G-Technology G-Drive Mobile USB-C External HDD Review

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I don't often get my hands-on products from G-Technology. Over the years, I have seen maybe three or four, and that's not the fault of anyone, G-Technology just likes to keep their product lineup straightforward; they don't launch a new product every month or two. With that said, I have one of their latest solutions on the test bench now, so let's go over what it's all about.

The G-Drive is one of the more traveled product lines as it encompasses a broad range of products. The solution in house today is the Mobile USB-C that comes in just a single capacity of 1TB. There are three color options (Gold, Silver, and Gunmetal) for those of you trying to keep your desktop aesthetic intact. Performance is said to stick around 136 MB/s using a Gen 1 USB Type-C interface and internal 7200 RPM drive. In fact, this may be the only 7200 RPM 2.5" mobile solution on the market, as the big players use 5400 RPM drives in their solutions. Compatibility sticks with the Windows 7+ and OS 9+ model and while this drive is setup out of the box for OS X, it can be reformatted for Windows quite easily.

The MSRP of the 1TB G-Drive Mobile USB-C comes in at $119.99 with a three-year warranty.

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The packaging for the G-Drive has capacity listed at the top right while only a slight bit of marketing is to the left.

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On the stem of the box, there is a full specs list including warranty information and OS support.

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The scope of delivery keeps things simple with a USB -C cable to the right and Type-C to Type-C cable to the left.

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Glancing over the G-Drive, this solution has an aluminum exterior adding to both the durability and aesthetics of the drive, and with it being targeted toward MacBook users, it's only appropriate.

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Down on the bottom edge, this solution houses the USB-C connector and activity LED to the left.

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On the underside, we have regulatory information along with model information.

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In testing, performance was slightly higher than expected with this drive hitting 143 MB/s read followed by 127 MB/s write.

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Using the performance from above, coupled with its price at $119.99, the G-Drive device takes its spot at 83% on our Price/Performance chart.

The Mobile USB-C from G-Technology is a solid external drive for those wanting an external solution following the aesthetic of the MacBook without the price premium of an external drive from LaCie. This drive has pretty solid build quality with its aluminum enclosure, and the offering of two cables with the unit ensures backward compatibility with legacy USB 3.0 devices.

The performance of the drive was as advertised and to give credit where credit is due, the G-Drive Mobile USB-C is the quickest 2.5" hard drive I have tested, beating out the Seagate Backup Plus by 1 MB/s. On that same front, the Price/Performance ratio of this drive landed it near the middle of the pack at 83%. At this point, it would take a drastic price cut down to $47.99 to push this drive to the top of that same chart.

Overall, the G-Drive is a solid piece of kit. I had no issues with it during testing, and it performs on par with similar solutions on the market. If you must have a 7200 RPM drive in your external enclosure or you are looking for that MacBook flair, this very well could be the drive you want.

Tyler's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS Z170 Premium - Buy from Amazon
• CPU: Intel Core i5 6500 - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Memory: Klevv CRAS 16GB (4x4) DDR4 3000 - Read our review
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• OS Storage: Intel 730 480GB SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Secondary Storage: Intel 750 400GB U.2 SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Case: Thermaltake P5 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200 - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 - Buy from Amazon