Toshiba Canvio Slim (2TB) – Hardware Review
Only recently we took a look at Toshiba’s Canvio Advance (4TB), which proved to be a solid portable HDD that came at an affordable price. We concluded that the overall performance was great for an HDD, and we enjoyed using the device for both professional and personal usage. Today we’re looking at another Canvio product, albeit from the Slim series. This is another portable HDD that promises a slightly better performance. We put the device to the test, and today we’ll be sharing our findings in this short review.
Compared to the fancy wallet-like appearance of the Canvio Advance, the Canvio Slim opts for a sleek metallic look. The device has nearly no bells and whistles, and only has a small LED light and a few black finishing touches. The overall dimensions of 107mm x 75mm x 12.5mm are smaller than the Canvio Advance. This is a highly portable device that will take up no real desk space. This makes it an ideal companion if you work on the go or often switch office spaces. Of course, it’s still perfect for personal usage as well.
Like last time, we used CrystalDiskMark for our short test. The overall performance of Toshiba’s Canvio Slim is slightly better than the Canvio Advance. You’ll get reading speeds that are roughly around 148 MB/s while writing speeds reach 164 MB/s. As we remarked last time, for a portable HDD these speeds are great. Once again, we do advise only using the HDD for lower-spec games, or simply for storing personal and work files. For games, don’t forget to check the game’s requirements to see if the game requires an SSD to function smoothly. For our test, we mainly used the device to store files and the overall transfer process went without a hitch. We then also tried the free software, which we’ll get into below. Out of the 2TB advertised storage space, you’ll be able to use 1.81TB. The hard drive only needs to be plugged into a USB port, and you won’t need an additional power source.
As stated during our review of the Canvio Advance, Toshiba’s portable HDDs also come with free downloadable software. There’s backup and security software, and it’s quite clear what both of them do. With the security software, you can shield some segments of the drive from other users. To actually access the files on the drive, you’ll need the software installed on the system you wish to access the files on. After you then fill in the password, you’re able to use the files on this part of the drive. The inclusion of the free software is great, as it made the HDD great for both work and personal usage. The backup software works as expected, but it’s still nice to have official Toshiba-licensed software for this, as it’s sometimes a bit of a gamble to find reliable software online.
Conclusion
Toshiba’s Canvio Slim is a reliable portable HDD that offers a slightly better performance than the Canvio Advance portable HDDs. We were again able to run some low-spec games from the drive, and we had sufficient storage space to store important files. With the free software, the device is great for both home usage and work. If you’re looking for a great drive to use as a backup device or when you’re on the go a lot, the Canvio Slim is certainly a viable option.
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