Buffalo is a Japanese electronics company founded in 1975 that specializes in network attached storage (NAS) devices and external hard drives. Their brand name Buffalo has become well known for offering high performance and reliable external storage solutions across a range of product lines. Buffalo external hard drives come in both traditional spinning hard disk drives (HDD) as well as faster solid state drives (SSD).
Key features of Buffalo external hard drives include high transfer speeds, large storage capacities, and rugged durability. Their external hard drives connect via common interfaces like USB, Thunderbolt, and Ethernet. Popular Buffalo external hard drive product lines include the MiniStation, DriveStation, and TeraStation series. With a focus on performance and reliability, Buffalo external hard drives offer an appealing option for consumers and businesses looking to expand their data storage.
Overview of Buffalo Technology
Buffalo Technology was founded in 1975 in Japan as Melco and is headquartered in Nagoya, Japan (Source). The company started by manufacturing audio components and later expanded into PC peripherals and networking products. In 2000, the company changed its name to Buffalo Technology.
Today, Buffalo Technology is a leading global provider of innovative storage, multimedia and networking solutions for the home and small businesses. The company offers a wide range of products including desktop hard drives, portable storage devices, wireless routers, network switches and more (Source).
In addition to the headquarters in Japan, Buffalo Technology has offices in Taiwan, Korea, China, Europe and the United States. The U.S. headquarters is located in Austin, Texas and handles marketing, sales and support for North America (Source).
Buffalo External Hard Drive Product Line
Buffalo offers several external hard drive product lines in a range of storage capacities and connection types. Some of their key product lines include:
The MiniStationTM portable hard drive line comes in capacities from 1TB to 5TB and connects via USB 3.0 for fast transfer speeds. Models like the MiniStationTM Extreme have rugged, shock-resistant designs for durability.
The DriveStationTM desktop hard drive line goes up to 16TB and uses USB 3.0, with options for additional connectivity like Thunderbolt ports on some models. The DriveStationTM Axis Velocity emphasizes fast transfer speeds up to 5Gb/s.
For media streaming and backup, the TeraStationTM is a desktop NAS device supporting RAID array configurations, remote access, and PC backup features. These are available from 2 bay models up to 12 bays with ample storage and redundancy.
For power users, the Buffalo DriveStation Duo is a 2-drive, RAID-ready device with USB 3.0/2.0 and eSATA connectivity. This provides performance, data redundancy, and flexible storage management.
Key features across Buffalo’s external hard drives include built-in AES hardware encryption on some models and bundled backup and utility software like Memeo Autobackup and TurboPC EX2.
Build Quality and Durability
Buffalo external hard drives are known for their durable build quality and ability to withstand shocks and impacts. Many of their portable hard drives feature rugged designs with rubber bumpers and shock absorption chassis to protect the drive inside. For example, the Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC has a military-grade shock-resistant casing that lets it survive drops from up to 2 meters.
Most Buffalo external drives come with warranties of 1-3 years, providing assurance that they are built to last. The MiniStation Extreme NFC notably includes a 3-year warranty. Based on customer reviews, Buffalo drives stand up well to real-world use and travel thanks to the ruggedness and reliability of their construction.
Overall, Buffalo drives rate highly for durability and resilience against physical impacts, making them a good choice for those needing portable external storage that can withstand being taken on the go.
Benchmarks and Performance
Buffalo external hard drives and SSDs perform competitively in various speed tests and benchmarks. In USB 3.0 mode, the Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt achieved peak read rates of 119Mbps and peak write rates of 83Mbps, which is on par with other USB 3.0 external drives.
The Buffalo SSD-PUT Portable SSD scored 439MB/s read and 404MB/s write in the CrystalDiskMark benchmark. This matches closely with its rated specifications of 430MB/s read and 400MB/s write speeds. Overall, Buffalo SSDs are competitive with brands like Samsung and WD for sequential read/write performance.
In real-world usage for transferring files, Buffalo’s USB 3.0 drives can reach speeds over 100MB/s while their Thunderbolt models exceed 250MB/s. This makes them suitable for tasks like photo/video editing, gaming, and running demanding applications. They may outperform cheaper brands in sustained workloads due to better cooling and endurance.
Ease of Use
Buffalo external hard drives come with software designed to make them easy to use for backups, encryption, and media serving. The main software is Buffalo’s NAS Navigator which is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems (https://www.buffalotech.com/support/download).
NAS Navigator provides an intuitive interface to manage backups to the Buffalo drive. Users can schedule automatic backups of selected folders or their entire system. Backups can be incremental or versioned, allowing multiple points in time to be stored. This makes it easy to restore previous versions of files if needed.
For security conscious users, Buffalo’s external drives support AES-256 bit encryption. Using NAS Navigator, drives can be encrypted with a passphrase to prevent unauthorized access. The encryption occurs on the drive itself for added security.
In addition to backups and encryption, NAS Navigator also includes media server capabilities. Users can easily share connected drives over their home network and access the content from other devices like smart TVs and media players.
Overall, Buffalo’s software suite aims to make their external drives easy for anyone to setup and use for common tasks like backups, encryption, and media serving (https://www.buffalo-technology.com/service-support/downloads/). The NAS Navigator interface simplifies these functions for new users while still providing advanced configuration options.
Compatibility
Buffalo external hard drives are compatible with most major operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. They connect via USB, with support for USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 for fast transfer speeds. Many of Buffalo’s portable drives are also backward compatible with USB 2.0.
According to Buffalo’s compatibility list, their external hard drives work with a wide range of computers and devices (Source). This includes compatibility with Windows PCs, Apple Mac computers, NAS devices like Synology and QNAP, and gaming consoles like Xbox One. Buffalo hard drives also work well for storing and watching movies directly on smart TVs.
Users specifically report Buffalo external HDDs working smoothly on operating systems like Windows 10 and 11 as well as macOS Catalina and Big Sur (Source). The drives are plug-and-play with automatic installation on most platforms.
Customer Reviews
Overall, Buffalo external hard drives receive very positive reviews from customers on retail sites like Amazon and Best Buy. On Amazon, the 1TB Buffalo MiniStation has a 4.5 out of 5 star rating based on over 1,900 global reviews. The most common pros mentioned include good value for the price, compact size, quiet operation, and fast transfer speeds. Some of the most common cons cited are reliability issues in a small number of units and lack of included backup software.
Here is an excerpt from a 5-star Amazon review that highlights some of the benefits: “As for these little drives, they are great! I bought one and tested it, fell in love with it and bought five more. For about $70, they store a terabyte of data, and the write/read speeds are very respectable.”
While most reviews are positive, there are some complaints about drive failures and data loss. As one 1-star review on BestBuy.com states: “Bought January 2015 and it died August 2015. I lost all my data because I thought Buffalo was a quality brand.” This reinforces the importance of proper backup practices no matter which hard drive brand is chosen.
Overall, Buffalo drives get high marks for performance, design and value. While no hard drive is immune from potential reliability issues, the percentage of problem units appears low based on customer reviews. For budget-conscious shoppers needing external storage, Buffalo drives remain a popular choice.
Pricing and Value
Buffalo external hard drives range in price from around $50 for a 500GB model to over $200 for 6TB capacity models according to Amazon. The pricing tends to be very competitive with other major brands like Seagate and Western Digital.
Frequent deals and discounts can make Buffalo drives an even better value. For example, the popular 2TB Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC portable hard drive regularly retails for around $120 but is often available for $20-30 less on Amazon and other retailers.
Considering typical Buffalo drive qualities like good performance, reliability, and easy setup/use, most models are attractively priced. The budget-friendly pricing combined with regular sales and deals make Buffalo external hard drives a smart buy for casual users and professionals alike.
Conclusion
Overall, Buffalo external hard drives are a solid mid-range option for the average consumer or small business user looking for reliable external storage. While they may not break any speed records or have the sleekness of premium brands, Buffalo drives offer very good performance, build quality, ease of use, and value for the price.
Buffalo drives are best suited for basic backup, storage expansion, data transfers, multimedia storage, and other external storage needs for home and small office use. With capacities up to 8TB, they provide ample space for growing storage requirements.
Power users and creative professionals who need maximum speed, transfer rates, or hardcore durability may want to look at pricier professional-grade options from brands like LaCie, OWC, G-Technology, or Glyph. However, for budget-focused buyers who don’t need blazing fast speeds or ruggedization, Buffalo drives are a cost-effective choice.