Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt - Review & Custom Spec Results

Just seeing this today. Thanks for the great writeup. What's your experience/expectation with re-opening the case several times with regard to the double-sided sticky? Is it ultimately external rubber bands for closure?

I've been considering getting the Seagate thunderbolt sled, specifically to swap drives out for different projects, though it sounds like the biggest concern with that is lack of retention of the drive...rubber bands again.

Rubber bands certainly aren't the end of the world, but it's good to know what to expect.

Thanks for the quick reply. I've never personally owned a LaCie Rugged, but I've swapped out drives for other folks and found them solid to use and easy to open/close.

I still dream of a Pegasus setup, but that's so far down the road I can't see it. A nice setup of portable/swappable SSDs would be nice for mobile editing. I've also considered the LaCie eSATA thunderbolt hub to go with the cheap Macally 3.5" enclosures for a somewhat less mobile option.

RPM Speed on the MiniStations??

I've read elsewhere that the 500GB drive is 7200 RPM while the 1TB drive is 5400. Can anyone confirm that??

I called Buffalo yesterday and the guy I spoke with said they were BOTH 7200, which I'd almost think is incorrect given that this thread says the 1TB is 5400, as did the review posted at networkworld.com

The 1TB is 5400 RPM, and there is more complexity after the case is opened, so definitely not as easy as using the Seagate.

I went with the Seagate TB desktop adaptor due to the fact that it had its own power supply. The 2.5" goFlex is apparently known to have issues with drives bigger than 256GB due to low power availibility from TB cable only. Computer lock-ups, etc.

Does anyone know if this Buffalo unit has the same power issues using SSD drives larger than 256GB? And is the Buffalo sata2 or sata3? Thanks!

rw3 said:

You may see an additional 5-10MB/s with a 7200RPM drive. Where the 7200RPM is better than a 5400RPM is random reads and writes, not steady data. Density has gone up so speed differentials have decreased.

Click to expand...

Right, txs. OWC has recently blogued about a slew of new Thunderbolt products coming soon. I'm sure we will see single 6G SSD enclosures at decent prices.

Based on the pictures, I decided to give it a try as well. Not as easy as it looks, Buffalo made it very firm with no intention for users to rip it apart. Some hinges may crack or break but thats a risk you decide to take when taking it apart.

The Buffalo Thunder bolt HD-PATU3 1TB

Inside the box - USB 3.0 & Thunderbolt Cable


It's rather thick if you compare it to a standard Buffalo drive.


What I did was use some plastic cards at gently inserted them in gaps between the edges of the drive and once I had three cards firmly inserted. I then used a flat head screw driver and inserted that beneath a gap under the USB 3.0 port. Then levered it out till you hear the double sided tape give way and rip apart.


Once you have pried it apart, it should look like this


This is the difficult part, carefully but firmly remove each side of the joints holding the cover and the white casing


Remove the four screws on each side of the metal casing


Unscrew the two screws from the bottom


Gently remove the hard drive from the connector


The connector


Insert SSD into the connector


Plug the device into the thunderbolt port


Testing if it functions


Completed

Estimated time taken was around 40 minutes, cost was around $238.59 for the Buffalo Drive and the SSD was around $199. Totals to $437.58 for this thunderbolt solution.

The Build quality of the Buffalo was excellent, The top is made from hard plastic and the bottom is Aluminum Unibody to match the MAC design.

I have a problem with this drive , got the 1TB version from Newegg. The transfer rate hits a cool 100-110MB/s over Thunderbolt but i'm getting only 35-40MB/s over USB 3.0

Problem is only have my rMBP with me right now and don't have another machine to test the drive on to figure out if its a rMBP/ Mac /Mountain Lion issue. It's not a HDD issue on the Buffalo drive as it hits 110MB/s on thunderbolt.

I suspected my rMBP and tested a lexar usb 3.0 usb drive and it crossed 80MB/s.

Should I contact buffalo tech support ?

Perhaps your Buffalo drive does not support UAS on the USB 3.0 side. Or with your particular drive it is only connecting at USB 2.0 speeds. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_Attached_SCSI

Check Apple System Profiler to see if the drive reports being connected at 5Gbps or 480Mbps in the USB section.

Sometimes my Buffalo only connects at the lower USB 2.0 speed. This might be due to cable issues.

g4cube said:

Perhaps your Buffalo drive does not support UAS on the USB 3.0 side. Or with your particular drive it is only connecting at USB 2.0 speeds. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_Attached_SCSI

Check Apple System Profiler to see if the drive reports being connected at 5Gbps or 480Mbps in the USB section.

Sometimes my Buffalo only connects at the lower USB 2.0 speed. This might be due to cable issues.

Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head, seems like a cable fault which occurs at unpredictable intervals. 5 mins back it was on USB 2.0 480Mbps and now USB 3.0 5Gbps

I'm not sure if it has got something to do with the USB 3.0 implementation on the rMBP as the drive seems to connect in USB 3.0 every time on my 2011 Windows Desktop with a Gigabyte motherboard.

Hey knightsabers, still happy with performance and setup? Have any issues come up for you? Still like this solution over the Seagate? Any post insight would be great, thanks!

knightsabers said:

Based on the pictures, I decided to give it a try as well. Not as easy as it looks, Buffalo made it very firm with no intention for users to rip it apart. Some hinges may crack or break but thats a risk you decide to take when taking it apart.

The Buffalo Thunder bolt HD-PATU3 1TB
Image
Inside the box - USB 3.0 & Thunderbolt Cable
Image

It's rather thick if you compare it to a standard Buffalo drive.
Image

What I did was use some plastic cards at gently inserted them in gaps between the edges of the drive and once I had three cards firmly inserted. I then used a flat head screw driver and inserted that beneath a gap under the USB 3.0 port. Then levered it out till you hear the double sided tape give way and rip apart.
Image

Once you have pried it apart, it should look like this
Image

This is the difficult part, carefully but firmly remove each side of the joints holding the cover and the white casing
Image

Remove the four screws on each side of the metal casing
Image

Unscrew the two screws from the bottom
Image

Gently remove the hard drive from the connector
Image

The connector
Image

Insert SSD into the connector
Image

Plug the device into the thunderbolt port
Image

Testing if it functions
Image

Completed
Image
Estimated time taken was around 40 minutes, cost was around $238.59 for the Buffalo Drive and the SSD was around $199. Totals to $437.58 for this thunderbolt solution.

The Build quality of the Buffalo was excellent, The top is made from hard plastic and the bottom is Aluminum Unibody to match the MAC design.

Click to expand...

No performance issues yet. Upgraded to mountain lion whilst using it as an external boot drive, no issues occurred. I think the seagate solution isn't as messy but the build quality on the case felt better on the buffalo.

After installing a SSD into the Buffalo, I noticed faster application & boot performance on the iMac. I would recommend using a longer thunderbolt cable as the one included is rather short.

This is definitely worth considering as boot drive solution for those who want faster performance on the iMac or fast external hard disk.

Buffalo MiniStation w/ 512GB or 480GB SSD?

Great information here.

But has anyone tested to see if the Buffalo Ministation works reliably over Thunderbolt (or USB) with a larger capacity SSD, e.g. a 512GB (Samsung 830) or a 480GB (Intel 520) SSD?

There was some talk that the power requirement of larger drives would cause disconnections over Thunderbolt in such enclosures, e.g. using the Seagate Portable Thunderbolt adapter.

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys,

any news on larger (500gb) capacity drives in the Buffalo enclosure?
Did any standalone enclosure from OWC materialize in the meantime?

thank you, CXC