Toshiba is coming soon with the launch of a new entry-level external hard drive – Toshiba Partner (PT). As an old user of Toshiba Storage, I was fortunate enough to get this portable external hard drive in advance for hands-on experience. So how does Toshiba Partner (PT) perform? Let’s find out together.

• $135 – Check latest price on Amazon US or Amazon Germany

Appearance Design

The first thing to note is that the Toshiba Partner (PT) I have is a 4TB version. In this external hard drive, we can see the consistent style of Toshiba portable external hard drives, and the whole hard drive continues the design language of simplicity and steady. From the front, the four corners of the Toshiba Partner (PT) have been processed with arc transitions, and the weight of the Toshiba Partner (PT) is only about 200g, so the hard drive feels good in the hand.

On the front of Toshiba Partner (PT), in addition to the TOSHIBA LOGO, there is a working indicator light, and the side is the Micro-B interface of the hard disk. Toshiba Partner (PT) comes standard with a USB 3.0 data cable, and the length of the cable is about 45cm, which is enough for daily use. Simple, steady, and atmospheric are my first impressions of Toshiba Partner (PT).

Considering Toshiba Storage’s leadership and technical strength in the hard drive industry, I also have more expectations for the performance of Toshiba Partner (PT) hard drives. In the process of testing, I also found that this mobile hard disk brought me a lot of surprises.

Performance Testing

Connect Toshiba Partner (PT) to the notebook, you can see that the actual free space of the 4TB hard disk is 3.63TB, and the file system is exFAT format.

As we all know, exFAT is a file format with wider system compatibility. Not only can it be plug-and-play on mainstream systems such as Windows and Android, but also can read and write normally on Apple notebooks (macOS). Unlike NTFS, you can’t copy files from macOS, and unlike FAT32, there are limitations to storing large files. If you have an Apple laptop, exFAT formatted external hard drive is the best choice.

Next, we conduct a software benchmark test on Toshiba Partner (PT). Using CrystalDiskMark to test, you can see that the sequential write speed of the hard disk is 164MB/s, while the sequential read speed is 146MB/s.

Tested with AS SSD Benchmark. The Toshiba Partner (PT) has a sequential write speed of 132MB/s and a sequential read speed of 139MB/s.

Use the ATTO disk benchmark. The Toshiba Partner (PT) has a top write speed of 154MB/s and a top read speed of 150MB/s.

Use the HD Tune Pro test to check the continuous read and write performance of the hard drive with a 50GB test file. Toshiba Partner (PT) has a sustained write of about 143MB/s and a sustained read of about 145MB/s. Interestingly, after testing around 18GB, the hard drive’s read and write speeds seem to have improved slightly.

Similarly, I have also conducted a large file transfer test with Toshiba Partner (PT), so how is the actual file transfer performance of this hard drive?

I prepared a compressed file about 40GB in size. Through the test, it can be seen that the speed of copying files from Toshiba Partner (PT) to the notebook computer is relatively stable although there are small fluctuations. The reading speed can basically be maintained at about 145MB/s, and it takes about 4 minutes and 45 seconds to read a 40GB compressed package.

Copying files from a laptop to a Toshiba Partner (PT) is a test of the hard drive’s write performance. After testing, the file writing speed of Toshiba Partner (PT) can reach 143MB/s, and the whole process is very stable with almost no fluctuations. The final time was 4 minutes and 50 seconds.

Conclusion

Toshiba Partner (PT) portable external hard drives continue the advantages of being stable and light, and they can bring a good experience when you go out and carry them for daily office work. In addition, the factory format of exFAT also makes this hard disk more suitable for friends with multi-system devices. Toshiba Partner (PT) makes it easy to seamlessly transfer files between different devices. By the way, this external hard disk will be officially listed in early October. If you also have mobile storage needs, you can pay attention.

• $135 – Check latest price on Amazon US or Amazon Germany