Rectron has launched the world's first-ever three terabyte (TB) hard drive - the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3.0 TB, an external unit that caters for all standard PC and Mac connectivity options, including USB 3.0 and eSATA.
“Seagate has pushed the boundaries of mechanical hard drive technology and platter density to create this storage monster,” says Elaine Wang, Business Manager at Rectron.
With a wide array of preloaded software, the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3.0 TB external drive - which can be placed either vertically or horizontally on a desk - is designed to deliver high-capacity storage and automatic, as well as continuous backup with encryption for all files.
“The bundled plug-and-play USB 2.0 adapter, which displays the drive's available storage capacity, makes it easy to connect to PC or Mac computer,” said Wang.
“The drive itself is fast enough for any user's connection type - and this includes the included USB 2.0 interface or the much faster USB 3.0 or FireWire 800 connectivity, which can be obtained when pairing the drive with the appropriate GoFlex upgrade adapter.”
These Seagate GoFlex upgrade adapters can instantly increase file transfer performance by up to 10 times, depending on the interface.
Wang also points out that since USB 2.0 is the most prevalent connection in use today, it is the appropriate standard connection for this drive.
“While the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3.0 TB ships with a USB 2.0 base dock, users who want alternate connection types only need to buy the connection type they want, dock the drive onto it, and away they go,” said Wang.
“With motherboard and notebook manufacturers now including ports in most new designs, USB 3.0 adoption is picking up. Users will see a marked improvement if they had to connect the 3.0 TB drive to USB 3.0 or eSATA instead of USB 2.0.”
Home theatre
Despite its enormous size - the result of the latest advancements in platter technology, which have allowed Seagate to squeeze 600GB onto each platter in the five-platter configuration of the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3.0 TB - Wang maintains that the drive is “fairly quiet” for its size.
“It will certainly not be bothersome to most users and is perfectly adequate to use in the lounge when attached to a home theatre system watching movies,” she said.
“And since the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3.0 TB is precision-designed and manufactured, with an operating life of 750 000 hours, it is completely reliable. If you want to do the maths, that's 31 250 days or roughly 85 years. In other words, the drives feature very mature and stable technology and are designed to last.”
According to Wang, this new generation of hard disc is also designed to withstand specific operational stresses, and she believes users must know to pick the right type of drive for their specific needs.
“Users who are not going to run their system 24/7/365 should use standard, every-day SSD or hard drives such as the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3.0 TB,” she explained.
“Users who are going to run their systems 24/7/365 should purchase drives such as Seagate's Constellation range, which is designed to operate constantly.”
“If it ain't broke, don't fix it”
Wang adds that despite the hype around how mechanical hard drive technology is being replaced slowly by solid state drive (SSD) technology, the release of the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3.0 TB indicates clearly that mechanical hard drives cannot currently be beaten - either for sheer storage space or price.
“Mechanical drives have been around for years and the technology is extremely mature and robust, following the simple 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' theory,” she explains.
“The technology is proven and only marginally improved to keep it fast, current and viable.”
She admits that solid state drives do offer a number of advantages in terms of lower power usage, much less heat generation, improved reliability due to them having no moving parts and - their primary advantage - speed.
“But they are still extremely expensive and cannot match a mechanical platter hard drive on cost per gigabyte,” she says.
“Because of their cost and space advantages, mechanical disks like the FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3.0 TB are still the primary choice for most users.
“Disc technology keeps improving with each generation, with improved data reliability, disc reliability, speed and performance, as well as capacity. There is not telling what technology is going to arrive to replace mechanical discs or solid state for that matter, but speed and capacity will keep going up.”
* The Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3.0 TB is now available country-wide at a suggested retail price of R2599.
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