
- SEAGATE FREEAGENT GOFLEX USB DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS 10 PORTABLE
- SEAGATE FREEAGENT GOFLEX USB DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS 10 PRO
- SEAGATE FREEAGENT GOFLEX USB DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS 10 SOFTWARE
The FreeAgent GoFlex comes close in basic dimensions–its official listed dimensions are 4.14 by 3.23 by 0.55 inches, as compared with the Western Digital drive’s 4.3 by 3.2 by 0.6 inches–but for the FreeAgent drive, those measurements don’t include the cable module. In this respect, though, Seagate doesn’t quite succeed.
SEAGATE FREEAGENT GOFLEX USB DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS 10 PRO
Another annoyance: You have to pop the module off to use it with the dock that comes with the Pro drive, for example (Seagate says a dock that accommodates the drive with the USB 2.0 module in place will be out later this year).Īnother part of Seagate’s reasoning for breaking the connection module out of the drive was to make the drive more directly competitive in size with Western Digital’s latest, compact My Passport series (which uses a micro-USB connector).

But I found on the shipping unit I tried that the connector module could come unseated more easily than I’d expect–a risk when a drive might be sitting on an airplane tray table or the side of a couch. Having two potential points of failure concerned me at first, but Seagate assured me that the connector between the drive and the module has been well tested and can withstand use. The drive has not one, but two connections to pass through (the bridge module’s connector, and then the connection from the bridge module to your PC). It also means you have to use a different module unit for different connectors.Īnother potential issue, though, lies with the module concept itself. If you travel a lot and you like to have a few spare cables handy, that will add up fast.
SEAGATE FREEAGENT GOFLEX USB DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS 10 SOFTWARE
The USB 3.0 cable costs $30, the eSATA cable costs $20, the FireWire 800 cable is $40, and the Auto Backup cable (which turns the drive into an automatic-backup unit much like the company’s now-retired Replica drive, using disk-imaging software powered by Rebit) sells for $30.

Of those, only the USB 2.0 GoFlex Cable ($20) can be removed from the connector module the rest are fixed in place.
SEAGATE FREEAGENT GOFLEX USB DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS 10 PORTABLE
Seagate offers six cable kits for the portable drive system. And if you don’t keep an extra around, you’ll be out of luck if you take the drive somewhere and realize only later that you need a particular connection. However, if you do need extra connectors, your costs will add up quickly–the connectors range from $30 to $80. You could also save some money, in theory: Seagate says the new design lowers the drive’s costs, as you’ll pay only for the connectors you need.

One possible benefit of the new Seagate design is that you might not run into any power issues if you use the drive with an ultraportable laptop (sometimes, multiinterface drives require more power than the USB ports on such notebooks output). This approach goes counter to the trend of putting multiple interfaces (for example, any combination of USB 2.0, USB 3.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and eSATA) on a drive. As a result, Seagate can offer a variety of cable modules for use with a single drive–giving you plenty of connection flexibility. The unique hook to these models is that Seagate has reengineered the devices to separate the drive from the bridge board that translates the drive’s native SATA to another interface connection. The portable drives come in assorted capacities and colors ($100 for 320GB in silver or black $130 for 500GB in silver, black, red, or blue $170 for 750GB in silver or black and $190 for 1TB in silver or black). Seagate has refreshed its line of portable hard drives and introduced its FreeAgent GoFlex system (available in both portable and desktop variants), which encompasses drives, connection modules, and accessories.
