Rank #3 in Best 1TB External Hard Drive 2026: 10 Ranked, and the 625 MB/s Myth
Seagate Portable Drive 1TB, Dark Grey (STGX1000400)
Price and rating as shown on Amazon when we collected them. Both change.
The Seagate Portable Drive 1TB is a plug-and-play USB 3.0 external hard drive in dark grey, listed at £86.99 with a 4.5 out of 5 rating from 265,605 ratings. It comes third in this guide, and it is the entry that shows what a plausible figure looks like: the listing gives a read speed of 120 MB/s, the kind of number a spinning disk actually produces, where other drives in this guide quote the 5 Gbps USB cable's own 625 MB/s ceiling as if it were drive speed.
The same spec sheet then undercuts itself. It quotes a data transfer rate of 20 Gigabits per second — that is 2,500 MB/s, four times the 5 Gbps the included USB 3.0 cable can carry and roughly twenty times the 120 MB/s the listing itself gives for read speed. The form factor fields disagree with each other as well: one says 3.5-inch, another says 18 Inches, while the item is described as a portable drive weighing 190 g. Every figure on this page comes from Seagate's Amazon listing, not from any testing we have carried out.
How those 265,605 ratings break down
An average hides its own shape. This is the spread behind the 4.5 stars.
Specification
Exactly as published on the Amazon listing, field for field.
| Price | £86.99 |
|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5 out of 5 from 265,605 ratings |
| Capacity | 1 TB |
| Interface | USB 3.0, backwards compatible with USB 2.0 |
| Read speed (as listed) | 120 MB/s |
| Media speed (as listed) | 120 megabytes per second |
| Data transfer rate (as listed) | 20 Gigabits per second |
| Form factor (as listed) | 3.5-inch; the same listing also lists 18 Inches |
What buyers actually say
Quoted from customer reviews on Amazon
Verified purchase“I've used Seagate Hard Drives for years. This seemed good buy. As described. It formatted with my Xbox Series as hoped. Was unsure as this wasn't the Xbox branded one and specs were slightly different but still suitable and compatible as Rufus advised. Easy way to increase game storage. Series enhanced games will need to be moved to internal storage to play but old gen games usually play off these.”
Verified purchase“Massive storage and easy to use. You may lament the time it takes to transfer files but this is a limitation of PCs, USB etc. and not of this device. Best advice is to back up all your files frequently and then keep this drive at a remote, secure location”
What it is up against
The rivals it was ranked against in Best 1TB External Hard Drive 2026: 10 Ranked, and the 625 MB/s Myth.
Questions people ask
Is the Seagate Portable Drive 1TB fast?
Seagate lists a read speed of 120 MB/s and repeats the same figure as media speed. That is a number a spinning disk can reach; the same listing also claims a data transfer rate of 20 Gigabits per second, which is 2,500 MB/s.
What is the data transfer rate of the Seagate Portable Drive 1TB?
The listing states 20 Gigabits per second. That is 2,500 MB/s — four times the 5 Gbps ceiling of the USB 3.0 cable included in the box, and about twenty times the 120 MB/s the listing gives as read speed.
Does the Seagate Portable Drive 1TB work with a Mac?
Seagate says it is designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, and lists Mac compatibility as reformat compatible.
Do I need to install software to use it?
No. Seagate says the drive is automatically detected when connected, with no software required, and describes it as plug-and-play with the included 46 cm USB 3.0 cable.
What is covered by the warranty?
The listing includes a two-year limited warranty and two-year rescue data recovery services.
What form factor is the Seagate Portable Drive 1TB?
The spec fields disagree. One lists 3.5-inch, another lists 18 Inches, while the item is described as a portable drive weighing 190 g and measuring 11.7 x 8 x 1.5 cm.
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