Page 4: Performance Benchmark, Conclusion
Performance Benchmark
To test this drive, we used ATTO Disk Benchmark and ran the Verbatim InSight against a Western Digital Passport 160GB drive. The ATTO Disk Benchmark does both a read and write benchmark to get an idea of the speed that the drive can do both tasks.
If you would like to check your own internal drive, the ATTO Disk Benchmark can be downloaded for free and seems to be one of the only disk benchmarking software that works well with Windows 7 at the moment.
It can be downloaded here: http://www.attotech.com/products/product.php?sku=Disk_Benchmark
The top screenshot is a picture of the Western Digital 160GB Passport drive and the bottom picture is the new Verbatim InSight 320GB drive.
As we can see, they perform almost identical to each other. We searched the web to try and find a site that would give us some kind of an idea on how to open the Verbatim InSight, but they are such a new product that we did not find any information regarding this. We really did not want to start prying with screw drivers and break the casing, so we are left wondering what exact drive is installed in this unit. Regardless, the performance is saturating the USB2 bandwidth. This is why both drives operate at nearly the same speed.
Conclusion
With Verbatim delving into other products other than their excellent disk media, we were a little surprised at the unique design of this offering from them. We found that it is very stylish, and will enhance any computer center. Although we did not use the included Nero BackItUp software, it is an nice addition for those that are in need of good image software. The unique "Always On" built in LCD display is an nice addition to a portable drive, and we may see more of this type of inclusion on other manufactures as well. Even though the display will not correctly show the free space available on Vista and Windows 7 until the unit is plugged in, it will still give this information at a glance. The top piano black finish is very glossy and enhances the drive's appearance. The bottom "non-slip" coating will help many people when deciding where to place the drive on their computer center as well.
Some things that we found could have been different is Verbatim could have included a CD that had the Nero software. Another annoying issue that we found was the drives "scanning" time. As mentioned in this review, it took about 3 minutes before we could access the drive. Windows XP may take a shorter time, but we did not test the drive on a system with XP. As with many other products on the market, the piano black high gloss finish is very, very prone to fingerprints, so keeping it clean may be a slight issue.
All in all, we found the InSight to be a great portable storage solution with a very unique design and great performance. At the time of this review, the InSight 320GB drive retails for about $79.99 (Amazon, Newegg). This is a fair price for the size and uniqueness of this unit.
The drive is unique. If you need one with ability to show you storage space left, this is a recommended purchase.
To test this drive, we used ATTO Disk Benchmark and ran the Verbatim InSight against a Western Digital Passport 160GB drive. The ATTO Disk Benchmark does both a read and write benchmark to get an idea of the speed that the drive can do both tasks.
If you would like to check your own internal drive, the ATTO Disk Benchmark can be downloaded for free and seems to be one of the only disk benchmarking software that works well with Windows 7 at the moment.
It can be downloaded here: http://www.attotech.com/products/product.php?sku=Disk_Benchmark
The top screenshot is a picture of the Western Digital 160GB Passport drive and the bottom picture is the new Verbatim InSight 320GB drive.
As we can see, they perform almost identical to each other. We searched the web to try and find a site that would give us some kind of an idea on how to open the Verbatim InSight, but they are such a new product that we did not find any information regarding this. We really did not want to start prying with screw drivers and break the casing, so we are left wondering what exact drive is installed in this unit. Regardless, the performance is saturating the USB2 bandwidth. This is why both drives operate at nearly the same speed.
Conclusion
With Verbatim delving into other products other than their excellent disk media, we were a little surprised at the unique design of this offering from them. We found that it is very stylish, and will enhance any computer center. Although we did not use the included Nero BackItUp software, it is an nice addition for those that are in need of good image software. The unique "Always On" built in LCD display is an nice addition to a portable drive, and we may see more of this type of inclusion on other manufactures as well. Even though the display will not correctly show the free space available on Vista and Windows 7 until the unit is plugged in, it will still give this information at a glance. The top piano black finish is very glossy and enhances the drive's appearance. The bottom "non-slip" coating will help many people when deciding where to place the drive on their computer center as well.
Some things that we found could have been different is Verbatim could have included a CD that had the Nero software. Another annoying issue that we found was the drives "scanning" time. As mentioned in this review, it took about 3 minutes before we could access the drive. Windows XP may take a shorter time, but we did not test the drive on a system with XP. As with many other products on the market, the piano black high gloss finish is very, very prone to fingerprints, so keeping it clean may be a slight issue.
All in all, we found the InSight to be a great portable storage solution with a very unique design and great performance. At the time of this review, the InSight 320GB drive retails for about $79.99 (Amazon, Newegg). This is a fair price for the size and uniqueness of this unit.
The drive is unique. If you need one with ability to show you storage space left, this is a recommended purchase.