G-Technology 4TB G-DRIVE with Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive, Silver - 0G03050-1

This is the third G-Technology G-Drive that I have purchased over the past several years. The first two drives have been very reliable and very fast. My recent purchase of the 6TB G-Tech Thunderbolt G-Drive appears to be no exception. I am using it as my Time Machine backup drive and it is as fast or faster than any drive I have previously used. Since I just purchased the drive, I cannot comment on its long-term reliability, but so far it has not caused me any problems. I will update this review should it do so. This drive comes preformatted from the factory to be compatible with OS X so it is very easy to set up if you own a Mac; pretty much plug and play. The only issue I have with the drive, and it is a very minor issue, is it is not as quiet as some external drives, such as the Apple Time Capsules I have previously owned. The G-Tech drive whines when it starts up but it is not enough to be an issue for me. Be aware of this if you're expecting a drive that is absolutely quiet.

I have only backed up once using this G drive so far and it went very smoothly. I will say I was very concerned about the drive being dead on arrival, so I plugged it in to check it. Guess what! "Dead"! — or so I thought. It turns out the drive must be plugged into your computer AND be plugged into a power source. It will not power on without being connected to your computer. I am wondering how many other people have made this simple mistake. As for cases to put the drive in. I wish Amazon would offer up suggestions, but no one makes a case specifically for this. I found a couple case that ought to fit. I was concerned about having enough padding, but they are all about the same (skimpy). I am using the BAGSMART travel cable organizer, and the drive fits with room for the cords along side it. There is still enough room to add some other cords, but I have other cases holding those already. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071S722C9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The other product very similar to the BAGSMART and essentially the same dimension, but in more extreme (fun) colors is: https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Organizer-Vivefox-Double-Accessories/dp/B07K6G6J5W/ref=pd_ybh_a_19?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=7MK63C1QTVPY4APH2JQN

This drive is GREAT! It works and does not miss a beat. It no longer makes any spooling up sounds and as for the bight light, the drive sits on a small shelf from 12 South riding piggyback on the back of the iMac I picked up from Amazon. I actually back to purchase another one. The first one was dead on arrival. received the second drive and it bolts up fine. I mean, thunderbolt plugs in, Retina iMac sees it, change over Time Machine to new drive and in no time the 3gigs on the old Western Digital is now on the "G" drive and all is right in the world. Well, in my world. (not really) The drive is loud when it boots up. Sounds like a small jet engine (kinda) while it spools up. Which for me is kinda kool, being the nerd I wanna be. The light can be used for a search light. I have no effing idea why they would put such a bright arse status light on. I made a tiny cover with a post it to cover. All in all I think this drive is great!

Disk had a multitude of bad sectors. Returned for a refund. HGST (the disk inside) is supposed to be the most reliable consumer drive, but based on recent reviews, I wonder. I bought two - the second one seems to be working fine, but I'm having a hard time trusting that it will last. Update - it's been a few weeks on the one drive that is working. No bad sectors, BUT this hard drive is the loudest drive I've owned since 1995. It's loud just sitting there spinning, and then when it seeks, your first reaction is that a pebble got caught in some exhaust fan somewhere. I really had no idea that hard drives this loud were being made. Also - if you're planning on sleeping in the same room, be prepared for all night flicker-fest courtesy of the ultra-bright white LED on the front. If I have to get up in the night, I am temporarily blinded by the LED if I look at it. Fortunately, it illuminates the whole room, so I don't trip and fall in the dark. In summary, I have experienced failure and overall crappy operation from this drive. Oh, and I'm paying a premium for this experience just so I can have a #%#$% thunderbolt port. Awesome. Soon as I can, I'm going to get an internal 6 TB drive and swap out the guts of the enclosure with something that does not suck.

Solid, well performing drive. I use the Thunderbolt connection primarily with a maxed out 2014 iMac. I have numerous external hard drives (primarily from Western Digital and Lacie) but wanted workhorse that perhaps I could use for editorial work or to serve as a traveling drive that I can keep data from an in-progress project on so I have faster access. This does not disappoint. However, don't expect it to be as fast as having data accessible on a local drive. I was kind of hoping for that and although I have not tested enough to make a clear determination, I believe the throughput speeds are sufficient for editing with lower res proxies of footage but anything higher that that and I experienced too much lagging/buffering to edit in an organic manner. I'll likely still have to load things locally to work ideally, but getting the data on and off the drive takes no time with the throughput speeds so that is a huge plus. I'll append this review when i have some more time with the drive and see how the usb 3.0 speeds are as well. Note that this drive needs an external power supply. It comes with a plug and everything but unlike my portable drives that source power directly through my usb, this does not. That was expected though...

It works exactly as described

Works great with my Time Machine.

Bought 4 and 2 have so far broken down and lost all my production and then have to ship all the way to the US from the UK because Amazon UK won't accept in the UK. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS PRODUCT and if you do ensure you get the insurance cover.

Great drive for the money

👍🏼