Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim tested: Ideal for travelling
19.2.2020
Translation: machine translated
In my search for an external hard drive that not only sits on my desk but also doesn't take up much space when I'm on the move, I stumbled across the Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim with one terabyte and took a closer look at it.
I am aware that an external SSD offers higher transfer speeds and is also potentially more robust than an external HDD. However, I don't want to throw my mobile storage medium around and I'm not reliant on short copy times, so I can pull the "more storage space for the money" joker without hesitation.
Design, data and connections
Admittedly, the Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim is not a cutting-edge model, but this is not automatically a disadvantage, but primarily ensures a price that has fallen over time.
Optically, the small hard drive with its slightly patterned metal top looks more stylish than some other models with plain plastic. I'm thinking, for example, of the WD Elements, one of which I still have lying around at home. The casing of the Backup Plus Ultra Slim is 9.6 millimetres thin and, with a width of 76 millimetres and a length of 113.5 millimetres, smaller than the wallet in my trouser pocket.
The Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim only needs one connection for data transfer and power supply. It is a USB 3.0 Micro B connector due to its age. On the other side of the cable is a USB type A plug that goes into your computer. USB-C is still missing. This means you will need to reach for a newer model, or an adapter.
Transfer speeds
The hard drive and cable support USB 3.0, the transfer standard that has since been renamed USB 3.1 Gen 1. I ran the Atto Disk Benchmark on the Backup Plus Ultra Slim. The test measures the read and write performance of various transfer sizes from 512 bytes to 64 megabytes. A 24 megabyte file, roughly a photo RAW file, is written to the hard drive at 141 MB/s and read at 129 MB/s.
In concrete terms, this measured value means that I can copy six video files totalling 1.91 gigabytes in 16 seconds or 2868 photos totalling 13.3 gigabytes in 132 seconds (2:12 minutes) to the external hard drive.
The Backup Plus Ultra Slim is thus slightly faster than the Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch and LaCie Mobile Drive as tested by my colleague Kevin Hofer. The WD Elements I mentioned achieves 112 MB/s for writing and reading and is therefore also slower than the Ultra Slim.
Conclusion: Unspectacularly good
The Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Slim is a very compact companion and does its job flawlessly. It also proves that you don't necessarily have to go for the latest models when it comes to external hard drives. With its read and write speeds, it is even faster than some of the latest models. Only the connection used could be a reason to reach for a newer storage medium with USB-C.
When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.
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