G-Tech's latest Ev Thunderbolt storage: Performance meets flexibility
G-Technology announces a new Evolution Series of high-speed, module-based external storage devices that can work separately as USB 3.0 portable drives or together as part of a advanced Thunderbolt-based network.
The flexibility of Thunderbolt storage has just taken a new turn, thanks to G-Technology.
The storage vendor announced today its new Evolution Series of portable and desktop storage devices, which comprises a Thunderbolt dual-bay docking station called G-Dock Ev, and two interchangeable and expandable storage modules that carry the names G-Drive Ev and G-Drive Ev Plus.
Both the G-Drive Ev and the G-Drive Ev Plus hard-drive modules can also work individually as USB 3.0 portable drives. The G-Drive Ev is bus-powered, comes in either 500GB or 1TB capacity, and is slated to provide some 135MBps data throughput. The 1TB G-Drive Ev Plus, on the other hand, requires a separate power adapter but offers up to 250MBps in speed.
Both these drives/modules are based on a high-speed internal 2.5-inch hard drive that spins at 7,200rpm, and come in a compact all-aluminum enclosure. In addition to the USB 3.0 port, they have a 6Gbps SATA interface for use with the G-Dock Ev.
The G-Dock Ev with Thunderbolt is a two-bay, hot-swappable JBOD media enclosure. It has two drive bays, each of which can house a G-Drive Ev or a G-Drive Ev Plus. These two drives can then work separately in two volumes (JBOD), or together in a RAID 0 or RAID 1 configuration. When used as two separate volumes, they can be pulled out from the G-Dock to be used as a regular USB portable drive at any time, hence the flexibility.
The idea of using portable drives as storage modules is not new. Seagate has implemented this in its
Together with the Evolution Series, G-Technology also announced today its G-Drive Pro, a single-volume storage 3.5-inch hard-drive-based storage device that supports Thunderbolt. The company says the G-Drive Pro offers data speeds up to 480MBps.
The G-Dock Ev, which comes with two 1TB G-Drive Ev modules, will be available in May and will cost $750. Additional 500GB or 1TB G-Drive Ev modules, which can be used as portable drives, can be purchased separately for $150 and $200 respectively. The 1TB G-Drive Ev Plus will be available this summer and is slated to cost $350. The G-Drive Pro Thunderbolt drive will also be available this summer in 2TB and 4TB capacities that cost $700 and $850, respectively.
Check back after these devices become available for their full reviews.