Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt - Review & Custom Spec Results

USB 2.0 Benchmarks at the Bottom of Post

Specifications: http://www.buffalotech.com/products...portable-hard-drives/ministation-thunderbolt/

Well with the purchase of my rMBP, I was looking for a great external hard drive to carry with me that had Thunderbolt as well as USB 3.0/2.0 so that it could be used with previous generation machines, although at much slower USB 2.0 speeds. I saw that Buffalo Technology has released their MiniStation Thunderbolt and saw that it also had USB 3.0, I had to get one and do some testing on it. It was surprisingly in stock at my local Fry's and they had both the 500GB and the 1TB ($199.99 and $229.99 respectively).

So when I got home, I decided that the first thing I wanted to do was tear it apart to really see how it was put together. Well, there are no screws that hold the enclosure together. Instead, Buffalo decided that it would be a good idea to use super strength double sided tape that with a little bit of heat and muscle, the two halves would separate. The silver part of the enclosure is aluminum and the the rest is lots of plastic. There is a metal internal shield, but that's it.

I have a couple of Corsair Performance Pro 256GB SSDs that I will be using as a test for the speed of SSDs in this enclosure. I have tried the Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter and just don't like the bulk and I believe that Seagate could've done a much better job at it. Anyways, I digress. I will get USB 2.0 benchmarks posted this afternoon.

Benchmarks

First Test: MiniStation 1TB over USB 3.0 (Uses the Seagate/Samsung 1TB 5400RPM HN-M101MBB)

Disk Utility


BlackMagicDesign DiskSpeed Test
Results - Read: 108.2 Write: 108.3


AJA System Test
Results - Read 108.8 Write: 105.9


Second Test: MiniStation 1TB over Thunderbolt (Uses the Seagate/Samsung 1TB 5400RPM HN-M101MBB)

Disk Utility


BlackMagicDesign DiskSpeed Test
Results - Read: 108.6 Write: 96.1


AJA System Test
Results - Read 108.7 Write: 105.9


Third Test: MiniStation 256GB SATAIII SSD over USB 3.0 (Corsair Performance Pro SSD)

Disk Utility


BlackMagicDesign DiskSpeed Test
Results - Read: 258.9 Write: 255.6


AJA System Test
Results - Read 257.5 Write: 255.6


Fourth Test: MiniStation 256GB SATAIII SSD over ThunderBolt (Corsair Performance Pro SSD)

Disk Utility


BlackMagicDesign DiskSpeed Test
Results - Read: 360.8 Write: 313.1


AJA System Test
Results - Read 360.4 Write: 313.6


Fifth Test: MiniStation 1TB Seagate/Samsung HN-M101MBB over USB 2.0

BlackMagicDesign DiskSpeed Test
Results - Read 34.1 Write: 27.5

Yeah, I think it has to do with how USB may buffer and TB doesn't....I don't know. It find it funny but then again, SSD is a lot faster on TB than USB 3.0.

The good thing about the MiniStation ThunderBolt is that it comes with a USB 3.0 cable and an 16" ThunderBolt Cable....not bad considering the cost. $300 for the enclosure and a good 128GB SSD...not too costly if you ask me.

To take the enclosure apart, use a hairdryer to heat up the bottom (part with the rubber C shaped feet). Then gently pry the white plastic away from the aluminum. It will take some muscle. The 1TB model came apart easy where as the 500GB model I got took about 10x more effort to get apart....pictures uploading now of the parts.

Not only that but a Thunderbolt cable is included as well. Super flexible and 16-18"

jamswirl said:

Awesome! looking at getting one of these. Any chance you could post a quick video of how to disassemble it?

Click to expand...

See post #9....the casing just pulls apart....

The double sided will always be there unless you remove it before putting it back together, hence needing something to keep the two halves together.

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.