Eight Portable Hard Drives Compared: USB 2.0 Lives On
Wiebetech ToughTech XE Mini (500GB, Multi-Interface)
Last but not least, there's the ToughTech XE by Wiebetech. You can purchase either the barebones enclosure without a hard drive ($120) or one of six versions between 320GB and 500GB. These mainly vary in spindle speed and preformatting (NTFS or HFS+).
The XE Mini offers three interface ports: two FireWire 400/800 ports and a USB 2.0/eSATA combo port. There's also the FS Mini, which substitutes FireWire 400 for FireWire 400/800. Since you can purchase the model variant that doesn’t include a hard drive, you can install any drive of your choice. However, it has to be a drive with 9.5 mm z-height, so the latest 1TB drive generation won’t fit.
The aluminum body is solid, and an anti-shock drive mount should ensure safe and long-term drive operation. However, Wiebetech specifies a maximum operating temperature of only 30°C, which might not be enough in warm countries during summer. Most other drives are allowed to run in environment temperatures of up to 40°C. The ToughTech XE Mini comes with a little protective bag and all the necessary cables for the various interfaces.
USB 2.0 Throughput
FireWire 400/800 Throughput
eSATA Throughput
Prosoft Data Backup 8.0
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The backup suite here is powerful, showcasing wizards, incremental and full backup support, optional backup compression, and scheduling. Unfortunately, it does not work on a Windows 7 64-bit system, and the company's site doesn't even mention Windows 7 support.
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