External Hard Drives: Reviews

PCMag.com: "If you have a need for 1 TB of portable storage that's future-proofed, get this drive," writes Joel Santo Domingo of PCMag.com about the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE. He praises the USB 3.0 port's speed,, size and its lack of an external AC adapter.

Laptop Magazine: Laptop Magazine praises the software and light weight of the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE. However, John Brandon marks it down substantially because of slow transfer speeds as compared to other USB 3.0 external hard drives and a flimsy-feeling plastic case.

EverythingUSB.com: Anthony Garland finds a lot to like with the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE, but also finds some noteworthy negatives.

TweakTown.com: This brief but technically packed review gives the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB external hard drive a solid 90 percent rating.

Macworld: Mauricio Grijalva of Macworld praises the smaller Western Digital My Passport Essential USB 3.0 drive.

LegitReviews.com: Nathan Kirsch offers an extensive review of the 500 GB Western Digital My Passport Essential USB 3.0 external hard drive, with detailed descriptions and benchmark testing.

NotebookReview.com: Jerry Jackson of NotebookReview.com praises the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE external hard drive for its compact, lightweight design and ease of use.

Amazon.com: Amazon.com combines reviews for the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE configurations.

CNET: CNET awards the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable external hard drive an Editor's Choice rating and 4 out of 5 stars, complimenting its flexibility and ability to work with PCs and Macs without being formatted.

Macworld: Macworld says the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable external hard drive has "blistering speeds, simple design, and enough flexibility that it could wind up becoming that one hard drive you hang on to for several years." The review praises the drive's ability to adapt to any connector (USB 3.0, eSATA, FireWire) with the addition of an appropriate $20 adapter.

PCMag.com: PCMag.com reviewer Joel Santo Domingo awards the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable external hard drive 4.5 out of 5 stars and an Editors' Choice in this extensive review with benchmark testing.

PC World (Australia): PC World (Australia) awards the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable external hard drive its Editor's Choice in this USB 3.0, 1.5 TB version, calling it "fantastically versatile." Editors like the flexibility, though they note that Mac users have a hard time uninstalling some of the software if they want a clean drive.

TomsHardware.com: TomsHardware.com reviews the entire Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex line of external hard drives, concluding that the modular upgrade feature is unique and useful.

Good Housekeeping: Editors of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute awards the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable external hard drive an A rating, naming it their favorite overall external hard drive.

Notebook Check.net: This review from NotebookCheck.net updates an earlier review in the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable line of external hard drives, comparing the smaller-sized drive to its larger brethren.

Amazon.com: Amazon.com lumps together reviews of some of the different flavors of the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Ultra-Portable external hard drive line, which results in more than 300 ratings for this drive.

PCMag.com: PCMag.com gives the ioSafe SoloPro 4.5 out of 5 stars and an Editors' Choice rating, calling it "rugged to excess" and praising the fast performance of this external hard drive.

CNET: CNET gives the ioSafe SoloPro external hard drive 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising its data protection capabilities but downgrading it for noise, the fact that users cannot replace the drive, the single-drive limitation (no RAID protection against hard drive failure) and its size/weight.

Macworld: "IoSafe has achieved a reputation for producing tough-as-nails hard drives," reviewer Chris Holt writes in his overview of the ioSafe SoloPro external hard drive, which he awards 4 out of 5 mice.

Computer Shopper: Reviewer John A. Burek awards the ioSafe SoloPro external hard drive an Editors' Choice and an 8.0 out of 10 rating, calling it "a fine choice for safeguarding your digital pics or a small business' crucial records at a reasonable price." The review praises the data protection, speed over USB 3.0 connection and data recovery plan, noting that it's bulky, heavy, comes without software and only has a single drive (so there's no protection against drive failure).

TrustedReviews.com: TrustedReviews.com editors gives the ioSafe SoloPro external hard drive an 8 out of 10 score, saying, "If you simply want an external hard drive that will keep your most precious files safe and sound, no matter how terrible the circumstances, É it is without equal." Even a brief dunking destroys the power supply, cooling fan and external data connections, reviewer Edward Chester notes, at least until they're thoroughly dried again.

MaximumPC.com: MaximumPC roasts the ioSafe SoloPro external hard drive on a barbecue for 30 minutes (with pretty dramatic photos) and then dunks it in a bucket of bay water.

Macnn.com: MacNN.com gives the ioSafe SoloPro external hard drive 4.5 out of 5 stars, noting the mounting bracket that allows the drive to be physically screwed or locked to a surface to protect against theft and the fact that the drive is Linux- and Mac-compatible.