IMG_5267 [lr] [lrsm]When it comes to storing and transporting your data there are a few options. Unfortunately floppy discs just don't work well with the needs of people today. USB Flash drives continue to grow reaching up to 128Gb's for a price (a 256gb model was just announced also) . But at least for now the only way to keep all of your photos with you are portable hard drives. When it comes to hard drives Seagate is obviously one of the big names, and with their Free Agent product line you can get just about any size and color that you would like. Today I will be taking a look at their FreeAgent Go 320 Gb drive, one of their portable hard drives.

Product Name: Seagate FreeAgent Go 320gb

Review Sample Provided by: Seagate

Review by: Wes

Pictures by: Wes

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Specifications

Model Number ST903203FBA2E1-RK
Interface USB 2.0
Capacity 320 GB
Height (max) 130 mm (5.12 inches)
Width (max) 80 mm (3.15 inches)
Length (max) 12.5 mm (.49 inches)
Weight (typical) 160 grams (.35 pounds)
Shipping Weight .27 kilograms (0.595 pounds)

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Packaging

Seagate went all out with a fully see through package that shows off the blue drive they sent me very well.  The front includes all of the information that you need to know 5 year warranty, 320Gb capacity, and USB2.0 interface. On the back there is a picture of the drive in use along with a list of items in the package and a compatibility list.

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Software

Installing the software was easy, everything was included on the drive. I did run into an issue trying to install the included software on a 64bit install of Windows 7. After some digging I found the proper software HERE. With everything installed, I went about setting it up to sync with my documents. With sync setup each time I update any of my documents it automatically updates the files on the FreeAgent Go. Of course you can also use the FreeAgent Go to backup specific hard drives and or folders. On top of those two tabs of the software you have a few options under settings including the ability to turn the LED lighting on and off, test the hard drive, and adjust the how long before the drive will go into power saving mode.

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Performance

Obviously the FreeAgent Go isn't meant to compete against eSATA equipped drives, but considering the USB 2.0 interface limitation its performance was fine. Judging by the almost flat transfer rate it looks like the USB 2.0 interface is the bottleneck. I would love to see them make a version that has both USB2 and eSATA ports for a major jump in performance. I should also point out that this is more than enough to backup or save any files in a short amount of time. The geek in me is always looking for ways to speed things up, even if the current setup does the job.

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Overall

As you can see from the numbers above, the FreeAgent Go doesn't compete with other hard drives but it does outperform the flash drives we have tested in the past. Combine that with a much higher storage capacity at a reasonable price and you have a good product. Another area where the FreeAgent Go stands out is its portability, it functions without a need for a power supply running off of the USB interface. On top of that the slim styling is small enough to fit in your pocket if needed. Although our test sample you can find them in many different colors including orange (my favorite). As you can tell the FreeAgent is very impressive, if you're looking for a way to backup your files or to be able to take your documents with you this is the perfect solution.

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Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

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