Seagate Backup Plus 3TB External Hard Drive (STCA3000101) Review

Review: 4/5
Fast, Works, But Note Audible Noise.

This is a decent drive whose only notable drawback is the slightly audible noise. Being USB 3.0 (blue ports), it transfers quite fast. It (like all other USB 3.0 drives) isn't exactly as fast as internal SATA transfers, but transferring a 5.3GB folder in less than a minute or a 870MB file in a few seconds seems great. My transfers ranged from 60MB/s to 110MB/s (according to Windows). It weights 1.16 lbs and is large enough that you wouldn't want to port it daily, but it is small and light enough that you could on occasion. Of course it isn't technically a portable line, for which other drives are specifically designed to be lighter & smaller if that is the goal. Its case is a glossy black, so it shows fingerprints somewhat, but fairly muted.

The drive is not silent. It emits a constant small audible white noise from the drive spinning (sounds just like a fan). It is quieter than my PC fan, but is still audible. For an office it would be perfectly fine. But it is more noticeable than my silent Western Digital Elements 1TB and my other more quiet Seagate external 2TB drive. The white noise is fairly ignorable, and better if you just tuck it away from you somewhere else on your desk or a shelf. But compared to my WD Elements drive that isn't noticeable unless it is doing work, this one I can hear the constant spin until it powers off. It is still more quiet than many external drives from a while ago. It also vibrates very slightly. So when standing up, it resonates with my desk and my desk (not the drive) hums a tiny bit. I can lay the drive on its side or put it on another desk and it doesn't resonate from the slight vibration.


Product Title: Seagate Backup Plus 3TB Desktop External Hard Drive USB 3.0 (STCA3000101)
Model: STCA3000101