The Seagate Expansion Desktop is a basic no-frills backup drive. The slower 5400 RPM drive and USB 3.0 interface makes it ideal for data backup as transfer speeds are lower than drives that include faster 7200 RPM drives or faster Thunderbolt 3 interfaces. However, if you are not looking at intensive use cases such as editing 4K videos, then the performance should be perfectly acceptable. The design is pretty basic but the plastic case provides enough passive ventilation to keep it cool. The slightly more expensive Backup Hub drives include 2 USB 3.0 ports on the front for connecting additional accessories. The 1 year warranty is poor compared to similar Western Digital drives. Interestingly Seagate offers a longer warranty outside of US/Canada.
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Summary
The Seagate Expansion is a simple and no-frills external drive. Even though it only has a 5400 RPM drive, the USB 3.0 interface is fast enough for all but the most intensive tasks. The Backup Plus Hub includes 2 front-facing USB ports to add extra connectivity.
Criteria
- Great value desktop drive.
- Passive ventilation works well.
- Even though using only a 5400 RPM drive the USB 3 seemed fast enough for all but the most demanding tasks.
- Retail pricing is typically cheaper than RRP so shop around.
- 5400 RPM drive not as fast as the 7200 RPM drives in other models.
- Only includes a 1 year warranty where the WD Essentials Desktop has 2 and the WD My Book has 3.
Specifications
Drive Specifications | |
Drive Capacity ? | 8 TB min: 1 average: 15.72 max: 72 |
Drive Type ? | Hard Disk Drive (HDD) |
Number of Drives ? | 1 Drive |
RAID Support ? | None |
Drive Performance | |
Disk Speed ? | 5400 RPM |
Price | |
Recommended Retail Price ? | USD 199.99 min: 89.99 average: 732.63 max: 2999.99 |
Connectivity | |
USB 3.0 ? | 1 x USB 3.0 min: 0 average: 1.27 max: 5 |
Thunderbolt 3 ? | 0 min: 0 average: 0.51 max: 2 |
Ethernet ? | 0 min: 0 average: 0.52 max: 2 |
DisplayPort ? | 0 min: 0 average: 0.14 max: 1 |
HDMI ? | 0 min: 0 average: 0.04 max: 1 |
Features | |
Hardware Encryption ? | No |
Backup Software ? | No |
SD Card Reader ? | No |
Warranty ? | 1 Year min: 1 average: 3.2 max: 5 |
Physical Specifications | |
Length ? | 7.04 Inches min: 4.72 average: 7.65 max: 11.93 |
Width ? | 1.65 Inches min: 1.39 average: 3.36 max: 8.9 |
Height ? | 4.92 Inches min: 4.65 average: 5.79 max: 7.56 |
Enclosure Color ? | Black |
Enclosure Material ? | Plastic |