Seagate rolls out 1.5TB external whopper Seagate has crammed 1.5TB in the 2.5-inch external drive format with its latest FreeAgent GoFlex model, meaning you can watch 60 high-definition movies one after the other. Seagate hasn't said if the drive is a 3-platter job, meaning an outstanding but unlikely 500GB/platter, or a 4-platter one, meaning a more reasonable 375GB …
There is no mention of how the thing is powered in the article.
I went to look at the press release, which says it comes formatted NTFS, but makes no mention of the power brick. It does say "all in one" so perhaps there isn't one. The box shot on engadget allows you to read the 'whats in the box' bit, and there is no mention of a power adaptor there.
So perhaps its host powered? Is that right?
If it is a 2.5" drive, it'll be USB powered.
Just don't expect every USB2 socket to be capable of delivering the USB2 standard of 0.5A (2.5W) however. Manufacturers have been skimping on this feature for years.
Seagate's 2.5" drives need to draw 5W initially to get the motor turning and thereafter it needs 2.5W to keep running. So it'll probably come with a dual USB adaptor.
A number of 2.5" external USB2 drive have the option of purchasing a power adaptor for the tiny power socket on them. But they rarely actually mention this in the sales buff as they don't want to put customers off...
A good few years ago I had an IBM 18GB 4 platter 12.5mm drive. My employer was kind enough to cough the £400 or so it cost. Even bought me a replacement when I dropped it a week later.
I'm guessing it's 3x500GB - 320GB platters have been around for a while now and it's not that big a leap (and a chunk of it comes from going advanced format anyways).
Nice though - soon comes the time to migrate my media stash to quiet and small 2.5" drives.
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