Seagate FreeAgent XTreme External Hard Drive
The best solution for a simple external storage is an external hard drive. Networked solutions are good too, but if you need to connect the drive to a single system, External drives rule. It is altogether another issue that one can never really have enough drive space. Apart from memory, another area that drives should focus on is the safety of your data. Unless you run a mirrored RAID array, you could lose all your data in the event of a hard drive crash. For most people, the back up solutions ranging from Online backup to multiple drive NAS storage are either expensive, slow or hard to setup.
Seagate FreeAgent XTreme provides a portable, easy to use external hard drive which packs sufficient storage, delivers good performance and has decent connectivity options for most needs. Available in 500GB, 640GB, 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB, the Xtreme has a 3.5 inch based hard disk drive. Despite the drive being a bit mundane, we appreciate its simple design, and the fact that its price per gigabyte is almost as the same as drives that have fewer connectivity options. It worked quietly through out testing and has 3 interfaces. We got a thorough review done on it. Read to find out if it is worth your penny.
Design:
Facelift:
The drive seems to have received an external facelift, expanded connectivity and more capacities. The newer Seagate FreeAgent XTreme External Hard Drive is smaller in size when compared to its predecessors, the Seagate FreeAgent product line. The black enclosure manages to be slim and has a few curved edges and some amount of lighting. It is about 7 x 7 inches and an inch thick and is not particularly portable. However, it would not take much of space on your bookrack or desk. Unlike the previous models which could only stand upward, the newer one is capable of working in both vertical and horizontal positions. The drive looks sturdy enough for something else to be placed on it while in horizontal position. The vertical position is flimsy and not particularly that stable. There is also a detachable base present as well.
Body:
You will find the Seagate logo with a cool dot design on the fascia. This is a fresh change and Seagate have thankfully done away with that gaudy orange backlit strip present on the older drives. On the front of the FreeAgent drive is present a large LED which glows with a whitish light that indicates the status of the drive. The light pulses when the drive is busy, is steadily on when the drive is idle and switches off when the drive goes to standby mode. On the rear side are two Firewire 400 ports, an USB 2.0 port and an eSATA port. All the plugs-ins are perfectly positioned and one can connect all four ports at once without any interference.
Lacks a Power Switch:
Another grievance in the Seagate FreeAgent XTreme is the fact that it lacks a proper power switch. Instead, there are software controls which are used to activate the device.
Capacities and Compatibility:
The FreeAgent XTreme is available in 5 different capacities: 500GB (ST305004FDA2E1-RK), 640GB (ST306404FDA2E1-RK), 1TB (ST310005FDA2E1-RK), 1.5TB (ST315005FDA2E1-RK) and 2TB (ST320005FPA2E3-RK).
The XTreme Desktop Drive is compatible with Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, or Business Service Pack-1, Windows XP Home, Professional, Media Center Edition Service Pack-2 and Windows XP/Vista.
Lacks eSATA cable:
If there are decent connectivity options, there would not be many issues for hooking up. What was lacking was the inclusion of an eSATA cable. This is not something that most people have at home or is available at stores. Considering that the eSATA interface is its main advantage over the cheaper FreeAgent Desk, the fact that eSATA is the fastest option available in the market that and that the XTreme has an eSATA option and no cable provided along, made us wonder why Seagate excluded it in their list.
Setup:
Setting up the FreeAgent XTreme Hard Drive is quite easy. Setup your drive where you want to and plug in the power and then plug the USB cable to your computer. The front will be illuminated with white LEDs in a pulsating manner. Since Seagate uses a mini USB cable to connect to your PC, even if you lose the provided cable, one can buy another one elsewhere. After charging it up and plugging it to a PC, a window pops up asking what you want to do. It is optional to install the Seagate Manager software, but if you want to backup some files you might want to.
Features:
Software:
Unlike the crap collection of games or poorly coded applications one would rather not use, the Seagate FreeAgent XTreme’s includes simple easy to use and highly useful software which surprised us. The Application used less than 3 MB of memory while running and does not leave your system exhausted.
Seagate Manager:
The Software is really easy to use and the main screen shows you how many drives have been installed. Just select it and go to the settings menu where you can adjust the power settings, test the drive or adjust the LED controls or even check for a software update. There are 4 buttons on the top. Backing up data with the FreeAgent software is an easy simple way to back up. The simple backup will backup all the documents in your my Documents folder everyday. But one cannot backup the same folder at different times on different days. The custom backup would allow you to backup all the files of your choice. One can choose the folders, file types and which days and time to backup. Since one can select only a single setup plan, one can also sync and has a choice: custom sync and simple sync. In the set of sync options, you can choose the sync now button and can even set copy and replace rules.
Note: A Seagate technician confirmed that there was no Online Backup option like there was with the older drives.
Cumbersome Security Function:
The security function of the software is rather tiring to use. It is monotonous to use and lacks the ability to password lock or encrypt the entire drive. The lack of an inbuilt RAID functionality was also bit of a let down. One needs to create a password for encryption, after which the files need to be dragged and dropped into the virtual folder. This is not the end as one needs to delete the originals. To open these encrypted files, you have to open the virtual folder and decrypt them. The drag and drop encryption is time consuming and cumbersome especially if you want to read multiple encryption.
A note for Mac Users:
The FreeAgent XTreme has no problems whatsoever with the Mac, but to be used, you have to reformat it. Try checking the FreeAgent Deck out which is a product exclusively made for Mac users and has the eSATA port replaced with Firewire 400 ports.
Performance:
The product’s performance is limited, thanks to connection type (It is about 480Mbps for USB, 400 for Firewire 400 and 3Gbps for eSATA). The real world performance is naturally much shorter than the above mentioned values. The Drive performed well and lived up to our expectations. The Firewire connection was a little bit faster but the real focus was on the eSATA port. The average transfer speed hovered about 50Mbps for the eSATA and for the USB was about 29 Mbps. With a peak of 107 MB/sec and an access time of 11ms, the XTreme beats the WD My Book Digital Edition in terms of transferring data through an eSATA port. The new enclosure runs cooler than the previous generation models and if there is a fan inside it, it is hardly audible and hence is a quiet device.
Competition:
Finding a decent drive around the same price as the XTreme is very difficult. We believe that the Western Digital My Book Studio Edition is the nearest rival. Even though the latter is marginally more expensive, it also does not ship with an eSATA cable. The XTreme represents a value for money as long as you use the eSATA connection along with the software provided.
Cost n stuff:
Unless you consider the three interface option to be intense, there is simply nothing particularly extreme about the Seagate FreeAgent XTreme. Despite the mundane nature of the drive, just like us, you must have liked the simple and functional design, fast performance and its easy to use software. With the three most wanted interfaces, Seagate has kept its price per Gigabyte cost in line with the drives that offer fewer connectivity options.
Power Consumption:
You need not worry about switching off the drive separately not because it lacks a power switch but because the drive itself drops into a low power consumption mode. In this mode, the drive consumes only a meager 5 watts of power. Even if you would want to save that little amount of electricity, you would have to switch the drive off a plug.
Accessories:
Apart from the main drive are provided a power cord, a USB 2.0 cable. Firewire cable,an Instruction manual and a stand for supporting the drive. If you think the stand does not look nice, the drive can be still mounted horizontally thanks to the rubber base feet. We wish an eSATA cable had been included in the kit as well.
Warranty:
The FreeAgent XTreme is a great device and we believe that it would hardly require any support beyond the duration of warranty. The XTreme has a mind boggling warranty of 5 years. Considering most drives offer 3 (some offer just one year!) years, this is very generous of Seagate. While Seagate will not pay any sort of compensation in case of data loss, at least one can get a replacement for the crashed drive. There is a toll free phone service available on weekdays from 5 am to 7 pm or you can get technical support by emailing via a Web form. The Seagate’s official site offers troubleshooting assistance and has a downloadable driver library and a list of FAQs.
Verdict:
Seagate has delivered yet another great product in the form of the FreeAgent XTernal hard drive. Its simple and cool design, excellent connectivity and superb performance have impressed us. The LED on the device is really cool and adds to the style the device carries. The software provided allows one to setup a backup plan easily and even sync folders, which also allows you to encrypt folders for extra security. Its performance is on par with the USB and Firewire standards and our test results demonstrated a three fold performance advantage in a couple of situations. The drive is highly useful if you have loads of data to transfer and very little time.
Considering there are cheaper drives in the market, the fact that they lack connectivity options such as eSATA or Firewire 400 gives the XTreme an unassailable lead. Sure, you can buy an enclosure and a drive and setup a drive. But this not only is a fool proof model to add storage, but also has great software as well. It is an excellent external drive and offers a better value for money than its rivals. If you need the flexibility of an external hard disk drive with the amazing performance of an internal one, the XTreme is the way to go. It would have been a great package, had an eSATA cable been included.
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Seagate FreeAgent XTreme Hard Drive External - Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | Seagate |
| Model Name | Seagate FreeAgent XTreme |
| Model Numbers | 500GB : ST305004FDA2E1-RK 640GB : ST306404FDA2E1-RK 1TB: ST310005FDA2E1-RK 1.5TB: ST315005FDA2E1-RK 2TB: ST320005FPA2E3-RK |
| Model | Slim line model |
| Drive type | Hard drive array |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) inches | 6.89″ x 1.33″ x 6.77″ |
| Weight | 3.06 lbs |
| Enclosure | Black |
| Drive Type | 3.5″ drive |
| Spindle Speed | 7200 rpm |
| Capacities available | 2TB, 1.5TB, 1TB, 640GB and 500GB |
| Interfaces | USB 2.0, FireWire and eSATA |
| Read/Write Speed | USB 2.0: 28Mbps / 16Mbps FireWire 400: 36Mbps/ 18Mbps eSATA: 40Mbps/ 37Mbps |
| Power Source | Self powered |
| Software included | Seagate Manager |
| Compatible systems | Microsoft Windows Vista / 2000 / XP |
| Mac Compatible | Yes |
| Package contents | Hard drive, USB cable, four rubber feet, vertical stand, Firewire cable, Wall wart power supply, Quick Start guide, Warranty statement. |
| Warranty | 5 years |
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