G-Technology G-DRIVE 1 TB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/800/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive GD41000

5 comments

1. 

   Mel D. on December 25, 2009 at 6:32 pm

   With my 300GB drive too small I went shopping for a new 1 TB drive (the first time in 3 years). Over the years, I’ve bought several Seagate/Lacie externals and Seagate/IBM (now Hitachi) internal drives. Some drives are certainly faster and quieter than others; some are downright annoying but you just can’t tell from the specs alone which I why I rely on reviews.

   To my dismay, I discovered through my research that every brand/model of drive has received poor reviews. It would seem that computer reliability has increased to the level that the hard drive is the weak link in the system now. Having a reliable backup drive is more important than ever so I crossed my fingers and went with G-Tech based on its feature set and my previous positive experience with Hitachi (owns G-Tech) drive mechanisms.

   Enclosure Pros:

   - eSATA/FW800/FW400/USB2
   
   - every kind of cable included (rare! and a great value fro money)
   
   - on/off button
   
   - sturdy metal case
   
   - no annoying fan
   
   - drive mounts to sled with heat-sink that protrudes from bottom of case for improved cooling
   
   - hundreds of ventilation holes at front and sides
   
   - combo power/activity light
   
   - attractive case

   Mechanism Pros:

   - very quiet drive
   
   - fast 69MB/s read, 58 MB/s write (over FW800 w/ MacBook Pro 2007) – haven’t tested eSATA yet
   
   - HFS+ formatted for instant use on Macs

   Cons:

   - enclosure is larger than the typical upright design (5″ x 9 1/4″ x 1 3/4″)
   
   (However, I’m very happy with the enclosure (G-Tech: please don’t change a thing).

   After buying this unit, I may never buy a drive in a plastic enclosure again. This is a solidly made unit compared to the flimsy offerings on the store shelves today. Why companies like WD stuff two already hot drives into the same enclosure with no fan is beyond me. G-Tech has a much better design for a raid enclosure.

   I have the need for a portable drive and it will be another model from G-Tech: the 2.5″ G-Drive mini.

   This product is a winner.

2. 

   LDesign on December 25, 2009 at 9:21 pm

   Nice looking drive. That’s where the positives end, unfortunately. Mine CONSTANTLY became unresponsive, and not ONCE was it able to complete a full system back-up on my very lightly used, brand-new iMac. I finally stopped attempting to use it completely after it caused several freezes and system crashes. I called G-Tech and described the problem, and they weren’t at all surprised.. apparently it’s a common problem. So I sent to them to have it repaired/replaced under warranty (I had to pay the shipping), and waited. And waited… And waited. I finally called them today, almost a month and a half later to get an update and it turns out my drive has just been sitting in their lab untouched for over a month– they haven’t even started working on it yet. They will “try” to get to it soon though. All I want now is my money back, but obviously that’s not an option for them.
   
   Unreliable product, terrible customer support. Looks can definitely be deceiving.

3. 

   V. Call on December 25, 2009 at 11:37 pm

   Very fast. What I wanted. I use the FireWire 800 attached to my iMac and use this for a Time Machine backup. Solid as a rock so far (6 weeks). The unit is a lot longer than I anticipated though (about 2 times the length of a 3.5″ drive.)

4. 

   Cass on December 26, 2009 at 2:26 am

   This drive has had an easy life in my home. However, it began to fail to mount after a few months. I paid to ship it back to G-Tech for repair, and all seemed fine when I got it back. A month later when I went to use it again, it failed to mount AGAIN. I called G-Tech, and they said it was repaired with a faulty part (widespread problem). They said they’d send me an email to get it repaired again. I never got the email, and I haven’t been able to get this resolved.

   I paid $350 for this drive just over a year ago for reliability. It has been anything but reliable. Even if I do get it repaired again, I will never be able to trust it.

5. 

   djaypee on December 26, 2009 at 2:46 am

   I use this drive as a Time Machine Backup. Aesthetically G drive is amazing, they have a great warranty and the drive has been very reliable thus far. Highly recommended