Transcend StoreJet 100 2TB USB 3.0 External HDD for Mac Review

TweakTown's Rating: 88%

The Bottom Line

Transcend's StoreJet 100 is one of the best all around storage solutions for those hunting capacity and performance, without sacrificing anything in terms of durability.

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As of late, we have seen a rather large infusion of purpose-built solutions catering to users of OS X. While many of these have used the Thunderbolt platform, some of the more universal solutions have stuck with USB 3.0 to deliver both performance and reliability into a single solution.

The StoreJet 100 is one of the latest solutions to come from Transcend and is built from the ground up for the Mac platform. This solution is available in a single 2TB capacity and features shock protection based on the MIL-STD-810G 516.6-Transit Drop Test. USB 3.0 provides the data and power connection for this solution with additional features such as one touch backup and out of the box time machine support, thanks to its factory HFS+ file system.

The footprint of this portable solution comes in at 129mm x 82mm, weighing just 230 grams. Compatibility extends to OS X 10.7+, along with Windows 7 and 8 if you decide to format to NTFS or exFAT. MSRP of the Transcend StoreJet 100 in the 2TB capacity is listed at $199.99 with a three-year warranty.

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Packaging for the StoreJet 100 carries an image of the drive front and center, with capacity listed in the top right hand corner.

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The back carries additional product info including size and weight among other info. The bottom right corner houses a QR code allowing users to easily look up more information about this solution in store.

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Scope of delivery includes the drive, USB cable, and reading materials.

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The top of the drive is housed in a silicon rubber material giving it durability and a better surface to grip onto. The top left carries the one touch backup button that is moulded into the underlying plastic case.

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The edge of the drive carries a simple USB 3.0 connection surrounded in a rubber silicon like the exterior of the drive.

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Testing performance of the StoreJet 100, we did format our sample to the NTFS file system. This allowed us the opportunity to test the device against a broader range of solutions that have been through the lab. Within Windows 8.1, we found the StoreJet to do quite well. In fact, read and write performance were both chart toppers coming in at 131 MB/s read and 130 MB/s write.

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Testing within in OS X is something we have just recently started doing for all of our external storage solutions. As you can see, we have a much smaller sample size to compare against. However, the StoreJet 100 did quite well here as well with both read and write performance touching 126 MB/s.

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Price/Performance for the StoreJet 100 was once again chart topping. While we haven't seen too many external hard drives come through in the past few months, Transcend has done a great job in positioning this solution in today's market.

There is certainly no shortage of external hard drives on the market, but with that said, there is a certain level of increased quality you get with the better known vendors like Transcend. The StoreJet being purpose built for Mac deploys this with both its trademark coloring and durability fit for users on the go. Build quality of this unit was quite surprising, but as advertised, and while I didn't grab any images when I opened this unit up, I was quite surprised to see the internal hard drive also wrapped in a second layer of rubber to further enhance it shock protection.

Performance was on par with expectations and in testing we were able to reach 130 MB/s read and write within Windows and 126 MB/s with OS X 10.10. Price/Performance furthered the StoreJet 100 and showed just how well Transcend has positioned this solution with its excellent price per GB.

In closing, the StoreJet 100 was quite a surprising solution making its way through testing. We achieved great performance in both of our tested operating systems and had no issues with the drive, even after dropping it on purpose while the platters were still spinning.

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