Seagate 200GB External review

Compared to the other external disks on test, the Seagate is a tad chubby. Seagate includes a stand that minimises the disk’s footprint, and there are USB 2 and FireWire cables in the box. Two FireWire 400 ports are present on the rear along with USB 2 and a power switch.

Since both the USB 2 and FireWire interfaces are the limiting factors to transfer speed, it was no surprise to see the Seagate perform similarly to other USB 2 disks. It was the slowest overall, though, which suggests that the interface between the disk and the USB 2 port isn’t the best optimised on test.

Reading large files at 24.4MB/sec and writing them at 22.4MB/sec, it wasn’t far behind the rest. Only the two LaCie disks were noticeably faster at reading. The Seagate read small files at a disappointing 6.4MB/sec and wrote them at 2MB/sec – neither of which was a great result, but only the LaCie d2 Big Disk would be perceptibly faster.

One advantage the Seagate holds over the 250GB LaCie is the backup software. Press the button on the front and the BounceBack software launches. You can customise what’s backed up and after the first time it’s quick, since only new or modified files are backed up.

However, Maxtor offers backup software and more capacity with the OneTouch II; plus, it’s 6p cheaper per gigabyte. It means there are few reasons to opt for the Seagate, and even fewer when you note that the bigger 250GB LaCie is £17 cheaper overall.