 5400rpm, so it's no wonder the bigger drive is faster, but the figures show the portable unit is faster than the 33.33 per cent speed reduction you'd get from the slower-spinning storage. Its performance is on a par for similar, bus-powered 5400rpm portable hard drives we've looked at in the past.
Speed aside, we could quite easily use a Go to keep our laptop's 80GB hard drive backed up and have it double-up as a handy package for carrying documents around.
Ceedo Personal: all your apps, data on any PC
Stressing the latter role, Seagate bundles Creedo's Ceedo Personal application, a tool that lets the drive become a portable My Documents folder, allowing you to run your apps and access documents on different systems without having to install anything on those machines. Even preferences files are automatically stored on the external drive - compatible apps show a Ceedo icon in the title bar to indicate they're working with the drive.
COMMENTS
form >= brain power
why would i want an extra light on something i might want to use on battery from the laptop? should i lower my screen backlight to compensate for the power drain of yet another useless pretty lamp?
meh
Months ago I bought a WD 160gb Passport which is just as small, if not smaller. It came with the single headed cable (which is all I have ever needed). And the big catch is even back then it was a mere $107 at Best Buy, a retail store. I am sure I could have saved more if I could have waited and got it online.
And now WD has the 250gb option for $193 shipped on Newegg.
ignore previous comment! Maplins have FreeAgent Desktop, not go!
see title - I was wrong - maplins is the desktop version. Still a bargain tho :D
Re. Warranty
Fair point, and one I perhaps should have made.
Mind you, it doesn't cover data loss, and how you convince a company their drive's stopped working becuase of a manufacturing fault, and not because you dropped it, is anyone's guess.
Still, it's an indication that Seagate is confident in its FreeAgents' longevity that it's willing to cover them for five years.
Power
The double headed cable is only provided for use with systems that can't provide enough power over a single USB port. So far I've not found a system that wont power it through just the Data connection, this includes a Thinkpad and a Vaio and various desktops
