G-Technology G-DRIVE Mini 750GB HDD Review

One of the things you rarely see at Legit Reviews is an article on a product that's primarily aimed for Apple computers. Though growing rapidly, it's still a relatively smaller market and we just are sent many products in the genre to test. We don't exactly have a plethora of Mac test benches sitting around either. Still, we like to give our readers diverse content when we are presented the opportunity and one such opportunity showed up on our doorstep recently. The company G-Technology (or G-tech as they referred to) may not sound familiar but its parent company Hitachi is well-known worldwide. They have a rather large line of external storage products that are all aimed towards Mac users but are just as at home connected to a PC. Today, we'll be having a look at their G-DRIVE mini 750GB external drive.

Immediately upon seeing the drive, the similarities to the Mac Pro desktop computer are clearly evident with the brushed aluminum finish, sleek design and perforated exterior. If you own an Apple system and are vain about having your hardware accessories that match your system, it doesn't get much better than this. Right now, you can pick up the 750GB version for about $150 but with hard drive prices on the rise with the recent natural disasters in several key Asian countries, this is bound to fluctuate and probably not for the better. The 500GB version will run about $20 cheaper so the extra $20 for 250GB more seems to be a pittance.

The packaging is very clean with attractive graphics and ample product information on the back. G-Tech lists these features and specifications as follows:

Kit Contents: G-DRIVE mini Storage Unit0.6 Meter FireWire 800 Cable (white)0.6 Meter FireWire 800 to 400 Cable (white)0.6 Meter USB 2.0 Cable (white)Protective Carrying CaseCD ManualInterface:2x FireWire 8001x USB2.0(FireWire 400 via included cable)Disk Drives:HDD Type:Hitachi SATARPM – 7200Cache – 8MB cacheCooling System:Bridge:Size (LxWxH):4.94" x 3.19" x .875" / 125 x 81 x 22mmWeight:System Requirements:Mac OSX 10.5 or higherWindows 2000/XP/Vista/7Portable, high-speed external hard drivesHigh-speed Interface - FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 via included cable) and USB 2.0 portsCompact size, weighs less than 9 ozStorage capacities up to 750GB using 7200RPM drivesBus powered – no AC adapter required**Integrated heat-sink provides near silent operation and ensures proper cooling for long life and data reliabilityShips complete with all cables and high-quality protective carrying caseUnique industrial design, compact all aluminum enclosureMac OS X and Windows compatible – Time Machine ready!Standard 3-year factory warranty

** NOTE: G-DRIVE mini is bus powered when attached to a 6 or 9-pin FireWire port. The USB port on some computers may not supply enough power to reliably operate G-DRIVE mini systems larger than 320 GB. An optional power supply is available for use with G-DRIVE mini if your system does not have a FireWire port or your USB port does not provide adequate power.

Opening the box reveals a layer of compressible foam that protects the drive and when removed, uncovers the drive nestled within more of the contoured foam.

In the box we find the nice pleather carrying case, a CD containing the documentation and drivers, FireWire 800, 400, and USB 2.0 cables and a little card pointing users to a web address should they plan on using the drive on Window because, by default, the drive is formatted for mac (HFS+ Journaled). There is no power cord included because the drive is powered by the USB or FireWire port although some PC's may lack the juice to do so, so there's an optional AC adapter you can buy. Finally, here's a little promo video G-Tech has on their website as well as YouTube.

Let's have a closer look.