Transcend StoreJet500 256 GB - External Drive Review

The Transcend StoreJet 500 is a portable and fast external drive with a single 2.5″ SSD inside. It is available in 256 GB and specially designed for Mac users. We received hard drive review unit in a nice packaging and the drive was enclosed inside a sleek and beautiful aluminum alloy shell that keeps it safe. The drive houses a Micro-USB 3.0 which can be used for connecting the drive with any Mac or even with other devices, additionally it includes a Thunderbolt port.

The SJM300 comes formatted in HFS+ for your Mac and fully supports Time Machine. Its internal hard drive suspension system gives your hard drive comprehensive protection. This external drive includes user-friendly applications that help you manage your data and increase productivity. Also, the software is made for data backup and encryption. With Elite, your Transcend storage device can keep important files organized, protected, and up-to-date. It also comes with RecoverRx which is designed to recover deleted files.

During the operation, the drive was silent and rarely we were able to notice any noise, also the StoreJet 500 doesn’t produce heat as well. Using the USB 3.0 we were able to connect the drive in Linux and Windows PCs as well though the performance was not up to the mark. However, it’s not made for Windows or Linux yet you can use them if required.

The company claims that the advance Thunderbolt technology provides two channels on the same connector, the SJM300 portable hard drive can transmit and receive data at the same time, and delivers unparalleled interface transfer rates of up to 10 Gb/s.

We first tested the StoreJet 500 drive through its USB 3.0 connection, and found 428.6 MB/s write and 365.7 MB/s read speed. Using the Thunderbolt port, the StoreJet 500 resulted with 129.6 MBps read and 123.2 Mbps write speed. However, the transfer rate of the drive is good with both ports, yet not extraordinary, which we were hoping from its thunderbolt connectivity.