Buffalo 1TB MiniStation Thunderbolt/USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive with Thunderbolt Cable

Buffalo 1TB MiniStation Thunderbolt/USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive with Thunderbolt Cable

$229.95

3.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 4 reviews

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Product Information

  • Overview

    Buffalo's MiniStation Thunderbolt is a high-performance portable Thunderbolt drive featuring the revolutionary Thunderbolt technology. Delivering the fastest interface speeds available—up to 10 Gbps*—Thunderbolt is perfect for creative professionals and multimedia enthusiasts.

    Unparalleled speed

    The MiniStation Thunderbolt portable hard drive features the revolutionary Thunderbolt storage technology, which is two times faster than USB 3.0, raising the bar on how you transfer, store, and transport data. You can also daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt devices to maximize use of a single port.**

    USB compatibility

    Coupled with the lightning-fast Thunderbolt storage technology is a USB 3.0 port for universal connectivity. Simply plug it into any available USB port on your computer and instantly add capacity or store files to take on the road. Plug-and-play usability means there are no drivers to install. The MiniStation Thunderbolt portable hard drive is pre-formatted for Mac computers, but you can easily reformat it for use with PCs.***

    Time Machine backup

    The drive is compatible with Time Machine, so you can schedule backups and automatically protect your important files with ease.

    All cables included

    To give you a complete portable Thunderbolt drive solution, the drive comes with all necessary cables and components. Simply plug it in to any available Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 port on your Mac or PC*** and instantly add capacity or securely store files to take on the road.

    Compact and convenient

    Housed in a sleek aluminum body, the MiniStation Thunderbolt portable hard drive is a stylish storage companion for your Mac while on the go and at home. It offers the convenience of bus power and works with Mac and PC,*** so you can access your files from whichever computer you're on, even while away from home.

  • Highlights

    • Dual interface, bus powered, plug and play
    • Thunderbolt technology offers interface speeds up to 10 Gbit/s for lightning-fast transfers
    • USB offers universal plug and play connectivity and interface speeds up to 5 Gbit/s in USB 3.0 mode
    • Backward compatible with USB 2.0
    • Includes both Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 cables
    • Sleek aluminum design
    • Time Machine compatible
    • Three-year warranty with 24/7 U.S.-based technical support

  • Did you notice?

    The dual Thunderbolt/USB 3.0 interface provides the fastest transfer rates for both new and older Macs.

  • Apple Recommends For

    Great for creative professionals and multimedia enthusiasts who want rapid backup of all the files on their Mac.

  • What's in the Box?

    • Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt hard drive
    • Thunderbolt cable (19.7 in./50 cm)
    • USB 3.0 cable (19.7 in./50 cm)
    • Three-year warranty statement

  • Tech Specs

    • Connections : Thunderbolt,USB 2,USB 3.0
    • Height : 5.12 in./13 cm
    • Width : 3.17 in./8.05 cm
    • Weight : 9.28 oz./263.08 g
    • Length : 0.92 in./2.34 cm

  • System Requirements

    Mac

    • Mac OS X v10.6.6 or later

    Windows

    • Windows 7 (32-bit/64-bit)/Vista (32-bit/64-bit)/XP/Server 2003/Server 2003 R2/Server 2008/Server 2008 R2

  • Manufacturer Information

    Part Number

    • Mfr. Part Number : HD-PA1.0TU3
    • UPC or EAN No. : 747464125121

    Warranty

    • Note : Products sold through this website that do not bear the Apple Brand name are serviced and supported exclusively by their manufacturers in accordance with terms and conditions packaged with the products. Apple's Limited Warranty does not apply to products that are not Apple-branded, even if packaged or sold with Apple products. Please contact the manufacturer directly for technical support and customer service.
    • Warranty : Three year

    Manufacturer Note

    • *Speeds shown represent maximum interface connection speeds. Actual device transfer speeds will vary based on hard drive specifications and host devices.**MiniStation Thunderbolt does not have a Thunderbolt pass-through port, so it must be the last device on a daisy-chain.***Windows OS systems only supported using USB connection.

Ratings & Reviews

Read all 4 customer reviews
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  • Speed and Value

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    This drive is not as fast as a portable Thunderbolt SSD drive or a RAID0 conventional drive. But for 1 TB of storage, dual interfa ce (both TBolt and USB 3), all cables included, this drive is a real bargain.

    And it is fast. Even though it is 5400 RPM, it is just as fast as if it was an internal drive by my comparisons with an older MB Pro. Lightning fast compared to USB2. Significantly faster than my 7200 RPM desktop firewire 800 drive. I use the drive with Final Cut Pro with no issues at all.

    I like the design. It is sturdy and is simple. I don't exactly baby it on the road. It bounces around in my roll-aboard weekly and is holding up just fine for 8+ trips so far.

    Fully bus powered. No external power needed so there is no A/C port or adapter to worry about.

    I gave it five stars because I think it is the fastest portable conventional TBolt drive on the market today and because of the exceptional value, including the cables saved me at least $50. It is the only drive I've found with Thunderbolt AND USB3 interfaces.

    If you want to daisy-chain it, it has to be on the end of the chain because it has only one TBolt port.     …

    • Written by from Fair Oaks Ranch

    96 of 101 people found this useful

    Was this useful? Speed and Value

  • Not that fast, but good enough...

    4.0 out of 5 stars

    I bought this to do Time Machine backups using the Thunderbolt port on my Macbook Pro (early 2011) running OS X Mountain Lion. A D isk Speed Test using Black Magic Designs benchmark test was only showing 100 MBps or 800 Mbps. I think that is pretty slow.

    Time Machine saw it from the get go. The only thing on the drive was a PDF file.

    The bottom of the drive says, "made in Japan," which I thought was cool, since most things are now made in China.

    Like many people have stated, this drive comes with both the Thunderbolt cable and USB 3.0 cable, which in itself is worth about $50.

    The drive is powered through the single cable. I heard another reviewer stating that you could use both cables and not have any issues. The first cable plugged in would be the one used.

    Why did I give it 4 stars?
    The enclosure is solid. It feels like a quality product. The cable is solid. The drive is quiet. If it were faster, I'd give it 5.     …

    • Written by from Duluth

    87 of 94 people found this useful

    Was this useful? Not that fast, but good enough...

  • Don't waste your money.

    2.0 out of 5 stars

    I'm giving the two stars only because the design is colored like my mac, and it's about the only thunderbolt hard drive out there right now that is portable.

    THIS DRIVES THUNDERBOLT INTERFACE FAILED ME WITHIN THREE WEEKS OF OWNING IT. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE. The drive randomly ejected itself, and then would not come back up over thunderbolt. USB works, but why buy a thunderbolt drive if you are going to use the USB interface as primary? May as well save yourself 150 bucks if you're going to go that route.

    I used this for my time machine backups while on the road. First, unless you want to use thunderbolt because it frees up a USB port, don't waste your money on it. This is a 5200 RPM drive, and you will get the same speeds on USB 3.0. It simply cannot saturate the interface. It is by no means 10 Gb/s. You will get between 85 and 105 MB/s with this drive (less than 1 Gb/s). If you want speed, get the SSD Thunderbolt external. Apple will not allow you to return items after 14 days, I now have to deal with buffalo directly. I am not a happy camper. This drive's labeling is misleading, and it is NOT reliable.     …

    • Written by from VIRGINIA

    8 of 10 people found this useful

    Was this useful? Don't waste your money.

Read all the most useful reviews

  • need for speed

    1.0 out of 5 stars

    I have several external drives all portable, all are firewire 800, I bought the buffalo thunderbolt drive expecting "lightning fas t" speed... it runs considerably slower than my 800 drives. Whats up doc? If it runs at 54000 but has thunderbolt should it still not be faster than my 800 spinning at 7200rpm?

    All the above is while I am editing using FCPX     …

    • Written by from PETERSHAM

    1 of 2 people found this useful

    Was this useful? need for speed

  • Don't waste your money.

    2.0 out of 5 stars

    I'm giving the two stars only because the design is colored like my mac, and it's about the only thunderbolt hard drive out there right now that is portable.

    THIS DRIVES THUNDERBOLT INTERFACE FAILED ME WITHIN THREE WEEKS OF OWNING IT. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE. The drive randomly ejected itself, and then would not come back up over thunderbolt. USB works, but why buy a thunderbolt drive if you are going to use the USB interface as primary? May as well save yourself 150 bucks if you're going to go that route.

    I used this for my time machine backups while on the road. First, unless you want to use thunderbolt because it frees up a USB port, don't waste your money on it. This is a 5200 RPM drive, and you will get the same speeds on USB 3.0. It simply cannot saturate the interface. It is by no means 10 Gb/s. You will get between 85 and 105 MB/s with this drive (less than 1 Gb/s). If you want speed, get the SSD Thunderbolt external. Apple will not allow you to return items after 14 days, I now have to deal with buffalo directly. I am not a happy camper. This drive's labeling is misleading, and it is NOT reliable.     …

    • Written by from VIRGINIA

    8 of 10 people found this useful

    Was this useful? Don't waste your money.

  • Speed and Value

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    This drive is not as fast as a portable Thunderbolt SSD drive or a RAID0 conventional drive. But for 1 TB of storage, dual interfa ce (both TBolt and USB 3), all cables included, this drive is a real bargain.

    And it is fast. Even though it is 5400 RPM, it is just as fast as if it was an internal drive by my comparisons with an older MB Pro. Lightning fast compared to USB2. Significantly faster than my 7200 RPM desktop firewire 800 drive. I use the drive with Final Cut Pro with no issues at all.

    I like the design. It is sturdy and is simple. I don't exactly baby it on the road. It bounces around in my roll-aboard weekly and is holding up just fine for 8+ trips so far.

    Fully bus powered. No external power needed so there is no A/C port or adapter to worry about.

    I gave it five stars because I think it is the fastest portable conventional TBolt drive on the market today and because of the exceptional value, including the cables saved me at least $50. It is the only drive I've found with Thunderbolt AND USB3 interfaces.

    If you want to daisy-chain it, it has to be on the end of the chain because it has only one TBolt port.     …

    • Written by from Fair Oaks Ranch

    96 of 101 people found this useful

    Was this useful? Speed and Value

Read all the most recent reviews

Questions & Answers

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