The Buffalo Drive Station DDR is a very special device. while normal external hard drives only have a max. 32MB buffer, the DriveStation DDR comes with a 1GB cache. This means that large amounts of data in particular can be moved back and forth between the individual media very quickly. Is the DRAM cache function activated, so promises Buffalo Write rates up to 400MB/s and read rates up to 300MB/s.
You can read in the following lines in our test report on the Buffalo DriveStation DDR whether we can confirm this statement.
- User-friendly solution with a Drive for almost all devices...
- Backward compatibility with USB 2.0 and plug-and-play setup...
What's in the box
- Buffalo DriveStation DDR HD-GD2.0U3-EU
- USB data cable
- Power adapter for UK
- Manual
- warranty booklet
processing / design
The hard drive looks very simple. Normally it is placed upright, all connections are on the back. A small red accent is set on the top, matching the Buffalo colors (red & black). A power LED and an LED for the working mode are located on the front. These light up in white or blue and signal by flashing when the hard disk is currently working.
There are 4 small rubber nubs on the underside so that the hard disk has a good grip on smooth surfaces.
The processing of all edges is good, only the attachment of the lateral outer walls was not 100 percent perfect, a slight wobbling could be identified here by gently tapping.
Hardware
One was installed in our test device Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001-9YN164 with 2TB storage. Of these, 1,81 TB are actually available for use. Thanks to the built-in 1GB flash memory, based on 1GB DDR3 RAM Significantly higher transmission rates can be achieved since larger amounts of data can be temporarily stored in the cache. The Buffalo DriveStation DDR is the first external hard drive worldwide in which this technology is used.
The built Seagate Barracude hard drive has a working speed of RPM 7200, so that the maximum is also used here.
After connecting the hard drive to our test device, the automatic driver installation promptly took place under Windows 7, and the hard drive was ready for use just a few seconds later.
Through the built-in Eco function the hard drive automatically switches to low-power mode if it has not been used for a long time. When used again, it wakes up automatically. With an operating temperature of approx. 40 degrees, the DriveStation is still within limits, and the noise level was also okay in any case. If you don't have the hard drive right next to you, you won't notice it acoustically.
But now to the most important part of the hard disk, the operating speed. Due to the very large cache, the transfer rates are significantly higher than with others USB 3.0 Hard drives.
Specifications
| Format | 3,5 inch |
| Color | Black |
| Storage | 1TB, 2TB, 3TB |
| Speed | RPM 7200 |
| cache | 32 MB |
| Tender | 339,07MB/sec |
| Read | 231,90MB/sec |
| Connection | USB 3.0 |
| cable length | 100 cm |
| Power Supplies? | Ja |
Benchmark test results
USB 3.0
Write Speed: 339,07MB/s
Read Speed: 231,90MB/s
USB 2.0
Write Speed: 30,09MB/s
Read Speed: 34,50MB/s
Conclusion
In addition to the simple look, which we like very much, the special feature, namely the 1GB cache of the hard disk, was particularly convincing. The overall package is simply coherent here, both visually and technically. With a current price of around 150 euros for the 2 TB variant, the hard drive is of course slightly higher than what other USB 3.0 hard drives of the same storage size cost, but it also offers the advantage of a faster transfer rate. Since an external hard drive with 2 TB is already available from around 75 euros, we have to give a slight point deduction in the price-performance ratio, but we still give our full purchase recommendation for it Buffalo Drive Station DDR out of. Especially those who often have to copy large amounts of data will appreciate the working speed.
- Easy-to-use solution with one drive for almost all devices...
- Backward compatibility with USB 2.0 and plug-and-play setup...
