Model: Transcend 1TB StoreJet 25H3P USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive
Manufacturer: Transcend
Provided By: Transcend USA
While a relatively new name in the storage industry, Transcend Information has a history that goes back more than 20 years. Founded in 1988 by Peter Shu, this Taiwanese company got its start by offering the "JetMate" laser printer driver and the "KeyPro" software protection system. As time went on, Transcend expanded into the memory market, launching its own line of desktop and notebook memory products. Today, Transcend's product lineup includes more than 2,000 memory modules as well as USB flash drives, memory cards and solid-state drives (SSD).
Along with their flash based storage solutions, Transcend offers a growing number of external hard drives. One of the latest additions to their product lineup is the StoreJet 25H3P. Available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB capacities, this USB 3.0 portable hard drive is capable of reading and writing at speeds as high as 90 MB/s. The StoreJet 25H3P also features a sophisticated three-stage shock protection system that meets the U.S. military's drop-test standards. Along with an anti-slip rubber enclosure, this system incorporates a reinforced hard casing that evenly distributes the force of an impact, and an internal hard drive suspension damper as a last line of defense. Last but not least, the StoreJet 25H3P is equipped with a OneTouch auto-backup button which lets users instantly backup and synchronize their data.
| Transcend StoreJet 25H3P USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive | |||||||||||||||||||
General Specifications
Environmental
Dimensions and Weight
Other Features
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With specs and features like this, it's hard not to be impressed by Transcend's new portable hard drive. However, as you all know by now, we're not ones to take things at face value. In this review, we'll take a closer look at the StoreJet 25H3P and then put it through its paces to see how well it performs. Is the StoreJet 25H3P the best choice for the person on the go?
Packaging and Contents:
The StoreJet 25H3P comes packaged in a simple, yet attractive, black box. The front advertises many of the drive's key features including its 1TB capacity, three-stage shock protection system and SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface. There is also a large, plastic window which lets you look inside the box and see what the drive looks like. The back of the box provides a bit more information, including the StoreJet's 25H3P's specifications, system requirements and features.
Inside the box you'll find the StoreJet 25H3P as well as a USB 3.0 cable, quick start guide and warranty card. The bundled StoreJet elite software comes on the drive itself.
Physical Features:
Compared to other portable hard drives, the StoreJet 25H3P is a bit on the large side. Sharing the same basic design as the 25H2P, Transcend's new drive measures 130.8 x 80.8 x 21.7 mm and tips the scales at a whopping 256g. The StoreJet 25H3P's case is constructed out of hard, grey plastic which is covered almost entirely by a purple and grey anti-slip rubber enclosure.
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On top of the StoreJet 25H3P you can see its OneTouch auto-backup button, which lets users instantly synchronize data with their computer. This button also has a bright blue LED that will light up when the drive is powered on and flash to show when data is being transferred.
Along the back, you can see the drive's SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface. This connector not only transfers data but provides power for the drive. To ensure that the StoreJet 25H3P gets the power it needs, Transcend includes a special USB cable that plugs into two ports on your computer.
The StoreJet 25H3P also features Transcend's three-stage shock protection system. Along with the rubber enclosure, this system uses a reinforced hard casing as well as an internal hard drive suspension damper to protect the hard drive from damage caused by accidental slips or falls.
I wasn't able to crack the StoreJet 25H3P open. However, using CrystalDiskInfo, I was able to see what hard drive was in the enclosure. Looking at the screenshot below, you can see that Transcend has used Western Digital's Scorpio Blue (WD10TPVT) hard drive. This drive features a SATA 3.0Gb/s interface, 8MB cache and a 5200 RPM rotation speed.
Installation:
As with most USB drives, the Transcend 25H3P was very easy to install. Those running Windows XP, Vista or 7 can simply plug the drive into any available USB 2.0 or 3.0 port on their computer. If the computer is already turned on, plug and play will automatically detect the drive.
If installed correctly, the StoreJet 25H3P should show up in the Device Manager. Under Windows 7, the drive is identified as a "StoreJet Transcend USB Device".
The StoreJet 25H3P comes formatted with FAT32, giving you about 931GB of usable space. If you plan to store files larger than 4GB in size, you'll want to convert or reformat the drive with NTFS.
Software:
The StoreJet 25H3P comes bundled with Transcend's Elite software. Developed for use with Transcend's JetFlash, StoreJet and portable SSD products, Elite includes powerful, user-friendly applications that help mobile users manage their data and increase productivity.
Transcend Elite includes functions to backup and restore your important data. This data can also be compressed and protected using a password and 256-bit AES encryption. These backup tasks can be launched manually or configured to use the One Touch auto-backup button. Otherwise, they can also be scheduled to run at specific times so that your data is always up to date.
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The software also includes features to encrypt/decrypt files outside of backup tasks, sync browser bookmarks and lock your computer when you are away.
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The Mac version of Transcend's Elite software does not come with the StoreJet 25H3P. However, it can be downloaded for free from Transcend's website.
The test system used in this review was an HP dc7900. The computer came equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz CPU, 2GB of DDR2 800MHz memory, Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB SATA hard drive, NVIDIA Quadro FX570 256MB PCIe graphics card, Intel 82567LM-3 gigabit network card and Patriot SuperSpeed USB PCIe host card. For the operating system, I installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 Enterprise.
To test the performance of the Transcend StoreJet 25H3P, I ran a series of benchmarks using CrystalDiskMark 3.0, HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0, ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46 and HD Tune Pro 4.61.
CrystalDiskMark 3.0:
First, I ran a few quick tests using CrystalDiskMark. This benchmark tool measures the performance of a storage device by testing its sequential read and write speeds as well as its random read and write speeds using blocks 512K and 4K in size.
Transcend StoreJet 25H3P - USB 3.0
Transcend StoreJet 25H3P - USB 2.0
According to Super Talent, the StoreJet 25H3P is capable of reading and writing at 90 MB/s when connected to a USB 3.0 port. While the drive performed well, its sequential read and write speeds came up a bit short of this number in our tests.
HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0:
Next, I used HD Tach to test the StoreJet 25H3P's read, write and burst speeds as well as its seek times and CPU usage.
When connected to the computer's USB 3.0 port, the StoreJet 25H3P had average read and write speeds of 70.7 MB/s and 70.9 MB/s, respectively, as well as a burst speed of 113.3 MB/s. The drive wasn't nearly as fast when using USB 2.0 though. Compared to what we saw with USB 3.0, the 25H3P's read and write speeds dropped by more than half.
ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46:
I also used ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the StoreJet 25H3P's sequential read and write speeds. The test was run using blocks ranging in size from 0.5KB to 8192KB and the total length set to 256MB.
 Transcend StoreJet 25H3P - USB 3.0 |
 Transcend StoreJet 25H3P - USB 2.0 |
When tested with ATTO, the StoreJet 25H3P's read speeds topped out at about 84 MB/s and its write speeds at 72 MB/s when connected using USB 3.0.
HD Tune Pro 4.61:
Next, I ran a series of tests using HD Tune Pro. This hard disk utility measures a drive's performance by testing its sequential read and write speeds as well as its access time, burst rate and CPU usage. For this review, I used it to benchmark the StoreJet 25H3P's random read and write speeds, random access times and the number of operations per second.
 HD Tune Read Benchmark - USB 3.0 |
 HD Tune Read Benchmark - USB 2.0 |
 HD Tune Write Benchmark - USB 3.0 |
 HD Tune Write Benchmark - USB 2.0 |
Once again, the StoreJet 25H3P performed very well when connected to the computer's USB 3.0 port. The drive had average read and write speeds of 66.6 MB/s and 61.8 MB/s, respectively, and a burst rate of about 103 MB/s.
 HD Tune Random Access Read - USB 3.0 |
 HD Tune Random Access Read - USB 2.0 |
 HD Tune Random Access Write - USB 3.0 |
 HD Tune Random Access Write - USB 2.0 |
Using USB 3.0 didn't have nearly as big of an effect on the StoreJet 25H3P's random read and write performance. Nevertheless, the IOPS and average speeds were slightly higher than what we saw when the drive was connected to a USB 2.0 port.
The StoreJet 25H3P is the perfect choice for those who need a rugged, yet affordable, portable hard drive. Transcend's new drive is good looking, well constructed and features a three-stage shock protection system to protect your data against the rigors of everyday life. For a portable drive, the StoreJet 25H3P also packs some impressive performance. Thanks to its USB 3.0 interface, it was able to read and write at speeds as high as 85 MB/s in our tests. Transcend rounds all this out with a three year warranty and their Elite software which helps users organize, protect and backup their data.
Despite all this, the StoreJet 25H3P does have a few drawbacks. First and foremost is the drive's size. As with most rugged hard drives, it is a bit on the large side due to its rubber enclosure and suspension dampener. I was also a bit disappointed to see that Transcend did not include any Mac software with the StoreJet 25H3P. Thankfully, the Mac version of their Elite software can be downloaded for free from their website.
The 1TB version of the StoreJet 25H3P is available now and can be purchased through Amazon.com or directly from Transcend for as little as $130.
Highs:
- Available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB capacities
- Fast transfer rates with USB 3.0
- Three-stage shock protection system
- One Touch auto-backup button
- Backwards compatible with USB 2.0
- Includes Transcend Elite software
- Power saving sleep mode
- USB powered
- Reasonably priced
- Good looking and well constructed design
- 3 Year Warranty
Lows:
- Only available in purple
- Larger than other portable hard drives
- Drive does not ship with Mac software