Seagate USB 3.0 external disk drive 3 TB STBV3000300

Noise

Unacceptable. The noisiest Seagate drive in a long time. It sounds like it has a fan inside.

Space

The default formatting is NTFS. There are ten files preloaded by Seagate wasting 3.5 megabytes and looking like Seagate spyware, I instantly deleted them. After deleting the Seagate junk, there is 182.2 megabytes used by NTFS for overheads and the rest is available for your use.

Technical details

The disk reports a model of Seagate ST3000DM001-1CH166 with a rotation speed of 7200 RPM. The drive is pre formatted with NTFS which means it can be used in Linux and Windows and most of the other operating systems out there.

USB 3.0 cable

The cable is 1.2 metres long, long enough to let you store the disk away form your working area. I will use it on a hub with a decent length cable from the computers to the hub. The hub and all USB 3.0 devices will be on another shelf. The cable is long enough to reach the other shelf without the hub.

Recyclable

The box, internal packaging, and internal plastic bags are all recyclable. The external shrink wrap is no recyclable. None of the cardboard contains recycled paper or board. Above average but not a long way above average.

Alternatives

The combined package of the disk in the case cost $148 in a local shop. You can buy the disk by itself for $133 and place it in an Astone metal case, $19, for a combined total of $152. The Astone combination guarantees no fan and the coolest running drive due to the all metal case with mesh sides. I might test them for heat side by side.

The Astone case has an on/off switch. You have to unplug the Seagate to switch the Seagate off.