Buffalo MiniStation Plus review

1TB of USB 3.0 storage in this slim external hard drive

Buffalo MiniStation Plus
The Buffalo MiniStation Plus can store a whole terabyte of data, but it'll do it slowly

TechRadar Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Strong build

  • +

    High capacity

  • +

    Shock-proof design

  • +

    Small

Cons

  • -

    Still quite bulky

  • -

    Slow read and write speeds compared to other USB 3.0 drives

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The Buffalo MiniStation Plus is a very impressive external hard drive, considering it has capacity to hold 1TB of data in such a small case. It might not be quite as slim as the Seagate GoFlex Slim, but it holds lots more files.

Although it's small, the reason why it isn't quite as tiny as its ultra-thin competitors is that it has a shock-proof chassis.

Due to its small size and large capacity, there's a good chance that you'll be carrying a lot of your important files and documents around on it, so its sturdy build quality is very welcome.

Unlike some USB 3.0 external hard drives, the Buffalo MiniStation Plus doesn't use a Solid State Drive, opting for a more old-fashioned 5,400RPM hard disk. This means that it lags quite a bit behind SSD-based external hard drives when it comes to speed, with write speeds of around 44MB/s in our tests.

The software that comes with the Buffalo MiniStation Plus promises to speed things up, but we found that it made little difference.

Verdict

In our tests, using a 5,400RPM hard disk fails to make the most of the USB 3.0 connection's potential.

Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. Ever since he got an Amiga A500+ for Christmas in 1991, he's loved using (and playing on) computers, and will talk endlessly about how The Secret of Monkey Island is the best game ever made.