Seagate FireCuda X Vault review: Large capacity and decent transfer rates make this external hard drive a great solution for video and photography

by · TechRadar

TechRadar Verdict

The Seagate FireCuda X Vault is available as an 8TB or 20TB external bus-powered USB-C desktop hard drive, with no external power required. While the drive’s aimed at gamers, the performance makes it perfectly suited for creative professionals who need affordable bulk storage on the desktop. Through the test, the hard drive's ability to deliver an average of 214MB/s read and 207MB/s write without slowing down proved it could be used for both storage and as a lightweight working drive. The bus-powered single USB-C cable cuts down on cable mess, and while performance lags well behind an SSD, especially when offloading a large-capacity CFexpress card, it’s still an exceptional value at £279.99.

Pros

  • +Bus-powered
  • +8TB capacity
  • +Quiet under sustained load

Cons

  • -Data offload slower than SSD
  • -Backup software not Mac-compatible
  • -Solo drive

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Seagate FireCuda X Vault: 30-second review

Specs

Capacity: 8TB (20TB)
Drive type: 3.5-inch spinning hard drive (HDD)
Interface: USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1, 5Gbps)
Power: Bus-powered via USB-C (requires 15W from host port)
Transfer speeds: Not officially specified
RGB: Customisable, Windows Dynamic Lighting compatible
Gaming certification: Officially designed for Xbox on PC
Backup software: Seagate Toolkit (Windows only)
Cable included: USB-C to USB-C, 50cm
Dimensions: 7.80 × 2.09 × 5.20in (198 × 53 × 132mm)
Weight: 2.84 lbs (1290g)

The FireCuda X Vault is a first when it comes to desktop hard drives. It essentially brings bus-powered USB-C to a 3.5-inch external hard drive, something that is common with the smaller 2.5-inch portable HDDs that have been around for years, but as yet untried for the larger format.

A quick look at the drive shows it has been primarily designed for the gaming market; however, as I often find, its specifications and performance also make it a great option for creative professionals. The gaming aesthetic is very obvious, but it’s not over-the-top, and the drive is more minimalist than most gaming-themed peripherals; in fact, its styling matches well with my Asus ProArt desktop case.

What I really like about the drive is that it uses a single USB-C cable for both power and data, which is obviously unique in the market at present. Power is delivered via the USB cable, eliminating the need for a power brick. Aside from reducing cable clutter, it also simplifies moving the drive between machines, which is handy when transferring large quantities of files. During the test period, I utilised the drive on both a MacBook Pro M1 Max running Final Cut Pro X and Premiere Pro, and an Asus ProArt PZ14 also running Premiere Pro.

In the test, the drive performed well on both Mac and PC, with the Windows machine definitely having the edge in terms of speed and compatibility. Although that performance difference was partly due to the older M1 Max’s ability to decode the video codec from the Canon EOS R5 C. In use, the drive showed decent transfer rates of around 214 MB/s read and 207 MB/s write across CrystalDiskMark, ATTO, AS SSD, and AJA benchmarks. Importantly, these speeds reflected use across three days of video editing.

While the performance was generally excellent for an HDD, there are two points: the first is the initial transfer speed of the footage to the drive, and the second is the Mac-incompatible backup software. Offloading 1.5TB of 4K Canon EOS R5 C footage from CFexpress Type B took roughly two hours, compared with ten to twelve minutes via a portable SSD. Then there’s the Seagate Toolkit, which is included with the drive for backup management, but it only works on Windows. If you’re a Mac user, then you will need to use your own backup solution. For photographers and videographers, this drive still offers superb value for money.

Seagate FireCuda X Vault: Price & availability

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The Seagate FireCuda X Vault 8TB is available direct from Seagate in the US for $270 and from the UK site for £280. Currently, the 20TB model isn't in stock in the UK (but it's listed as £486), and doesn't appear available in North America yet.

I've also seem the 8TB drive sold for $320 on Amazon.com. Over on Amazon.co.uk, the 8TB is £253 and the 20TB is £438 - although there appears to be a labelling error. However, shipping takes between 3 and 7 months, so I'd opt for the official site if you can get quicker delivery.

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