The G DRIVE 4TB USB 3.0 external hard drive is part of a strong product line of high capacity, high performing drives.
Designed to look good on the desktop the G-Technology external hard drive for mac is clearly aimed at the Mac user.
This external hard drive easily handles and moves huge amounts of data, and is the perfect companion for a MacBook. Pros Available in 4, 6, 10, and 14TB sizes. WD My Book 4TB Desktop External Hard Drive for Windows/Mac/Laptop, USB 3.0 Black (WDBBGB0040HBK-NESN) Dimensions: 6.73' x 1.93' x 5.47' Weight: 2.21 lbs. Package Contents: Desktop hard drive USB 3.0 cable AC adapter WD Discovery software with WD Backup, WD Security and WD Drive Utilities Quick install guide.
And I’ll tell you in the article why.
The question I set out to answer in this review is “Does this G Drive USB 4TB have it all?”
Starting with a 2TB hard drive the range moves all the way up to its maximum storage size of 10TB.
I think you’ll agree G-Technology’s G-Drive gives plenty for those of you needing serious amounts of storage.
And I’m thinking of those of you who do photo editing or video editing on your MacBook Pro.
Pre-formatted in HFS+ for Mac and with USB 3.0 connectivity. Simply plug in and your Mac recognises the G DRIVE. Could it be easier?
(For the very latest MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt ports you will require a Thunderbolt/USB C to USB 3.0 adaptor cable to connect the G DRIVE)
This ease of use is an important reason that Mac users consider the G Drive to be among the best external hard drives in its class for a Mac.
The sleek case echo the brushed metallic surface of a MacBook Pro and the wide options for connectivity only adds to its appeal.
Why not see what the drive looks like? I found this YouTube video from G-Technology the manufacturers of the external hard drive.
Have a look.
Benefits Of The G-Technology 4TB G DRIVE
Why did I choose to focus on the 4TB external hard drive when the G DRIVE range goes from 2TB up to 10TB and delivers on good looks, reliability and durability?
Because it is the sweet storage machine for those who want this level of capacity, with performance and a wide range of features.
One potential downside of the USB 3.0 version of this drive is its absence of direct Thunderbolt connectivity. I’ll tell you later why there is little need to worry about that.
Who Manufactures The G Drive USB 4TB?
G-Technology a Hitachi subsidiary. Now wholly owned by Western Digital.
Specialises in high end fast hard drives for professional and home users.
They have proven they are more than capable of addressing the wants and needs of its target – consumers of high-performance hard drives.
Attractive Design Of The G Drive USB 4TB
On your office table it will take up 5 inches x 7.7 inches x 1.26 inches (Height) and believe me it’ll look good next to your MacBook Pro.
It’s small enough to be taken with you yet still feel substantial.
Note though this drive is not designed to be portable or rugged so if you are taking it with you on editing projects be sure to provide it with a robust case. While you should be careful about damaging it by dropping it on hard surfaces, the casing appears to be structurally sound.
And there’s more…
The casing is made entirely of strong and sturdy aluminium which also has the added benefit that it is recyclable – something G-Technology points out in its product literature.
With perforations on the sides and front for ventilation purposes, this helps protects the enclosed 7,200 RPM hard drive from overheating.
The ultra smart G on the front makes the G Drive USB 4TB look impressive with the white LED status light located also on the front, that shows when the drive is switched on and operating.
The G drive USB is whisper-quiet in operation –
which is a bonus and this is due to its fan less cooling construction. A benefit especially when unwanted background noises from your computer’s accessories are inconvenient if you are recording sound or just simply annoying and add to your stress levels when you are working long hours.
Take a look at the Amazon Reviews on the G-Technology G-drive.
Over 70% have rated the G DRIVE USB 4TB as five star, which is a ringing endorsement of this hard drive.
What Is In The G DRIVE USB 4TB Box
It comes with:
- 1 x USB cable 3.0
- 1 x Esata cable
- 1 x FireWire 800 cable
- AC Adaptor
G-Drive USB External Hard Drive For Mac Connectivity
The ports at the back of the hard drive include a power input, a USB 3.0 port that is also backward compatible with USB 2.0 devices. Two FireWire ports and there is also a power switch next to the power input.
Truly it has it all in terms of flexibility – ways to plug into your Mac.
It has a slim power adapter designed so that it only occupies a single power outlet when plugged in.
That said some users seem to be using the drive successfully by simply plugging in the G Drive USB cable into their USB 3.0 port.
Although I can’t recommend this as the G DRIVE’s product manual clearly states that it should be connected to an external power socket.
It could be useful to power it from your USB 3.0 port for those projects where you want to take the drive physically with you.
Note that: For the very latest MacBook Pro you will require a Thunderbolt/USB C to USB 3.0 adaptor cable to connect the G DRIVE.
G DRIVE USB 3.0 Hard Drive Capacities
G DRIVE USB 3.0 comes in eight capacities:
2TB, 3TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB and 10TB.
Plenty of storage for HD video’s, large photography farms and photo editing.
The industry considers the 4TB sized drive as the sweet spot for most professional users. When tested, we discovered that this model has fast USB 3.0 performance.
The 7,200 RPM hard drive definitely delivers on the promise of high-performance even after several months of use.
The USB 3.0 interface surpasses Firewire 800 in terms of raw performance.
In our test, we achieved a reliable 140MB/second read and write speeds on the 4TB G DRIVE with its 165MB/second peak transfer rate on a MacBook Pro. That’s twice as fast as the read and write speeds we can get from a 2TB G DRIVE hard drive using Firewire 800.
4TB G DRIVE Set Up And Use
Pre-formatted in HFS+ for Mac so the G Drive is plug in and play.
When you attach the G DRIVE 4TB hard drive to the MacBook Pro for the first time the Mac detects the hard drive and an icon representing the G Drive appears on your desktop.
The Mac also launches the Time Machine software on the assumption that you would like to use this external hard drive as a Time Machine backup device.
The Time Machine dialogue box comes up and if it is the first time you have used Time Machine the slider button will be set to OFF. To indeed use the G Drive as a Time Machine back up device you can turn the slider to ON; otherwise…
If you would prefer to use your G Drive to store your files or photo’s, video’s etc And to directly work from and not use for Time Machine backup.
Exit out of Time Machine and you can create folders.
Move files to and from the G Drive in the finder window.
Drag and Drop files, create files as you would on your own internal hard drive.
To Use The G Drive 4TB USB 3.0 With Time Machine
Go to Time Machine preferences while the G Drive is connected and
you simply select the G DRIVE as the Time Machine back up disk. Then by default when the drive is connected Time Machine will take an hourly back up.
How to format macbook pro 2012. The very first back up is a full back up of your entire MacBook Pro internal hard drive (note this could take some time) after that Time Machine does incremental backup’s.
If you want more detail on setting up an external hard drive for Time Machine you can check out my article on the site.
When you are ready to disconnect the hard drive do ensure you right click on it on your desktop and eject it first.
This ensures your MacBook writes all it needs to down to the hard drive and shuts it down cleanly before you pull out the G Drive USB cable. This saves you from corrupting your G DRIVE.
Using The G Drive USB 4TB Between A Mac And A Windows PC
The G DRIVE is versatile. If you happen to have Windows computers and you would like to share the drive between your MacBook Pro and a Windows PC you can format the whole drive as ExFAT. That is if you want the complete drive as shareable. or
partition the drive up so that it has a partition for Time Machine and a shared partition for Windows.
I have an article on how to do that here.
The G DRIVE USB 4TB Lack Of Thunderbolt
Your G DRIVE USB 4TB doesn’t have a Thunderbolt port.
Drives with Thunderbolt ports do tend to be more expensive. This may be a non-issue for Mac users with USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 ports or Firewire – you just plug straight in.
If you have the Latest MacBook Pro.
Then a Thunderbolt to USB 3.0 adaptor will allow you to take advantage of the cheaper drive for little decrease in performance for most.
Some users report no decrease in hard drive performance due to lack of direct Thunderbolt connectivity.
You can take a look at the extensive G-DRIVE User Manual here.
G DRIVE USB 4TB Pros
- Beautiful and durable housing to fit in with your MacBook Pro
- 7,200 RPM hard drive coupled with USB 3.0 capacity for high-speed data transfers
- Plug-and-play set up making it easy to connect to your MacBook Pro
- Ready set up for easy Time Machine backups
- Wide range of available disk capacities
- Comes with 3-year limited warranty
G DRIVE USB 4TB Cons
- No direct Thunderbolt connectivity (need an USB to Thunderbolt adaptor on the newest MacBook Pro’s
G DRIVE USB 4TB In Conclusion
G-Technology’s G-drive is a consistent favourite for professionals in fields as diverse as finance to filmmaking and for good reason.
Many of those users were day-one adopters of Apple’s MacBook Pro and iMac’s. You demand features like plenty of hard disk space, reliable performance, and fast interfaces, which the G-Technology external hard drive for mac delivers in spades.
I think, yes, the G Drive USB 4TB has it all (apart from Thunderbolt connections) and you may not care about that, because this hard drive performs.
The G DRIVE 4TB USB 3.0 is well worth the money.
4tb External Hard Drive For Macbook Pro 2012
When you consider its top notch performance, range of storage capacities and the ability to plug and play with your MacBook.
Interested in hearing about other Top External Hard Drives for your Macbook Pro? You can take a look at my selection on the site.
Image Credit Flickr Creative Commons: Travis Isaacs (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tbisaacs/)
For those who chose a MacBook over an ordinary laptop must be short for some storage space, right? Well, upgrading storage space through apple is as costly as purchasing a new laptop. In this case, an external hard drive is less expensive and beneficial for storage requirements.
You can switch your external hard drive from a Mac to a pc which makes data transfer for two different OS easier. Furthermore, external hard disks are less likely to get corrupted and are portable in nature.
Macbooks generally have SSDs which are capable of loading a program quickly but more likely to low on storage.
Furthermore, SSDs are quite costly and upgrading an SSD on a Macbook is definitely costlier than you could even imagine. An external hard drive is best for storing data such as photos, videos, movies, rendered projects and more.
Contents
- 1 10 Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2020
- 1.3 3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
- 1.4 4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
- 1.5 5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
- 1.6 6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
- 1.7 7. Adata SD700 External SSD
- 1.8 8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
- 1.9 9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
- 1.10 10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
- 2 What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
- 3 External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
10 Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2020
Although choosing an external hard drive is a complicated process but we have made a list of 10 best external hard drives for Mac that you should consider before your final decision.
1. Samsung Portable SSD T5
Starting off Samsung Portable SSD T5 which is an outstanding storage device, it can reach up to a speed of 550 MB per second for data transfer which is amazing. You can directly plug it into a USB-C port or USB-A port.
It contains no moving parts therefore chances of getting damaged due to mishandling are less. Even though SSD is costlier than a hard drive, the speed it offers is commendable. You will notice a significant boost in the overall performance while doing stuff that requires you to load large files and programs.
Overall, the SSD is fantastic but only if you can spare a few more bucks than your actual budget. You can get the SSD ranging from 250 GB to 2 TB from Amazon with some additional discounts.
2. Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive
Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive is the newest generation of external hard disks and is available in capacities from 1 TB to up to 4 TB. It offers cloud storage and 256-AES encryption alongside WD’s software for backups.
The data transfer speeds won’t disappoint you and the drive offers speed similar to what an SSD provides. If you are looking for a drive with good data transfer rate and maximum storage, consider Western Digital My Passport 4TB as a choice.
3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
If you are looking for a reliable, portable, and affordable hard disk, Seagate backup plus slim is the thing you should have a look at. It supports Windows and Mac both and perfect for storing your essential data right away.
With the Seagate dashboard backup system, you can schedule backups and never lose your important files anymore. Backup automation can be set for daily, monthly, weekly or your desired time-frequency.
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Alongside, Seagate also provides a two-month membership for adobe creative cloud photography plan and a one-year subscription to Mylio create to manage your photo library.
- Affordable price
- Metal body
- Supports USB 3.0
- Comes with an automation backup software
- Doesn’t support USB 3.0 cables
4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
This Hard disk is probably for creators and organizations that require a lot of storage for various purposes. Faster data transmission rate will let you transfer data in the meantime, all thanks to USB 3.0 support.
It also offers 256 AES encryption for securing your data and makes sure your personal data is secured in the storage device. Even though it meets the requirements of a regular user, the only thing where Western Digital My Book (8 TB) lacks is portability.
Therefore, if you are looking for a hard disk for work purposes and if portability is not an issue, Western Digital My Book (8 TB) is definitely the right choice.
- High storage
- Data encryption
- Compatible with the time machine
- Requires power source to work
- Not portable
5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt offers data transmission at a speed of twice of what USB 3.0 offers. You can enjoy this feature if your device has a thunderbolt port. Another good thing about Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt is its price. It is affordable and portable.
- Also Check: 10 Best Cooling Pads For MacBook Pro Reviewed
However, it is a hard drive, not a solid-state, therefore, the data transmission will definitely be high but the overall performance of your pc will remain unchanged. Lastly, if you don’t have a thunderbolt port in your pc, you can use the traditional USB 3.0 port.
Cheap 4tb External Hard Drive
- USB 3.0 port
- Affordable
- Formatted for Mac
- Not a Solid State drive
6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
With the new products, Apple is on its way to completely shift to USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports but there are still some people who are using old hardware and for them, G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB) is going to work like a charm.
The body of the HDD is made up of metal which makes it durable and strong against accidents such as dropping off the drive on the floor or whatnot. It runs at a speed of 7200 RPM and can transfer data at a rate of 195 MB/s which is efficient for transferring music, videos and software.
- Metallic body for durability
- High data transmission rate
- USB 3.0
- Should be reformatted for Windows OS
7. Adata SD700 External SSD
Adata SD700 is an affordable External SSD which is IP68 rated which certainly makes it a water-resistant storage device. The overall performance of this SSD is commendable and as per our research, Adata SD700 External SSD is the only SSD with an IP68 rating.
You can expect faster transfer rates and better booting speed if you are planning to install an OS on the SSD. Don’t worry about the storage space as it is available in 1 TB capacity also. The maximum read and write speed is up to 440 MB/S, all thanks to the USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface.
- Lightweight and portable
- Shock resistant
- Supports Android, Mac, and Windows
- 3 years of Warranty
- Mac users must format it to FAT32 to use this product
8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk can be distinguished easily because of its unique rubber casing that makes sure your hard drive doesn’t get damaged when it drops from up to 1.3 m height. It can withstand rain, dust and can even survive 1-ton pressure. This is certainly the best choice for content creators.
Alongside hard disk, you will also get access to a one-month subscription to Adobe creative cloud all apps plan. The company also provides 3 years of warranty for the device and will also help you to restore the data if lost.
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In terms of speed, Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk is not very fast as it provides only 120 MB/s which is comparatively lesser than the HDDs mentioned in this listicle. However, there are various variants available for this hard disk on Amazon.
- Durability
- Affordable
- Resistant to water
- Lesser data transmission speed
9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
Samsung never disappoints with its amazing hardware capabilities. With Samsung X5, you can transfer data at a rate of 2,300 MB/s which is the fastest speed an SSD can provide you. The build quality is super amazing as it is made up of metal, making it stronger than storage disks that are made up of plastic bodies.
The shock-resistant capability can save up your drive from a fall of 2 meters. Alongside this, it comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology that is ideal for faster data transfer of up to 40 GB per second which is unbelievable. You can take full advantage of this SSD on your MacBook or Macbook pro without having to format anything.
- High data transmission rate
- Supports thunderbolt 3
- Shock-resistant up to 2 meters
- Heats up really quick
- Comparatively expensive than the other disks
10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
In terms of flexibility, Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive is really good as it supports both Mac and windows out of the box. The disk doesn’t get damaged due to dust and water which is again a positive point.
It encrypts the user data at 256 bit AES security which additionally makes everything on the drive, secure. Overall, it is a great drive for Mac owners as well as windows owners too.
- Secure for handling user data
- Protects from water and dust
- Low-speed data transfer
What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
So those were some of the best external hard disk drive solutions for Mac. However, you must be confused about which external HDD to choose. But not to worry, let me just point some of the key factors that you need to consider while buying an external hard drive:
1. Storage
One of the first and the most important thing that you need to consider is the storage space of your external HDD. As you already know that Macbook does not come with a huge space. Hence, you better choose something which offers you enough space to store all your files.
For many users, 1 TB of space should be good enough. But if you need to store a huge number of files and save them for a longer period of time, then getting 2TB of HDD would be an ideal choice.
Apart from 1TB and 2TB of storage options, you can also consider getting huge storage options like 4TB. But for a day to day work, 4TB of HDD does not help much. Also, they are quite expensive.
2. Transfer speed
After the storing capacity, transfer speed is the second most important thing that you have to consider. You don’t want to get an external hard disk drive for Mac, which takes too long to copy files. Instead, you need something that can get the job done as quickly as possible.
So the first thing that you must do is avoid USB 2.0 powered external HDD. As they are outdated and not fast enough. Instead, you should get an external HDD with USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1 or USB 3.2 Gen 1. All of these are capable of offering an exceptional transfer speed. On the other hand, I would like to recoomend you to buy the best external SSD for Mac that offers good transfer speed.
3. Compatibility
The next thing you need to check its compatibility. External HDD formatted for Windows 10 may have connectivity issues with Mac OS and vise versa. So since you are using a Mac powered machine, I would recommend you to get an external HDD with Mac OS compatibility.
Although there is no need to focus on the compatibility part way too much. Since you can always format your external HDD using a Windows Computer with exFat Format. So you can easily use the HDD with your Macbook. But yes, if you get a pre compatible external hard disk drive then it saves you from extra work and headaches that you have to face.
4. Security
If you are someone who takes security really seriously, then you must look for security features. Most of the manufacturers do ship security software and backup software. So you can easily encrypt your drive or take a backup of it. Even, if you don’t consider encryption feature, backup feature is something that you must and should consider.
Even to make sure your HDD stays safe, they use strong casing from physical damage. So you can consider getting such external hard disk drives that save you from every side.
External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
Whenever it comes to a primary storage solution for computers, HDD and SSD’s are the only solutions we have. However, in the last couple of years, the usage of HDD has dropped drastically, and people are not moving to SSD’s for better performance.
But there are quite a lot of users who are still unaware of the difference between a hard disk drive and a solid state drive or SSD.
However, not to worry, let me just draw a quick difference between both and help you to understand better.
1. Storage Capacity
HDD’s are a great option if you want something for storage. HDD’s are available in a wide range of storage capacities like from 500GB to 12 TB. Even, for enterprise uses, you will find a large capacity of HDDs.
SSDs are also available with large capacities. However, when it comes to the costing of an SSD and an HDD, SSDs are quite expensive. Hence, if your main goal is to store huge amount of data, HDD is an ideal choice. Best 3d modeling software for animation.
2. Speed
Whenever it comes to speed, SSDs are a better option. Since a hard disk drive uses a round plate with a layer of magnetic material. And the data is stored on this magnetic layer only. So the disk spins and the magnetic head is used for reading and writing data.
Also, the speed that the disk spins is measured in RPM. And on an average, an HDD has about 5,400 RPM, and it will have a read/write speeds of around 100 MB/s.
However, when it comes to SSD’s, there are no moving parts. As a result, it offers you a much faster data transfer rate. On average, it offers you around 550 MB/s and 520 MB/s of data transfer rate.
3. Reliability & Durability
There are quite a lot of factors that determine the lifespan of drivers. However, you should know that an SSD can sustain a limited number of write cycles compared to HDD which has no read/write limits.
But you should know that SSD has a write cycle limit between 3000 and 10,000 which is a high number. So it would not be a problem for you.
Also, SSD’s are lesser affected by any sort of damages compared to HDD. Since there are no moving parts in SSD, they tend to survive more. While HDD’s might stop working if it encounters any physical damage.
3. Cost
Finally, let’s talk about pricing. Well, if you look at the cost of both HDD and SSD, you would happily pick up an HDD. Why? Because SSD’s are expensive. When you choose an HDD, you will get a large amount of capacity for a lesser price. But on the other hand, if you choose an SSD, it would cost you 3-5x of an HDD price.
In the end, the conclusion is HDD’s are a better option when it comes to storing data. Of course, SSD’s are faster and more reliable. But they do come with a high price. But on the other hand, if you take care of your HDD in a good manner, it will offer you great performance for years.
Seagate 4tb External Hard Drive
Wrapping it up:
So, these were the 10 best external hard drives for Macbook Air and Pro. Every disk mentioned in this article has its own pros and cons, we have tried our best to list out the good and bad in every product. For Mac users, external SSD can be really helpful for storing content and transferring it to a different place.