Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme (1TB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology Part number: ST310005FPA2E3-RK
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme offers three interface options, a useful software bundle, and a lengthy warranty for a fair price. We like this direct-attach external drive.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme (1TB) price range: $139.82
- Reviewed by: Dong Ngo
- Edited by: Matthew Elliott
- Reviewed on: 09/26/2008
The good: Decent throughput performance; supports eSATA, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 interfaces; decent bundle software; quiet and cool during operation; 5-year warranty.
The bad: eSATA connection needs reset after idling; no FireWire 800; eSATA cable not included.
The bottom line: The Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme offers three interface options, a useful software bundle, and a lengthy warranty for a fair price. We like this direct-attach external drive.
Unless you consider three interface options to be intense, there's nothing particularly extreme about the Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme hard drive. Despite its mundane nature, we still found a lot to like about this external drive. We appreciate its simple and functional design, fast performance, and easy-to-use software. The drive features three connection interfaces (USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and eSATA), while keeping its price-per-gigabyte cost in line with drives that offer fewer connection options. Really, only that handful of users with FireWire 800 ports will find it lacking in the connection department. And it worked quietly throughout testing--an important consideration for any drive that may become a semi-permanent resident on your desk. The fact that eSATA sometimes needs to be reset after idling is the only shortcoming we found in the drive. Other than that, it's an all around good external hard drive that offers relatively high value on our cost per gigabyte chart.
| Drive type | External hard drive |
| Connector options | USB2.0, FireWire 400, eSATA |
| Available capacities | 500GB, 640GB, 1TB, 1.5TB |
| Capacity of test unit | 1TB |
| Drive speed | 7200 |
| Cache | 16MB |
| Dimensions (HWL) | 6.89 inches x 1.33 inches x 6.77 inches |
| Notable design features | |
| OSes supported | Windows 2K, XP, Vista, Mac OS X |
| Software included | Seagate Manager |
| Service and Support | 5-year warranty |
Design and features
The new FreeAgent Xtreme is slightly smaller in size than the previous generation of Seagate's FreeAgent product line. Unlike the previous model that only stood upward, the new drive can now work in both vertical and horizontal positions and has a detachable base.
On the front, the new FreeAgent drive has one large LED that glows white-ish light to show the status of the drive. On the back, there are two FireWire 400 ports, a USB 2.0 port, and one eSATA port. The drive comes with a compact power adapter, but it doesn't come with an eSATA cable. You only get one FireWire 400 cable and one USB 2.0 data cable out of the box. There's nothing else but a well-illustrated QuickStart Guide in the box; no CD or printed manual, and the bundled software is stored on the drive itself.
Preformatted for a Windows PC, the drive worked immediately once plugged in. It comes with Seagate Manage, a light software suites that including backup, sync, and security functions, all of which worked very well.
You can command the backup software to backup a recommended area of the hard drive or a set of selected folders and files. You then can create backups immediately or schedule them to run automatically. The sync function does a little more than that, by making sure that the content of one or more local folders or drives is synchronized with the FreeAgent Xtreme. This way, you can have two exact copies of the same data.
On the other hand, the security function of the software is rather cumbersome. First you need to create a password for encryption, then you need to drag and drop existing folders or files into the encryption software's virtual folder, and then you have to delete the originals. In order to open and edit files within the encrypted folder, you first need to decrypt them. The software only supports drag-and-drop encryption for files, but not a whole folder, making the process very time consuming if you want to read multiple encrypted files.
The FreeAgent Xtreme also works with Macs, but you will need to reformat it. However, Mac users might want to check out the FreeAgent Deck, which Seagate makes especially for Mac by replacing the eSATA port with FireWire 800 ports.
Cost per GB
The FreeAgent Xtreme can be found on the Internet for around $220, which translates into about 22 cents per gigabyte--about the same as the SimpleTech (re)drive . However, though not as eco-friendly as the re-drive, the FreeAgent Xtremes comes with more connection and capacity options.
| Model | Capacity | Est. street price | Cost per GB |
| Vox V1 | 750GB | $200 | $0.26 |
| SimpleTech (re)drive | 500GB | $110 | $0.22 |
| Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus | 250GB | $90 | $0.36 |
| FreeAgent Xtreme | 1GB | $220 | $0.22 |
Performance
The Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme's USB 2.0 performance met our expectation, though it was still a little slower than that of the SimpleTech (re)drive or the WD My Book Mirror. The drive performed significantly faster with FireWire 400, and especially with eSATa--where the writing speed got up to 440Mbps.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
(Throughput in Megabits per second)
 |
Write | |
Read |
The drive also performed very smoothly and quietly; it stayed relatively cool during the testing process, too.
We did notice, however, that the FreeAgent Xtreme's eSATA connections would appear disconnected after an hour or so of idling, and we had to repower the drive for eSATA to be recognized by the system again. While this doesn't affect the data stored on the drive, it's a nuisance--especially since eSATA says this is the connection that shows the best throughput performance on the drive.
Service and support
We believe you won't need much support for the FreeAgent Xtreme beyond the duration of the warranty. And Seagate delivers! It backs the FreeAgent Xtreme with a very generous 5-year warranty. Toll-free phone service is available weekdays, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. (PT), or you can e-mail technical support via a Web form. Seagate's support site offers installation and troubleshooting assistance, a download library, a knowledgebase, and a drive troubleshooter.
User reviews
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The worst product I've ever owned Seagate Xtreme 1.5 TB
Pros: The color of the box it came in wasn't too bad. Nor the RMA boxes.
Cons: Everything except the box it came in. Wish it was still in it at Best Buy!!
Summary: "I am a professional computer technician with over 15 years experience in PC hardware repair and trouble-shooting. I am A+, Net+, CCNA and MCSE certified. I have worked on some ...
Summary: "I am a professional computer technician with over 15 years experience in PC hardware repair and trouble-shooting. I am A+, Net+, CCNA and MCSE certified. I have worked on some of the most prestigious projects on 4 continents. I wouldn't even recommend giving this to the neighbors dog to chew on, even if it was barking all night.
The product is that bad. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS DRIVE!
First, the ESATA interface is poor and flaky. I bought this drive specifically for that reason and it frequently just dropped the line. Apparently, Seagate sets the power settings to just 10 minutes by default. A professional series, large volume drive that powers down after 10 minutes!! Using their recommended guidelines, I hooked it up via USB and was able to use the Seagate software to adjust the power settings, to no avail. Even after I powered it down, changed the input back to ESATA and turned it back on, it still flakes out.
Secondly, using the USB interface for the drive is no better. Occasionally, it just drops out and my brand-new, Vista x64, i7 920 HP computer can't recognize it or even see it in Disk Management.
Thirdly, even when it does recognize the drive (if you unplug and replug it in several times, it eventually spins up), there's no guarantee you'll be able to access the files.
So, what did I do? In-between my hectic schedule, I spent a week trying to figure out the problem. Finally, I sent it back to Seagate for RMA, which took another week. Then, I traveled to a customers site out-of-state for a week, returned, and it's now having the same problem with the new one as the last one.
I don't have time to fool with a new hard drive that will not work!! I've had it! I will NEVER buy another Seagate product again!
I have installed hundreds of drives in the last 15 years and I've seen hard drives that were practically melting that worked better, but I've never seen a hard drive so poorly engineered and manufactured that it continues to cause flaky connects, file read errors and poor performance like I've experienced with my NEW Seagate Xtreme 1.5 TB drive.
Frankly, I'm so frustrated with trying to trust this drive will eventually work, I want to throw the dam thing away and chalk it up to poor choices on my part. I wish I had read this review forum before I bought that drive. This is the worst product I've ever bought.
Never again, Seagate. And Best Buy, you should be ashamed for even carrying this drive."4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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total crash in 60 days
by technetreview on December 23, 2008
Pros: nothing positive when you lose data on a drive soon after buying it
Cons: unreliable. Not even the warranty return section on their website worked. This drive just stopped working and made a grinding sound. Data was lost. Do not buy Seagate drives.
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Pretty good hard drive.
by Thamorian on September 16, 2009
Pros: Reliable so far. 5 year warranty if it does fail (best warranty of any hard drive company I know of). Small Compact size and easily stack-able design. Attractive looking design. 7200 RPM. Good backup program that comes on it (though I don't use)
Cons: 931 GB instead of actual 1,000 GB (Of course that's typical of pretty much all hard drives). You have to go out and buy eSata separately.
Summary: People will typically more likely review something that is bad is all area of life. These bad reviews aren't really fair to how good this hard drive is. I ...
Summary: People will typically more likely review something that is bad is all area of life. These bad reviews aren't really fair to how good this hard drive is. I owned 1 for over half a year, bought two more about a month ago and I plan on buying 1 more next month (I just like to have two hard drives to mirror each other in case one fails, I still have the other with the same data, I would do this with any company's hard drive). None of then have failed so far. The 1TB is plenty of space for most people with videos and photos they wanna backup. I am happy with my Freeagent Xtreme hard drives. because they have been good to me so far and have plenty of space for my uses.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Incompatible With Dell eSata
by cheateduser on February 8, 2009
Pros: None - cannot use device as designed, marketed or sold.
Cons: Seagate Manager software cannot be used on a Dell system using eSata.
Summary: Spent several hours troubleshooting earlier today on the 1.5 TB version and seagate came to the conclusion that their Seagate Manager software is not compatible with the Dell eSata ...
Summary: Spent several hours troubleshooting earlier today on the 1.5 TB version and seagate came to the conclusion that their Seagate Manager software is not compatible with the Dell eSata which means that power management, configuration, RAID, etc., cannot be used unless connected to slower ports such as firewire or USB. There are several other eSata drivers, etc., that the Seagate Manager cannot play nice with but that information tends to be hidden until after purchase.
There is reduced operability of this device via eSata on a Dell using the Vista interfaces such as Windows Explorer but drive will stay on 100% of time with fans constantly running, etc.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Crashed after 4 months
by pierrot79 on November 19, 2009
Pros: good paper weight
Cons: it is a brick!
Summary: Save your valuable data and money - DO NOT BUY!
Summary: Save your valuable data and money - DO NOT BUY!
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A real rip off- zero stars
by phillw1146 on November 17, 2009
Pros: Absolutely none
Cons: Have found hundreds of failure post on several site. Seagate will not back this product up
Summary: do not buy a seagate product - they have zero warranty. When this drives crashes - and it will you will lose evrything on it - there is no way ...
Summary: do not buy a seagate product - they have zero warranty. When this drives crashes - and it will you will lose evrything on it - there is no way to rescue data.
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Great customer service but extremely unreliable product
by TedTimmis on November 5, 2009
Pros: 1) Good Warranty
2) Great Customer Service
3) eSata
4) Fat32 capable for Airport ExtremeCons: 1) Noisy Hard Drive
2) Doomed To FailSummary: I went through four Free Agent Hard Drives. Even before each failed, they were very noisy and each made "chugging" sounds as the drive spun. Customer service was very helpful ...
Summary: I went through four Free Agent Hard Drives. Even before each failed, they were very noisy and each made "chugging" sounds as the drive spun. Customer service was very helpful and didn't quibble about sending three replacement hard drives (even ones with larger capacity) after each began to fail. However, as if reading from a script, each of the customer service technicians kept saying that these disks should not be used for primary storage but only for back-up. I kept telling myself that I would buy another hard drive to back up the "back-up drive" but never got around to it. Sure enough, when the final drive failed, I lost 800 gigs of data and now I am shopping for data recovery services which will set me back at least $600. I later discovered that many others have had the same problem. (see Free Agent user reviews on the Costco website) In retrospect, I have no doubt that Seagate knew that these drives were a problem. I would check customer reviews more carefully before buying another external hard drive.
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The drive crashed after 2-3 months of regular use.
by nasui_adrian on October 5, 2009
Pros: USB, Firewire, eSata connections available.
Design.
Pretty silent.Cons: The drive crashed after 2-3 months of use and I lost all of the data.
Summary: I am a IT Software professional and I have had some experience with various hardware devices in the last 10 years. Here is my short review on my short experience ...
Summary: I am a IT Software professional and I have had some experience with various hardware devices in the last 10 years. Here is my short review on my short experience with the Seagate Freeagent Xtreme 1TB:
The drive crashed after 2-3 months of use and I lost all of my home data. The data was of personal value. If this would have been wok data, I would have been devastated. This is presented as a somewhat professional device (this the higher price than other devices storing 1TB) and I would expect some companies to use as a backup device. But I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. I have previously owned 3 external hard-drives (various manufacturers) and only one of them ever crashed, after 1.5 years. So this drive was by far the most unreliable of all the four drives. This has convinced me to never buy Seagate products again. -
A total waste of money!
by PoliteNYC on September 3, 2009
Pros: Sleek design.
Cons: Didn't buy it for the design. It started making a constant beeping noise on power up and is dead in the water. I have used it exactly TWICE since purchase.
Summary: I haven't ever bought an electronic product that crapped out after TWO uses! And after reading the community board at Seagate's website, the constant beeping noise signifies the ...
Summary: I haven't ever bought an electronic product that crapped out after TWO uses! And after reading the community board at Seagate's website, the constant beeping noise signifies the drive is fried and will need to be RMA'd. I bought the 1.5TB drive, and I thought I could use it as a reliable source to hold my 10,000+ .mp3 files (I'm a professional DJ) and not have to store them on my laptop harddrive, but I wish I had read these reviews first BEFORE I purchased the Seagate, I can imagine going to do a show and all my song files are on the XTreme and it just beeps. Riiiiight! Oh well, lesson learned, note to self: read reviews and research BEFORE I purchase an electronic product. I wish I could just get a refund, because I have NO confidence in the Seagate hardware's reliability and whatever they send me as a replacement will just sit unopened in the box. Stay, no RUN away from this product!!!
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Crashed in 3 months.
by CFCeltic on August 17, 2009
Pros: I can't think of one
Cons: Piece of crap
Summary: Started clicking, and when I rebooted it, it would not come up again. Total brick.
Summary: Started clicking, and when I rebooted it, it would not come up again. Total brick.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
- Part number: ST310005FPA2E3-RK
- Description: With its huge capacity and the fastest file transfer speeds today, the Seagate FreeAgent XTreme storage solution helps you easily safeguard all your photos, music, videos, and documents and access them with maximum performance. Included, easy-to-use soft ware helps keep your information safe and private with automatic data backup and encryption of your important files and folders. Environmentally smart utilities help save energy by putting your FreeAgent drive in sleep mode once it has been idle for 15 minutes. And you can take advantage of its fl edibility to lie on its side or stand upright to maximize your workspace. Count on the FreeAgent XTreme storage solution for quick access to super large files, added protection for all your content -and to look really good on your desk.
General
- Device Type Hard drive - External hard drive
- Width 1.3 in
- Depth 6.8 in
- Height 6.9 in
- Weight 3.1 lbs
- Enclosure Color Black
Hard Drive
- Form Factor 3.5"
- Capacity 1 TB
- Interface Type IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300
- Features Triple interface, Energy efficient, Encryption
Performance
- Data Transfer Rate Details USB 2.0|FireWire 400|eSATA
- Spindle Speed 7200 rpm
Storage Controller
- Type None - External - USB 2.0|FireWire 400|eSATA
Storage Controller (2nd)
- Type None
Expansion / Connectivity
- Interfaces - USB 2.0|FireWire 400|eSATA, 1 x Hi-Speed USB, 2 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire), 1 x eSATA-300
- Compatible Bays None
- Compatible Slots x None
Power
- External Hard Drive Power Source Included AC adapter
- Power device type Power adapter
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Vertical stand
- Cables Included 1 x USB cable, 1 x IEEE 1394 cable
- Package Type Retail
Software / System Requirements
- Software type Drivers & Utilities
- Min Operating system Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2, Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition SP2
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & support type 5 years warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 5 years
Product series
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Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme (500GB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 500 GB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, External, 3.5", 7200 rpm
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Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme (640GB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 640 GB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, External, 3.5", 7200 rpm
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Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme (1TB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 1 TB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, External, 3.5", 7200 rpm
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Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme (1.5TB)
Manufacturer: Seagate Technology
Specs: 1.5 TB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300, External, 3.5", 7200 rpm
Manufacturer info
- Seagate Technology
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Seagate Technology products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.seagate.com/
- Address:
920 Disc Dr., Scotts Valley, CA 95066 - Phone: 1-405-324-4700
- Fax: 1-405-324-4702
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