G-Technology vs Western Digital – are they good for photos? The G-Technology G-DRIVE mobile USB-C drive offers portable storage in a stylish, aluminum design to complement your computer. On otherside, WD Elements portable storage delivers maximum performance for data transfers. Transfer a full-length HD movie in a fraction of the time it takes with USB 2.0. Performance may vary based on user’s hardware and system configuration.
Pros & Cons – G-Technology vs Western Digital
G-Technology
Like:
- Sleek and lightweight
- Solid construction means I won’t fear shipping it
- Very quiet in operation
- (2) Thunderbolt 3 and (1) USB-C ports
- Pretty fast read/write speeds regardless of port
- Physical on/off switch
- Multiple capacity options (4TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB & 12TB)
No Like:
- Oddly inconsistent speeds during testing. It would also peak to very fast speeds quickly before falling to a much lower, final speed (which are the published numbers above)
- Nearly triple the price for triple the ports, but TB3 workstations will appreciate it
Western Digital
Pros
- Small (135mm x 135mm/5.31″)
- Light (0.97 lb/0.44 kg)
- Rugged(ish)
- Long battery life (10h)
- Fast memory card imports (65MB/s)
- Simple setup
- Fast streaming
Cons
- Expensive for larger capacities
- Unattractive design
- Buttons require long/multiple presses
Specification – G-Technology vs Western Digital
G-Technology
- Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports and one USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port, which is also known as USB 3.0
- Daisy-chaining for up to 5 additional devices
- High-speed data transfers up to 245 MB/s
- Solid aluminum case helps improve durability
- 10TB enterprise-class 7200 rpm hard drive
- Apple Time Machine compatible
- Plug-and-play on macOS
Western Digital 1TB
- Storage Capacity and Price 250GB ($229), 500GB ($299), 1TB ($499) and 2TB ($799)
- Transfer Rates Read: Up to 390 MB/s
- Interfaces 1x micro USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x SD (UHS-I)
- Wireless Dual-Band 802.11 ac/n
- Battery Capacity 6,700 mAh
- Battery Life 10 Hours
- Housing Shock Resistant
- Power Output (As Power Bank) 1.5A
- Mobile Applications iOS and Android
- Dimensions 5.3 x 5.3 x 1.2″ / 13.5 x 13.5 x 3.0 cm
- Weight 1.01 lb / 0.46 kg
Compare G-Technology vs Western Digital vs LaCie Mobile Drive 2TB
| G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE Mobile USB-C | LaCie Mobile Drive 2TB External Hard Drive HDD | WD 2TB My Passport Ultra for Mac Silver Portable External Hard Drive | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compatible Devices | Desktop, Laptop, Television | Laptop, Desktop | Desktop, Laptop, Television |
| Digital Storage Capacity | 1 TB | 2 TB | 2 TB |
| Hard Disk Description | Portable | Desktop | Portable |
| Hard Disk Size | 1000 GB | — | 2.0 TB |
| Hardware Interface | USB 3.0, USB 2.0 | USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB Type C | USB, USB 3.0 |
| Item Dimensions | 4.33 x 3.23 x 0.41 inches | 0.39 x 3.46 x 4.79 inches | 4.33 x 3.21 x 5.00 inches |
| Item Weight | 4.87 ounces | 7.04 ounces | 4.64 ounces |
| Memory Storage Capacity | 1 TB | 2 TB | 2 TB |
| Model Year | 2018 | — | 2018 |
| Size | 1TB | 2TB | 2TB |
Pricing and availability
The G-Technology G-Drive, for example, costs as little as £153 (around $215) for the 4TB model with the 6TB model available for only £20 more. You will be hard pressed to find a 1TB external SSD for less than £300 (G-Tech’s very own G-Drive being the exception at less than £200).
Affordability aside, is the G-Technology G-Drive 4TB worth it? Well, it delivers some great read/write speeds with a minimalist design.
WD’s My Passport Wireless SSD is available in capacities of 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB with prices ranging from $230 / £220 / AU$429 for the 250GB model to $800 / £700 / AU$1,399 for the 2TB version, with Black Friday PC components deals likely reducing the cost a bit.
Customer reviews – G-Technology vs Western Digital
Build
While the device isn’t weather- or dust-proof, it does come with a removable drop-resistant rubber bumper, giving it a rugged look and a non-slip surface to improve grip. Moreover, all the ports and buttons are flush with the exterior, and in combination with the thickness of the bumper, that should help protect the drive from the elements and accidental scrapes.
Design
G-technology
Designed to match the Apple product range, the G-Technology G-Drive external hard disk features an all-aluminum enclosure with an illuminated ‘G’ logo and air vents (to cool the drive) on the front. A large ‘G’ adorns the top of the device and there’s a power switch, a USB Type-C connector (Gen 1 so only up to 5Gbps) and a power socket at the back.
The G-DRIVE Thunderbolt 3 is anything but flashy, and I like that. It’s a simple metallic rectangle with subdued branding and minimal design. The face of the drive is a grate with a light-up “G” in the center that glows and flickers with the drive’s activation. The rear of the drive features three connection ports (two Thunderbolt 3 and one normal USB-C), a power port, and an on/off switch. The G-DRIVE ships with a Thunderbolt 3 cable, but also works with a regular USB-C cable, and a USB-C to USB-A cable
WD
My Passport Wireless SSD has been built for life on the go: it comes packing a built-in SD card reader, 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity and an internal Li-Ion battery that gives you up to 10 hours of continuous wireless use. It weighs 359g (0.79 pounds) without the bumper, but dress it up in its rugged jacket and you’ll be carrying 461g (1.02 pounds) in the bag.
Ports
On the ‘top’ edge of the My Passport Wireless SSD is a power button, a 10-pin micro-B USB 3.0 port, and a USB 2.0 socket that’s On-The-Go (OTG) compatible. There’s also a second switch on the top which powers up the battery indicator and inititates SD card transfers, and also works as the WPS switch for the initial Wi-Fi setup. The only other physical feature on the drive is the SD card slot, which lives around the corner from those USB ports, and there’s also battery, Wi-Fi and power indicator lights on the front face.
RPM
G-technology
The 7,200rpm 1TB hard drive mechanism is faster than the 5,400rpm mechanism found in the Toshiba Canvio Slim II and Seagate Slim. The LaCie P’9223 Slim has a SSD mechanism, which is much faster but has a much smaller capacity 120GB SSD.
WD
The drive spins at a standard 7,200rpm and comes with active cooling technology to make sure it doesn’t overheat (reassuring if you’re going to be working or gaming directly from it). That huge 8TB capacity is good enough to store 200 games on average, Western Digital says, though obviously it depends how massive your games are.
File format
What’s nice about the My Passport-series devices, is that you can preview RAW files from many different cameras when using the WD My Cloud app. The software is able to read thumbnails from RAW files (using the embedded JPEG thumbnails in RAW files), so you can preview images from both SD cards and the built-in storage. Many camera brands and models are supported from a number of different manufacturers, including Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Fuji, Panasonic, Olympus and others. The full list of supported cameras is provided here. Interestingly, even some medium format cameras such as the Fuji GFX 50S and Hasselblad X1D-50c are supported, which is great!
The G-Drive Mobile USB 3.0 comes pre-formatted HFS+ for Macs, though you can reformat it ExFAT or NTFS for use with a PC. This is less convenient than the Seagate Slim for Mac, which comes with a HFS+ driver for PCs. The G-Drive Mobile USB 3.0 is best suited for Mac-only offices, where you’ll use the speedier 7,200rpm G-Drive to reduce drag-and-drop transfer times or for quicker backups using Time Machine. The G-Drive Mobile USB 3.0 comes with a three-year warranty.
Performance review: G-Technology vs Western Digital
G-Technology
The drive achieved some great numbers on CrystalDiskMark hitting 180MBps and 152.6MBps on sequential read/write benchmarks respectively, while reaching 182MBps and 184MBps with sequential read/write speeds on the popular ATTO disk benchmark. That’s not far from the ‘up to’ transfer rates of 195MBps claimed by the manufacturer.
Western Digital
Splitting up that 8.9GB of content into an image set and a video set did result in more consistent speeds when we repeated tests, but ultimately took longer than even that second, slower combined test. Moving 5.6GB of 4K videos took 2 minutes and 26 seconds (38.4MB/s), while 3.3GB of RAW and JPEG files were transferred in 3 minutes and 32 seconds (15.5MB/s) – both well below that aforementioned 65MB/s max speed.
Alternate of G-Technology vs Western Digital
Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC
Size: 1 TB
This external drive offers something a little different in terms of security. The Buffalo MiniStation Extreme has NFC security encryption, meaning it uses a near field communication device such as your smartphone to unlock. It is rugged and a little heavier than some other drives, at 230g, but it does have a drive speed of 7,200rpm and has a read speed of 120 MB per second.
Toshiba Canvio Basics 2 TB
Size: 2 TB
On the cheaper end of standard hard drives, Toshiba’s Canvio does what needs doing. There is nothing showy about the look, but this Toshiba drive is about the practicality rather than something to show off on your desk.
The 2 TB version is great value, offering plenty of space for just under £70. It has an average read speed of between 100 and 112 MB per second.
LaCie Porsche Design 1 TB
Size: 1 TB, 2TB, 4TB, 5TB
Need the next level in external storage? You will want to turn to a USB-C connected drive. This sleek design from LaCie features a USB-C port for faster connectivity, great if you use the new Macbook or Macbook Pro.
While this does make for theoretically faster data transfers, it can become an issue since the lone USB -C port on the Macbook means you will need an adapter to charge and use the drive at the same time. The USB-C also cannot alter the physical speed at which the LaCie writes or reads data, which is around 130 MB per second.
Adata SD700 External SSD 512GB
Size: 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
Okay, admittedly this is a solid state drive (SSD), but for those who want a slick transfer speed This slim external solid state drive from Adata offers a quieter, lighter package than many external hard drives. It is dust and water resistant and shockproof. Weighing just 100g it can almost fit in the palm of your hand. It offers 440 MB per second read and write speeds.
Samsung T5 500GB
Size: 500 GB, 1 TB
For something faster, Samsung’s T3 solid state drive offers faster transfer than most normal hard drives and is a great expansion for tablets, smartphones and Windows devices. You can see a full list of compatible devices here. However, it only stores around 500GB of data, so although you get faster data transfer that is less storage for your external drive.
It has lightning fast transfer speeds up to 450 MB per second. It is also tiny, weighing just 51g, making it ideal for portability and practicality. It connects via USB-C.
