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| Model | Capacity | Est. street price | Cost per GB |
| SimpleTech Signature Mini Black Cherry | 320GB | $180 | $0.56 |
| Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini | 160GB | $90 | $0.56 |
| Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive | 160GB | $100 | $0.63 |
| OWC Mercury On-The-Go | 500GB | $350 | $0.70 |
| Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External HDD | 160GB | $140 | $0.88 |
| G-Tech G-Drive mini Triple (7,200RPM) | 200GB | $250 | $1.25 |
Performance
Considering the higher revolutions per minute, we had relatively high expectations for the G-Drive mini Triple's performance. The drive failed to meet our expectations and registered mixed scores in CNET Labs' testing.
The drive's FireWire 800 performance was excellent, registering 218.6Mbps, which is a considerable 17 percent faster than that of the OWC Mercury on our write test. As we see with most drives, differences in read speeds were slight, with the G-Drive mini Triple hovering around the 200Mbps mark with the rest of the pack.
The drive's performance using the FireWire 400 connection was disappointing. The drive's 7,200rpm speed didn't translate into better throughput. The G-Drive finished behind the OWC Mercury, which spins at 5,400rpm, on both our read and write tests.
The drive did a little better with the USB 2.0 connection scoring 147Mbps and 163Mbps on the write test and read test, respectively. Its write score was noticeably faster than that of the Mercury but practically the same as the Signature Mini Black Cherry's. Its read score, on the other hand, was about the same as the Mercury's, while significantly faster than that of the Black Cherry.
The G-Drive mini Triple's casing worked very well as the intended cooling solution; the drive managed to operate quietly and stay relatively cool during our testing process.
Service and support
G-Technology has a lot of love for the G-drive mini Triple and backs it up with a three-year warranty. The company's toll technical phone support is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST weekdays. You can also get help via e-mail. At its Web site, you can download firmware and the manual and browse a rather simple FAQs section.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Write | |
Read |
