Buffalo Technology DriveStation 1 TB with encryption

The DriveStation with hardware encryption is a 3.5'' external hard drive that includes the famous Turbo USB feature.  Apart from its vertical form factor, it doesn't seem to have any particular features.

Glossy plastic has been used for the case, which is unfortunately easily marked by greasy fingerprints.  At the back, there's just a single USB. port.  The absence of eSATA or FireWire 400/800 is problematic for moving more than 15 GB.

The main distinguishing feature is the ability of to encrypt all of the data on the drive.  Once you've activated encrypted mode, the hard drive is invisible to Windows until you provide the password, which protects your files from prying eyes.

Too slow for a 3.5'' drive

WD My Book Studio Edition 500 GB Buffalo Technology DriveStation 1 TB with encryption

It seems that Buffalo relies too heavily on its Turbo USB mode, because when it's turned off, this drive is much slower than average.  It takes around 71 minutes to copy 100 GB files, compared to a little under 69 minutes on the Western Digital My Book Studio Edition.  The difference is slightly more pronounced for reading the same amount of data, with the Buffalo drive taking 52 minutes compared to the 49 needed by its competitor.

Turbo USB: a real boost

WD My Book Studio Edition 500 GB Buffalo Technology DriveStation 1 TB with encryption

As we mentioned earlier, this model includes Turbo USB technology, which revolutionises the DriveStation's performance, allowing it to sail ahead of the Western Digital drive we're using for comparison.  When you copy 100 GB of data using this feature, you save 12 minutes for writing data a little more than 8 minutes for reading.  Note that to achieve similar results, you'll need to use software supplied by the manufacturer, so it won't be this fast on other computers.