Seagate's GoFlex Satellite is the Little Hard Drive that Could

[Shawn Zipay]

The Nitty-Gritty Details

• Name -- Seagate GoFlex Satellite
• Firmware -- 1.3.5.015 (Updated March 2012)
• Size (LxWxH) -- 4.72 x 3.46 x 1.26 inches
• Weight -- 0.589 pounds
• Connector Options -- USB 2.0, USB 3.0
• Capacity -- 500GB
• Desktop OSes Supported -- Windows XP, Vista, 7 | Mac OS 10.5.8 or later
• Mobile OSes Supported -- iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch) | Android
• Battery Life -- 25+ Hours on Standby | Up to 7 hours of continuous streaming on battery power (only with latest firmware update)
• Number of Wireless Connections -- Up to 8 users (only with latest firmware update)

The Good

• The compact and sleek design looks great sitting next to a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone.
• The small size allows the GoFlex to fit comfortably inside most any size laptop bag, messenger bag, or purse if you're a woman on the go.
• The latest firmware update addresses a number of the early complaints that users had with the device. Originally, only 3 simultaneous users could connect to a GoFlex at any given time. The March 2012 firmware update ups this limit to eight connected devices streaming at once.
  
  The update also extends the battery life for continuous streaming beyond the pre-March 2012 firmware update time of around five hours. It can now stream media over Wi-Fi for up to seven hours.
  
  The update now allows users to browse the Internet while simultaneously remaining connected to the GoFlex Satellite.
• USB 3.0 connection provides much better read and write speeds compared to USB 2.0
• Comes packaged with a detachable USB 3.0 Cable and appropriate adapter, a USB to DC power cable, a USB wall adapter, a USB car charger
• Virtually no noticeable sound output from the device while in use
• The drive comes with a three year limited warranty, though given the solid feeling build of the device, it seems unlikely that you will need to make use of it.

The Bad

• USB 3.0 speeds aren't as fast as other external drives on the market
• The Android app isn't quite as speedy on older model Android phones, though there may not be much that can be done about this.

Power button (Left) | DC input (Right)

More than a Simple Hard Drive

The GoFlex Satellite from Seagate is the subject of our review today. Included in the small profile device is a lot of features and capacity at a price point ($200 USD) that won't break your wallet.

Serving primarily as a portable external hard drive, the GoFlex Satellite also includes the ability to act as a Wi-Fi access point. This feature alone propels the drive into a league without much competition and a Godsend to those who live life on the go. Those with tablets or other mobile devices will find the 500GB of storage to be more than adequate for storing music, videos, documents, and anything else that you may need to access when you are away from your desktop computer.

The drive supports both Windows and Mac based PCs and both Android and iOS mobile devices. The only caveat here is that not all media formats will play on both Android and iOS devices, shortcomings of the mobile OSs themselves and not something that can be rectified by this or any other external hard drive. As a USB 3.0 device, desktop users can expect to see read speeds at around 74MB/s (average) and write speeds at around 77MB/s (average).

Don't have a USB 3.0 port? No problem as the drive can also work on USB 2.0 connections or even with computers that have external SATA connections built into the back of the motherboard. For this particular review, we stuck with the USB 3.0 connectivity, but those running solely with USB 2.0 ports can expect to see read speeds of about 34MB/s (average) and write speeds of around 27MB/s (average).

Again, when compared to similar drives currently on the market, the speeds are a bit slower than most but not by much. The slower speeds are just a minor issue when you also consider the sturdy construction of the device, the built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, and the small profile which lends itself to easy portability.

Read Speed - 16MB Block Size (larger graph line)


Read Speed - 32KB Block Size


From GoFlex to SSD
Explorer echoes the results of the above HD Speed tests for read speed averages (~74MB/s)


From SSD to GoFlex
Explorer notes an 80MB/s transfer rate, but the speeds were not constant during the transfer, though they did average out to 77MB/s
(The time remaining on the transfer is incorrect in the image, as this transfer completed in less time than the transfer from the GoFlex to the SSD took)

Wi-Fi and the GoFlex - A Match Made in HDD Heaven

The biggest selling point of the GoFlex Satellite is the fact that you can access your files from a huge array of mobile devices including phones and tablets. Provided, of course, that you're running either an iOS or Android based device.

Getting started with wireless file access is incredibly simple. Once the device is powered on, simply searching for the device's name under your available wireless connections will let you connect with ease. Seagate does have their own app for both iOS and Android that the user will launch to connect to their drive. The programs allow for easy browsing of their files as they are streamed from the GoFlex Satellite.

In my testing, the connection was snappy, it was easy to locate my device, and it brought up organized lists of my stored files. The only real problem I ran into was when I tried to stream various videos onto my first-generation Droid. My dated phone just could not stream the videos without buffering and hitching. However, when testing with an iPad 2, the videos were streamed without issue. This is thanks to the speedy wireless-N access point built into the device.

The fact that you can wirelessly stream your content to your mobile devices will allow users to more than double the content they have access to. If the meager storage on your iPad just isn't cutting it anymore, then the GoFlex Satellite sounds like it would be a very worthwhile purchase. It's certainly a much better alternative than forking over another $600 (or more) simply to upgrade to a larger capacity iPad.

The Bottom Line

I could go on and on about the features, the ease of Wi-Fi streaming, or all of the technical data in the known universe. When it comes down to it, I have enjoyed my time with the Seagate GoFlex Satellite. I have used it while recording with Fraps and not once experienced a framerate drop because of slow access times at 720p. I have used it to stream music and view pictures to my Motorola Droid while I was just sitting in bed, away from my desktop.

The fact that the latest firmware essentially eliminated some of the biggest complaints that customers had in the past is a great sign that Seagate is listening to their community and reacting accordingly. Frankly, it's refreshing to see a company go to such lengths to please their existing customers. In addition, I'm sure these updates will also pull in new customers who may have been on the fence in the past due to a shortcoming in this feature or that.

For the gamers out there, and I'm sure we have quite a few here at TGN, you will also be happy to know that load times are about on par with typical internal SATA devices. Again, this was tested on a USB 3.0 connection so your mileage may vary if you running on USB 2.0. While it just cannot compete with the load times of a good SSD, there won't be any issue if you need to expand your storage capacity for your growing Steam library.

Special Thanks

We at Total Gaming Network would like to thank Seagate for the review opportunity on their GoFlex Satellite drive. I would personally like to thank Jonathan L. at Seagate for extending this opportunity to us. It frankly could not have come at a better time given how my old external drive (note: it was not a Seagate drive) bit the bucket just a couple of weeks prior.

Useful Links

• Purchase the Seagate GoFlex Satellite -- http://www.seagate.com/external-hard...lex-satellite/
• GoFlex Satellite Firmware Update page (Please read all warnings and instructions carefully) -- http://www.seagate.com/support/exter...rmware-master/
• Complete list of changes in the latest firmware release (1.3.5.015) -- http://knowledge.seagate.com/article...S/FAQ/220011en
• Seagate's Twitter -- https://twitter.com/#!/SEAGATE

[jimykx]

Re: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite is the Little Hard Drive that Could

If i record a video directly to that hard drive the video transfer rate will also be at 70~80 mb/sec ?

[Shawn Zipay]

Re: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite is the Little Hard Drive that Could

If i record a video directly to that hard drive the video transfer rate will also be at 70~80 mb/sec ?

Like with Fraps? It depends on your recording features.

I recorded 720p footage at 60 frames per second for Red Orchestra 2 using Fraps and recording the footage directly to the GoFlex. A segment of footage is 4,142,804KB and 2:04 long. If I did the math correctly, that is a rate of 32.6MB/s, which gives you plenty of overhead to work with.

Then again, I may have been looking at the wrong thing entirely here.

[jimykx]

Re: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite is the Little Hard Drive that Could

Like with Fraps? It depends on your recording features.

I recorded 720p footage at 60 frames per second for Red Orchestra 2 using Fraps and recording the footage directly to the GoFlex. A segment of footage is 4,142,804KB and 2:04 long. If I did the math correctly, that is a rate of 32.6MB/s, which gives you plenty of overhead to work with.

Then again, I may have been looking at the wrong thing entirely here.

I have been testing a program that i consider to be much better than fraps. it's dxtory. It's only problem is that it is very heavy on the hard drive and if i'm recording 720p 30frames per second true quality, even though my game fps are well over 60, the file will be lower than 30, for example 15 or 20. That's because my hard drive's 40mb/s are not enough for the program to be able to store the video in real time

[Shawn Zipay]

Re: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite is the Little Hard Drive that Could

Unless Dxtory changed things up considerably since I last used it, it's a fairly pitiful program. Poor quality, and having to tweak every setting under the sun to get a competent looking image quality and maintaining a decent size is annoying to say the least. It also wrecked havoc with my system, bogging it down far more than Fraps ever did.

[CptainCrunch]

Re: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite is the Little Hard Drive that Could

Is wireless what you would be playing the game on as well?

If so, you wouldnt have the bandwidth to play the game and send video to the external storage. You would have a lot of lag in-game.

In my little experience with recording programs, I have found them to be slow and stuttery when recording video to a hard drive that does not have the software directly installed on it as well. Even using matching hard drives, the results were the same, a stuttery video missing frames.

With that said, I have not tried it with solid state drives or with USB 3.0. With faster throughput, it should be do-able.

[Shawn Zipay]

Re: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite is the Little Hard Drive that Could

Is wireless what you would be playing the game on as well?

If so, you wouldnt have the bandwidth to play the game and send video to the external storage. You would have a lot of lag in-game.

In my little experience with recording programs, I have found them to be slow and stuttery when recording video to a hard drive that does not have the software directly installed on it as well. Even using matching hard drives, the results were the same, a stuttery video missing frames.

With that said, I have not tried it with solid state drives or with USB 3.0. With faster throughput, it should be do-able.

What? No no. Wireless is mainly for streaming of media and typically to mobile devices. While it is possible to connect your PC to it wirelessly if you have a wireless card, I don't really see why you would if you have an open USB port, which most people tend to do.

If you want to save things or read off of it like for a game, you hook that up via USB 3.0. This is my first experience with USB 3.0 and while, like I mentioned in the review, it's slower than other USB3.0 drives, it was still plenty fast for my needs.

[jimykx]

Re: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite is the Little Hard Drive that Could

Unless Dxtory changed things up considerably since I last used it, it's a fairly pitiful program. Poor quality, and having to tweak every setting under the sun to get a competent looking image quality and maintaining a decent size is annoying to say the least. It also wrecked havoc with my system, bogging it down far more than Fraps ever did.

I enjoy dxtory over fraps because it has less impact on the game's performance when recording. I think it is because it can use more than just one processor. About the problem with the size of the files can be solved by using another codec other than dxtory's one. For example lagarith lossless or my favorite, x264vfw. I tried other programs such as bandicam and afterburner but I have had resolutions problems with them

[Shawn Zipay]

Re: Seagate's GoFlex Satellite is the Little Hard Drive that Could

Lagarith is what I initially tried. It was terrible, even after having followed a guide for the setup of the program.