INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   People who wish to expand their available media storage without introducing a new 3.5/2.5" interior drive have three valid options, either opt for a external 2.5/3.5" hard drive or for a much more expensive (and functional) NAS. Price and size (let's not also forget that not everyone knows about them) are the two main reasons people choose not to go with a NAS so 2.5/3.5" solutions are far more popular today. On the other hand although we all have at least one 2.5" portable hard disk drive with a current maximum storage capacity of 4TB (not to mention their performance) they may not be quite enough for demanding users so that pretty much only leaves 3.5" desktop hard disk drives which are available in capacities all the way up to 8TB. Unfortunately unlike the bus-powered 2.5" portable models which work just by plugging them into a USB 3.0 port (4.5W output @ 0.9A) 3.5" external models require far more power than what most USB 3.0 ports can output (7-10W) and to get that power an extra power adapter must be plugged into a electrical socket. Seagate seems determined to solve this and their first attempt is the somewhat impressive Innov8 external hard disk drive which we've been testing for roughly 3 weeks now.

   Founded in 1979, Seagate is the leading provider of hard drives and storage solutions. From the videos, music and documents we share with friends and family on social networks, to servers that form the backbone of enterprise data centers and cloud-based computing, to desktop and notebook computers that fuel our personal productivity, Seagate products help more people store, share and protect their valuable digital content. Seagate offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of hard disk drives, solid-state drives and solid-state hybrid drives. In addition, the company offers an extensive line of retail storage products for consumers and small businesses, along with data-recovery services for any brand of hard drive and digital media type. Seagate employs more than 50,000 people around the world.

   Thanks to another partnership between Seagate and Huge Design (also the ones behind the 2.5" Seven drive) the Innov8 is unlike any other 3.5" external HDD model in the market today largely thanks to its "rugged/industrial" looks courtesy of the pure aluminum enclosure. Under the hood Seagate has placed their award winning Archive HDD 8TB SATA III HDD which features Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) with 6 platters (1.33TB each), spins at 5900RPM and has a total of 128MB cache. Due to the rather "low" electrical requirements of the Archive HDD compared to other similar drives (roughly 7.5W at load) Seagate has made it possible to power the Innov8 via a USB 3.1 type-C cable (1.5A) and their rather innovative ignition boost technology. The ignition boost technology is actually a built-in 12Whr Lithium-Polymer 3162mAh rechargeable battery pack which supplies just enough power to the drive for its spin-up procedure (it may also supply the drive with power instantly when/if the USB port is unable to). Seagate also offers a total of 200GB worth of cloud space in Microsoft’s OneDrive service and backs the Innov8 with a 3 year limited warranty. So after roughly 3 weeks of using and testing the Innov8 the time has come for us to share our results with all of you.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just like with the Seven drive the Innov8 gets shipped inside a "luxury" box that has a large product picture at the front.

 

 

Another product picture is placed at the rear along with its OS requirements (Windows 8.1 and above).

 

 

The barcode, serial number and part number are all placed on a sticker located on the right side of the box.

 

 

The entire interior is filled with a formed piece of foam inside which we see the Innov8 drive and its bundle.

 

 

Aside the Innov8 drive you'll also get a Type-C USB 3.1 cable and the user manual.

 

 

THE INNOV8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 1.5Kg heavy Seagate Innov8 measures 208mm in length, 123.6mm in width and 36mm in height and as you can all see the rugged aluminum enclosure looks and feels "premium".

 

 

Since the Innov8 is a desktop hard disk drive we placed it right next to the HGST Touro Desk Pro 4TB and the WD My Book 1230 3TB models to see just how large it is.

 

 

The company name and drive capacity are both printed at the top of the enclosure.

 

 

Huge Design has placed a total of six layers on the exterior and these probably represent the 6 platters in the Archive HDD.

 

 

The country of manufacture is printed at the base of the enclosure along with several certification and warning logos.

 

 

A single USB 3.1 Type-C port is placed at the front of the enclosure (the power/error LED is placed on the opposite side).

 

 

For some strange reason (perhaps a longer cable wouldn't provide sufficient power to the drive?) Seagate bundles the drive with a 50cm long cable which at least with a desktop computer is not very practical.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

   Complicating things is not really our way so once again our testing procedure will be almost identical to the one we use with 2.5" external drives and 2.5"/3.5" external docking stations. Naturally we will also be comparing the product at hand with previously reviewed 3.5" external drives so you know what you're getting (we no longer include 3.5" enclosures in our charts). Our standard selection of benchmark suites is used here as well including the famous HD Tach RW (Long Bench 32mb Zones), HD Tune Pro (read/write -when possible- speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read/Write - also when possible- speeds), AIDA64 (Linear Read/Random Read), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB/1000MB read/write speeds) and finally the quite outdated yet highly reliable ATTO 2.47 (Max Read/Max Write speeds). Every test was repeated for a total of 6 times and after that the average (not peak) numbers were recorded into our charts. As always every test was performed in a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 with every update installed up to August 28th 2016 (UASP compatible devices are tested on a Windows 8.1 installation with every update installed).

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - TEMPERATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Much like the Seven 500GB 2.5” portable hard drive by Seagate the Innov8 is a premium product aimed towards enthusiasts and professionals who may be willing to pay extra for a “special” product. Of course the lack of an extra power adapter is without doubt an impressive feature but at the end of the day it’s the design and materials used that make the Innov8 stand out from other similar solutions. Of course as you can see from our charts the Innov8 surpassed all other 3.5” external desktop HDDs in our charts so performance is obviously not affected by the lack of an extra power adapter. Unfortunately not many systems support USB 3.1 type-C connectivity with 1.5A output at this moment (some of the latest mainboard models and laptops do or in our case one of the latest Type-C PCIe x4 SATA powered cards) and although at first this may seem as the primary drawback of the Innov8 in the end I doubt that people willing to purchase it will have a problem pairing it with a compatible system (of course there's always the compatibility issue with Windows 7 since they are not supported). What is a small drawback is the fact that if you plug the Innov8 with a laptop (or a MacBook) it will also “chew” on its battery and on the go that may not be optimal for some people. Seagate should also make longer cables available for desktop PC/Mac use or at least specify which consumers can get since the 50cm long bundled one is not nearly long enough.

   So how much extra does Seagate ask for their Archive HDD placed inside the Innov8 enclosure? While I type these lines the Innov8 retails for USD319.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 375Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) so yes it’s quite more expensive than its 8TB brothers again by Seagate. Once again however it all comes down to just how much you’re willing to pay for a product and whether or not you want to own something special. Personally I think that not only has Seagate released the best looking 3.5” desktop HDD in the market today but also perhaps the fastest one as well (we don’t have every single 3.5” Desktop HDD in our charts to be certain of this) and although the price may be just a bit high for most consumers this is still a product well worth of our Golden Award.

PROS

- Superior Build Quality
- Design
- Top of the Charts Performance
- No External Power Adapter Required
- 8TB Storage Capacity
- 200GB Cloud Storage (Microsoft OneDrive)
- 3 Years Warranty
 

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- USB 3.1 Type C 1.5A Connectivity Only
- Windows 7 Not Supported