Seagate Backup Plus Fast USB3 STDA

Overview

TechSpot Metascore

Based on 17 expert reviews

Excellent:

7
Good:

9
Average:

1
Bad:

0

Pros:

Massive capacity for a portable drive.
Easy to set up.
Fast write speeds.

Cons:

Slight price premium over two 2TB USB 3.0 drives.
Can eat up two USB connectors.

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Last revision on February 15, 2016

Reviewers Liked

Massive capacity for a portable drive
Easy to set up
Fast write speeds
Small drive that has a 4 TB capacity
Bus powered
Includes two cables, one allows you to pull enough power from laptops that wouldn't otherwise drive the drive, tightly integrated with Seagate's dashboard software and ships with it preloaded

Reviewers Didn't Like

Slight price premium over two 2TB USB 3.0 drives
Can eat up two USB connectors
Works with USB 3.0 but not thunderbolt
Uses mechanical drives rather than solid state drives

Expert reviews and ratings

A dinky and slow USB 2.0 key is last year's news. Today's USB drives are faster than ever, have capacity that was a fantasy just a year ago, and are surprisingly affordable. This month, we're testing three sweet drives that redefine the concept of USB...

By Maximum PC on May 13, 2015

For a 4TB portable drive, it is pretty quick. Mind you, this is the first 4TB portable drive that's...

By hardwarebbq.com on September 24, 2014

The main difference here is that Seagate's used the far more common USB 3.0 interface for its drive, meaning it's good for use on PC's, Macs and everything in between. The downside is that, to get enough power for it to work on older USB 2.0 ports,...

By APC Magazine on July 14, 2014

Seagate were definitely on the mark when they named their latest portable hard drive the Backup Plus Fast that boasts some extremely fast speeds thanks to USB 3.0 plus easy installation and a gigantic 4TB of data to create flawless performance. This is...

By ImpulseGamer on June 15, 2014

Seagate's Backup Plus Fast has a 4TB capacity and excellent speed. Both of these traits make it a good portable drive to consider if you want a large and fast drive for transferring data while on the job (or even at home between...

By Good Gear Guide on April 09, 2014

You don’t get a bulk discount on its four terabytes, but the Backup Plus Fast is your best choice if you need the most speed and capacity possible from one portable hard drive....

By Computer Shopper on April 01, 2014

The Backup Plus Fast is an excellent choice for anyone, especially those for those needing lots of storage space or the ability to edit videos on the...

By CNET Australia on March 13, 2014

The Backup Plus Fast looks like any other external drive from the outside. But what's on the inside counts, and in this case it counts very fast indeed.Seagate Backup Plus Fast: On the plus sideHard drives are, as a rule, not terribly exciting creatures....

By fatducktech.com on June 02, 2014

Portable hard drives usually conjure up the notion of having to sacrifice storage capacity or speed in order to be viable on the go. But Seagate set out to smash that notion with the Backup Plus Fast, a portable drive which offers up to four terabytes,...

By Beatweek Magazine on May 05, 2014

If you're buying a portable hard drive, chances are you're looking for extra storage space for your desktop PC or laptop. It makes sense to find a drive with the maximum capacity possible, without trading off too much portability. The Seagate Backup...

By Gizmodo on April 24, 2014

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