G-Technology G-Drive Slim (500GB) Review

The G-Technologies G-Drive Slim (500GB) ($89.95 list) is a compact, speedy hard drive for the MacBook or ultrabook user. It is styled to match Apple's line of computers, but it will work fine as external storage for any slim and highly portable laptop (once you reformat it). Included software is non-existent, but the G-Drive Slim (500GB)($49.99 at Amazon) is capacious and faster than several other portable USB 3.0 drives.

Design and Features
The G-Drive Slim (500GB) looks very much like the previous model, the G-Technology G-Drive Slim. The new version comes in the same slim 0.4 by 3.25 by 5 inches (HWD) chassis, which is about the same size as a smartphone. It weighs about a third of a pound, so it is easily pocketable. Both drives are made with a largely aluminum shell with a matte-silver finish, so both will look natural next to aluminum Macs like the Apple MacBook Air( at Amazon) laptops. The G-Drive Slim (500GB)($49.99 at Amazon) has a black plastic ring around its edge, which is where you'll find the micro-b USB 3.0 port and its adjacent drive status LED.

The G-Drive Slim (500GB) has other slim, aluminum-clad competition, namely the Toshiba Canvio Slim II (1TB)($105.00 at Amazon), LaCie Porsche Design P'9223 Slim, and Seagate Slim for Mac( at Amazon). The Seagate Slim for Mac is the closest in spirit to the G-Drive Slim (500GB), since it also comes in a 500GB capacity with USB 3.0 and comes pre-formatted for HFS+. They both have an $89.99 list price, though you should be able to find either drive for less on the usual shopping websites. The Toshiba Canvio Slim II is a larger capacity 1TB drive for about $10 more than the G-Drive Slim (500GB), and the LaCie P'9223 Slim is a 120GB SSD for quite a bit more money.

The drive comes bundled with a USB 3.0 cable and a quick-start pamphlet. With a 500GB capacity, the drive is capable of backing up most currently shipping MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, as well as base models of the Mac Pro and Mac mini. It works with Time Machine straight out of the box, and if you wish, you can reformat the drive exFAT or NTFS so you can use it with a Windows PC.

Similar Products

4.0

Excellent

Toshiba Canvio Slim II (1TB)

$105.00 at Amazon

 

See It Read Our Toshiba Canvio Slim II (1TB) Review

3.5

Good

LaCie Porsche Design P'9223 Slim

 

 

 

Read Our LaCie Porsche Design P'9223 Slim Review

3.5

Good

Seagate Slim for Mac

 

 

Check Stock Read Our Seagate Slim for Mac Review

Since it comes without any pre-loaded or downloadable software, the G-Drive Slim (500GB) is at a slight disadvantage compared with the Toshiba Canvio, LaCie P'9223 Slim, and Seagate Slim. For example, the Seagate Slim comes with Seagate's Dashboard software, which automatically monitors your social media accounts for pictures to download. The G-Drive Slim (500GB) comes with a three-year warranty, which matches that of the LaCie P'9223 Slim and Toshiba Canvio, but is a year better than the Seagate Slim.

Performance
The G-Drive Slim (500GB) is speedier than its predecessor, which used a slower 5,400rpm drive. Transferring our 1.2GB test folder took a quick 10 seconds, faster than the Toshiba Canvio (18 seconds), Seagate Slim (12 seconds), LaCie P'9223 Slim (13 seconds), and the previous G-Drive Slim (20 seconds). On the more strenuous AJA System Test (a video data throughput test), the G-Drive Slim (500GB) scored 127MBps read and 123 MBps write speeds, a marked improvement over the slower, older G-Drive Slim (108MBps read, 107MBps write) and the Seagate Slim for Mac (107MBps read, 101MBps write). The SSD-based LaCie P'9223 Slim (435MBps read, 198MBps write) was the fastest at by a huge margin because of its non-mechanical storage.

The G-Technology G-Drive Slim (500GB) is a speedy hard drive at a decent price point. That said, other choices like the Toshiba Canvio Slim II have a much better dollar-per-GB ratio ($0.10 per GB for the Toshiba vs. $0.18 per GB for the G-Technology). Ultimately, the Seagate Backup Plus, while pricier, holds on to its Editors' Choice award for portable drives, because of its versatility, line of adapter cables for everything from USB 3.0 to Thunderbolt to FireWire, included software like Seagate Dashboard, 1TB capacity, and competitive pricing per GB.

G-Technology G-Drive Slim (500GB)

3.5

Check Stock

$49.99 at Amazon

MSRP $89.95

Pros

• Slim, metal construction.
• Speedy.

Cons

• No included software or downloads.

The Bottom Line

The G-Technology G-Drive Slim (500GB) is a compact, metal-clad portable hard drive with an upgraded 7,200rpm mechanism for measurably faster throughput. Take a look if you need speedy storage for your SSD-powered MacBook or ultrabook.