G-Technology 4TB G-DRIVE with Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive, Silver - 0G03050-1

This was expensive but I've used a G-Drive before and knew I would love it. I purchased this 4T version for my new cylinder Mac Pro which came with virtually no storage space on board. The small SSD embedded is for system use mostly and for holding small downloads.I don't use this as my only external drive, despite being a fast 7200 speed. It's great for a hard drive, but I mostly use SSDs, which are much faster. Those get really expensive so I wanted to add one of these as part of my storage.This is nice as it comes with a Thunderbolt connection, but unfortunately it won't daisy chain with my other Thunderbolt drives.I need a lot of storage as I shoot, produce, and edit videos, shoot photography, and make/produce my own music. That requires a lot of space, but having used a 1T G-Drive in the past, I know the quality I'm getting.Leave this on your desk as it isn't very portable. Get a Western Digital "My Passport Ultra" with a good case for portability. Another situation where I learned my lesson the hard way.I had a 1T G Drive that I used to my previous Mac to the beach with me while on vacation. While unpacking, I put the G-Drive on the floor. My dog took her chance and wet on it, destroying it. I tried everything I could think of to revive it, but it was a goner. I finally recycled it yesterday, months later.So, my lesson that I learned is that it's not portable, but it's reliable. It has it's own power source. Keep it on your desk. It will look pretty. ;-)You get a great, fast hard drive for the price. 4T is nothing to sneeze at.

This drive is GREAT! It works and does not miss a beat. It no longer makes any spooling up sounds and as for the bight light, the drive sits on a small shelf from 12 South riding piggyback on the back of the iMac I picked up from Amazon. I actually back to purchase another one.The first one was dead on arrival. received the second drive and it bolts up fine. I mean, thunderbolt plugs in, Retina iMac sees it, change over Time Machine to new drive and in no time the 3gigs on the old Western Digital is now on the "G" drive and all is right in the world. Well, in my world. (not really)The drive is loud when it boots up. Sounds like a small jet engine (kinda) while it spools up. Which for me is kinda kool, being the nerd I wanna be. The light can be used for a search light. I have no effing idea why they would put such a bright arse status light on. I made a tiny cover with a post it to cover.All in all I think this drive is great!

I bought two of these. First one worked fine but I didn't need the second one for my video project until more than a month later. When I tried to use it, it was "unreadable buy this computer." After trying may tricks to get it to work, I could copy one item and then it self ejected and I cannot get it to mount (be "readable") again no matter what I do. I didn't realize I should have tried it out within the few week window after purchase (only had 2 weeks since didn't arrive until 2-3 weeks after purchase and all that time counted), so now I have a $500 paperweight. Finally found way to contact seller who said they won't take it back or replace it and I need to contact company for warranty. That was a major hassle, since original company bought by new company and getting any help from either was nearly impossible. After lots of hassle, finally they agreed to cover it under warranty, but here is the deal: I return something BRAND NEW that doesn't work. I have to pay for packing and shipping and then they will return a used, reconditioned product to me instead of a new drive. More money and no satisfaction!!!!

An impressive HD that meets my needs for capacity, speed, and reliability. The Unit is pre-formatted for Mac, which is a minor detail but it is just one last issue to resolve in order to have the HD up and running. I purchased a G-Technology 4TB HD four years ago, and decided it was time to archive and purchase a storage device. I went through two other devices before returning the G-Technology and purchasing the 8TB Drive. It surpasses my expectations once again. It runs quietly and cool - and performs outstandingly well. Next HD purchase will find me going straight back to G-Technology.

Solid, well performing drive. I use the Thunderbolt connection primarily with a maxed out 2014 iMac. I have numerous external hard drives (primarily from Western Digital and Lacie) but wanted workhorse that perhaps I could use for editorial work or to serve as a traveling drive that I can keep data from an in-progress project on so I have faster access. This does not disappoint. However, don't expect it to be as fast as having data accessible on a local drive. I was kind of hoping for that and although I have not tested enough to make a clear determination, I believe the throughput speeds are sufficient for editing with lower res proxies of footage but anything higher that that and I experienced too much lagging/buffering to edit in an organic manner. I'll likely still have to load things locally to work ideally, but getting the data on and off the drive takes no time with the throughput speeds so that is a huge plus. I'll append this review when i have some more time with the drive and see how the usb 3.0 speeds are as well. Note that this drive needs an external power supply. It comes with a plug and everything but unlike my portable drives that source power directly through my usb, this does not. That was expected though...