![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 99 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 99](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_99_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.png)
When looking for a portable backup solution, there are certainly no shortage of products to fit your needs. If we look back at just a few of our reviews here at TweakTown, you will find products from Western Digital, ADATA, and Angelbird just to name a few. Today we look at one of Seagate's latest, the Slim Portable in the 500GB capacity.
The Slim Portable carries on Seagate's recent branding change, where we saw the Barracuda turn in the Desktop HDD and Momentus into Laptop HDD. Here we have what was once called FreeAgent turn into Slim Portable, all of this branding change allows end users to easily choose the drive they need, without the fuss of digging through marketing material to find out what they want and need. The Slim Portable carries a thin 10mm form factor with a weight of just 150 grams. At this time, a single capacity is offered at 500GB, with a two year warranty.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 02 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 02](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_02_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.jpg)
Unpacking the Slim Portable, we found the drive to come with all documentation to get started. Additionally, we have the USB 3.0 cable and the drive itself.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 03 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 03](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_03_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.jpg)
Our sample was delivered in the silver-brushed aluminium design. Seagate also offers this drive in black if that is your cup of tea.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 04 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 04](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_04_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.jpg)
The backside of the drive offers model identification.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 05 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 05](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_05_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.jpg)
Internally, Seagate has chosen to use the Momentus Thin hard disk drive.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 06 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 06](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_06_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.jpg)
Instead of using a fully custom PCB, which we saw with product from WD, Seagate chose to use the ASMedia 1053, one of the best storage controllers on the market today.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 07 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 07](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_07_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.jpg)
With the specifications for this drive claiming a weight of 150 grams, we just had to justify that claim. Surprisingly we found the drive weighs much less, only 123 grams.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 15 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 15](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_15_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.png)
Like competing products, Seagate too has its very own backup software. To begin using the Seagate Dashboard, we selected the protect feature.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 16 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 16](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_16_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.png)
Here we choose what types of files we want to backup, and clicked the checkmark to begin the procedure.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 17 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 17](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_17_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.png)
Selecting the share feature from the main menu, you will find the option to upload media to Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 19 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 19](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_19_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.png)
While software from competitors use existing cloud services like Dropbox, Seagate has chosen to manage its very own cloud service with the help of Nero.
To test external storage platforms, I utilize two of the most well-known and respected benchmark applications. ATTO Disk Benchmark is the first and is recognized as the industry standard for marketing specifications. Through DiskBench, we offer real-world testing as it offers a custom data set that can be controlled by the user. For our testing, I use a 10GB directory of mixed data that includes, pictures in both the RAW and JPEG file formats, AVCHD video and documents in both the XLS and DOC formats.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 20 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 20](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_20_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.png)
The Seagate Slim Portable is formatted in the NTFS file system, carrying 465GB of useable capacity.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 21 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 21](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_21_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.png)
In ATTO testing, we found the Slim Portable to reach 106 MB/s read, followed by 107 MB/s write.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 23 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 23](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_23_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.png)
Above our chart reflects real-world file transfer testing. Here the Slim Portable came in just under 102 MB/s, right behind the Passport EDGE and quicker than competing products from ADATA.
The Seagate Slim Portable takes the concept of portable storage to highest level. Here we have a truly slim drive that offers no sacrifice in terms of performance. With the build quality at a top tier level, we find material such as brushed aluminium and durable plastics securing our drive.
Performance is on par with competing products and even higher in some respects. Our ATTO testing showed the drive capable of 107 MB/s in both read and write, making that system backup a ten minute job, rather than hours.
At the time of writing, I was able to find the Seagate Slim Portable for an astounding $59.99 at several online retailers, making this one of the most affordable backup solutions to date.
![Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 100 Seagate Slim Portable 500GB Hard Disk Drive Review 100](https://static.tweaktown.com/content/5/6/5641_100_seagate_slim_portable_500gb_hard_disk_drive_review.png)