G-Technology G-DRIVE 500GB External Hard Drive w/ eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire 400, Firewire 800 Interfaces 0G00205

by G-Technology

Product Details

• Item Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B002LITGMW
• Item model number: 0G00205
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 17, 2003

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

G-Technology, part of the Hitachi Global Storage Technologies family, manufactures the industry's most comprehensive line of external disk storage solutions designed for professional content creation applications. G-Technology's USB, FireWire, eSATA, series-SAS, and Fibre Channel systems support all levels of audio/video production. G-Tech’s focus on technology, quality and design has resulted in disk storage solutions with unmatched performance, reliability and style.

Small footprint and portability made perfect for laptop applications

High-speed professional interface with 3Gbit eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400 and USB 2.0. View larger

Professional External Hard Drive

G-DRIVE high-speed interface external storage systems offer the ultimate in flexibility by providing 3Gbit eSATA, FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 via included cable) and USB 2.0 ports. G-DRIVE is the perfect high-performance solution for storage intensive applications including audio/video editing, digital photography, MP3 libraries and high-speed data backup. The system features a fan-less cooling system and the latest technology 7200 RPM SATA II hard drives with up to 2TB in storage capacity with up to 32 MB of cache.

Support for Professional Creative Applications

G-DRIVE supports professional music production tools including Pro Tools, Logic Studio, Cubase, Nuendo, Digital Performer, and many more.

The Ultimate in Desktop Performance

G-DRIVE is the highest performance single disk storage solution in the industry. When connected via the eSATA port, G-DRIVE provides data transfer rates in excess of 100 MB/second for today’s demanding content creation applications such as audio and video editing.

Featuring an all aluminum enclosure to give you a rugged and dependable backup solution

Rugged and Stylish Aluminum Enclosure

The G-DRIVE series is built to last, featuring a solid, all-aluminum base and enclosure that especially complements the recent line of MacBooks. It's a rugged and dependable backup solution with a stylish and clean design.

Easy to Setup and Time Machine Ready

G-DRIVE series is formatted at the factory HFS+ with Journaling and is Time Machine ready right out of the box. A simple initialization is all it takes to prepare G-DRIVE series for use with Windows systems.

The Best Warranty and Support in the Business

G-DRIVE series is backed by a standard 3-year factory warranty. See the included warranty card for details.

What's in the Box

G-DRIVE External Hard Drive, Universal AC Power Supply, 1.6 Meter eSATA Cable (black), 1.8 Meter FireWire 800 Cable (white), 1.8 Meter FireWire 400 Cable (white), 0.6 Meter USB 2.0 Cable (white), CD Manual, and 3-year factory warranty.

Technical Specifications

• Interface: 1x 3Gbit, eSATA, 2x FireWire 800 (9-pin), 1x USB 2.0, FireWire 400 via 800 to 400 cable
• Disk Drives: Type: SATA II
• RPM: 7200
• Cache: Up to 32MB
• Cooling System: Integrated heat sink
• Bridge: Oxford 934 chipset
• Size (LxWxH): 9.25" x 5.125" x 1.82" / 235 x 130 x 46 mm
• Weight: 2.6 lbs / 1.2 kg
• System Requirements: Mac OSX 10.3.x or higher or Windows 2000/XP/Vista

Which Hitachi External Storage Product is Right For You?

		G-SAFE	G-DRIVE	G-RAID	G-DRIVE mini	G-DRIVE mobile USB	G-DRIVE slim USB
Designed For		General Storage / Backup	Video / Audio Editing	Video / Audio Editing	General Storage / Backup	General Storage / Backup	General Storage / Backup
Capacities		500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 3TB	500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 3TB	1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 6TB	250GB, 320GB, 500GB	500GB, 750GB	320GB
Interfaces	USB 2.0
	FW 400	--				--	--
	FW 800					--	--
	eSATA				--	--	--
RAID Configurable			--	--	--	--	--

Product Description

Professional External Hard Drive. G-DRIVE high-speed interface external storage systems offer the ultimate in flexibility by providing 3Gbit eSATA, FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 via included cable) and USB 2.0 ports. G-DRIVE is the perfect high-performance solution for storage intensive applications including audio/video editing, digital photography, MP3 libraries and high-speed data backup. The system features a fan-less cooling system and the latest technology 7200 RPM SATA II hard drives with up to 2TB in storage capacity with up to 32 MB of cache. G-DRIVE supports professional music production tools including Pro Tools, Logic Studio, Cubase, Nuendo, Digital Performer, and many more. Easy to Setup – Time Machine ready. G-DRIVE is formatted at the factory HFS+ with Journaling and is Time Machine ready right out of the box. A simple initialization is all it takes to prepare G-DRIVE for use with Windows systems. The Best Warranty & Support in the Business - G-Tech's 3-Year WarrantyG-DRIVE is backed by a standard 3-year factory warranty and unlimited free technical support by representatives experienced with the latest content creation applications.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Faulty Controller Boards and Cumbersome Support, January 24, 2010

By 

Laurence Vincent (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: G-Technology G-DRIVE 500GB External Hard Drive w/ eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire 400, Firewire 800 Interfaces 0G00205 (Personal Computers)

I purchased my drive after consulting with a few sales people at the local Apple Store. They recommended G Technology over Western Digital or LaCie. Just a few days after I started using it, I noticed bizarre behavior. Transfers would slow down about midway through a backup. Then, they just stopped doing anything at all, and my computer would freeze up until I disconnected the drive.

I contacted G Technologies customer support because the drive was under warranty. I received an email telling me that there was a problem with my drive. They told me I would receive an RMA to return the drive for service. Boy, was I surprised when the RMA came through. It had a dozen instructions on how to pack the drive to send to them for service. One of the instructions made it clear that the packaging the drive came with was insufficient for shipping. It also made it clear that proper packing was my responsibility and my sole cost. There was no estimate on how long it would take to service the drive, and there was no guarantee that my data would be preserved. In short, the process was so cumbersome that I began questioning whether it was worth the time and effort at all.

I have recently scanned message boards and learned I'm not the only one out there with this technical issue. From responses posted by users who claim to be part of the G Tech support team, it appears there is a controller board flaw that can only be corrected by an update to the firmware, but the firmware update has to be performed by G Tech. You can't do it yourself. What a waste of money. I will be very reluctant to purchase a drive from them in the future. I never had this issue with my LaCie drives.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid drive, great case, March 10, 2010

By 

Charles P. Seward "Video Park" (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: G-Technology G-DRIVE 500GB External Hard Drive w/ eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire 400, Firewire 800 Interfaces 0G00205 (Personal Computers)

Works great. Hitachi drive, solid case. These tend to be more expensive but the case is solid and has a great heat sink that does not require a fan.

5.0 out of 5 stars G-DRIVE, March 18, 2011

By 

jfmiii - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: G-Technology G-DRIVE 500GB External Hard Drive w/ eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire 400, Firewire 800 Interfaces 0G00205 (Personal Computers)

Works as advertised already preformated for my MAC so no problems Firewire works fast, very reliable drive looks good next to its larger 2 Tera bite drive. Would buy this one again......