G-Technology GDrive Mobile USB-C 4TB Review

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I believe it was a touch over two years ago when we initially reviewed the Mobile USB-C. At the time peak capacity was a 1TB HDD model, today they have increased that to 4TB, of course keeping the 2.5" portable form factor.

From the looks of it and you will see, G-Technology revamped everything within the Mobile USB-C lineup including packaging. Drive specs now include three colorways: gold, silver and space grey all catering to the mac crowd. Capacity options have climbed as well with 1TB being the base with 2 and 4TB options added.

All of these drives are 5400RPM models, so it's safe to say we won't see any performance records being broken today. That said the increased capacity may make for a fantastic Time Machine solution. The Mobile USB-C takes advantage of standard USB 3.0 technology with marketing performance up to 140 MB/s.

Compatibility includes Windows platform if you reformat the drive however it comes from the factory ready for macOS 10.11+. MSRP of the 4TB GDrive Mobile USB-C touches $149.99 with a three-year warranty.

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Packaging has completely changed from the first-generation Mobile USB-C. We now have a more complete box with an image of the drive, capacity at the top right with performance.

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On the spine, we have specifications and box contents.

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Box contents include, the drive USB-C cables along with an A to C cable and reading materials.

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The drive itself keeps the same design. We still have two metal halves snapping into a plastic retainer. G-Tech logo on the front.

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The edge offers the USB-C connection with LED to the right.

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The first test seen above is DST with the Type-C to C adapter cable, performance came in at 121 MB/s read, and 115 MB/s write.

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Moving to the USB-C cable, we see the same performance with the Mobile USB-C reaching 121 MB/s read, and 114 MB/s write.

I must start by saying, I'm partly disappointed to see the Mobile USB-C lineup go down the road of deploying 5400RPM drives. That said I do understand the move as the technology isn't there yet to produce high capacity drives that spin at 7200RPM. On the other hand, it discounts the entire lineup as a contender for performance applications and rather something that is suitable only for backup, Time Machine tasks.

Build quality hasn't changed with the Mobile USB-C, I still believe G-Tech has done a solid job with design and taking that further this drive is purpose-built to be a USB-C drive, meaning the internal drives PCB doesn't have a SATA connector with an adapter to get us USB-C connectivity. It's all built in, something we have only seen from WD in the past.

Performance has taken a sizable hit if we compare to the OG solution tested in 2016. That said, this drive meets performance standards of competing 5400RPM solutions like the ADATA HD830, etc. I was able to get 121 MB/s read, and 115 MB/s write out of this drive pretty consistently.

Price too is on point with the Mobile USB-C lineup. This 4TB option can be had for $149.99 which seems to be the going price at the time of writing. The 2TB option nudges us under $100 with an MSRP of $94.99, and the 1TB option sits at $79.99. As mentioned above the Mobile USB-C lineup carries a three-year warranty.

Tyler's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z370 (buy from Amazon)
• CPU: Intel Core i3 8350K (buy from Amazon)
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32GB 4x8GB DDR4 3200 (buy from Amazon)
• Cooler: Corsair Hydro H115i (buy from Amazon)
• Case: Corsair Air 540 (buy from Amazon)
• OS Storage: Samsung 960 EVO 250GB (buy from Amazon)
• Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (buy from Amazon)
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 (buy from Amazon)
• Wi-Fi NIC: ASUS PCE-AC88 (buy from Amazon)
• 10Gbe NIC: ASUS XG-C100C (buy from Amazon)
• Thunderbolt 3: ASUS Thunderbolt EX3 (buy from Amazon)