Sleek, slim and light are just a few adjectives that describe the Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 external hard drive. On the inside the BlackArmor PS 110 boasts a 500 gigabyte, 5400 RPM hard drive. Aimed at the business market, the Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 allows you safeguard your files with AES 256 bit government grade encryption.

XXXXXX

First Impressions

Inside a solid glossy box、we found the external hard drive itself, as well as the USB cable, a Quick Start guide and the warranty paper. Opening the Quick Start guide, we noticed that Seagate took the time and effort to create a simple to read guide. Unfortunately for us, they only say what to do, not how to do it.

Design

The PS110 is slightly thicker than a ball point pen and shares the same body structure and curvature as its sibling, the FreeAgent Go. Unlike the FreeAgent Go, the PS 110 does not have a “splash of light”; instead Seagate fitted the drive with a single blue led on the top. Both the upper and bottom surfaces are finished with a sexy matte black finish while the sides are a relaxed shade of dark grey. The color scheme is quite professional in appearance and should accompany you well to the office

Software

 
Seagate teamed up with Acronis to create Seagate BlackArmor Backup. Preloaded on the hard drive, Seagate eliminates the necessity for an optical drive to install the software. Installation is typical, however it can become lengthy.
 
Similar in view and practice to regular Acronis software, Seagate BlackArmor Backup is simple to use and has a large variety of features. As hinted in the name, the software does focus on backing up data. The main backup feature allows a user to backup their emails, application settings, or data. Moreover it allows for the creation of images containing either an entire disk, partition or system state.

Scheduling a backup is simple: begin with a regular back up, then set the manager to run at a specific time and/or date with a few clicks of a button, and you’re good to go! Seagate makes backing up larger files such as system images easier. Furthermore, when backing up or restoring file(s), there is a “Shutdown” feature which if ticked will shut down your computer upon completion of a task; a useful feature for those not wanting their system to continue running unnecessarily.

When preparing files, BlackArmor Backup gives the user a large variety of options. These options include (up to) AES 256 government grade encryption, compression as well as various write methods. The compression feature made us tingle a little inside as we were able to compress over 300 gigabytes of data into a mere 111 gigabytes.

Using the backup feature actually improves speed over using Windows Explorer’s drag and drop files on to the hard drive. For us we were able to get reduce the transfer duration in half.

Another great feature to protect your data is “Try and Decide”. Try and Decide allows you to do precisely what it states, try and decide. It is virtual mode that allows the user to attempt risky system operations or try out new software without worrying about possible consequences to system stability and data loss.

Secure Zone is the final key feature of BlackArmor Backup. It allows the creation of a hidden partition in which sensitive data, meant for privileged eyes, can be secured.

Benchmarks

HD Tune

HD Tach

SiSandra HDD Benchmark (Read Only)

ATTO Bench

Conclusion

The PS 110 is a great portable drive with decent speed and bundled with a great software package. At $150 it may be a bit steep, though if you are in need of a large storage solution with various security features, a 5 year warranty and a professional appearance, the Seagate PS 110 should be high on your list.