Why is Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt Adaptor so slow?

I am using the original Seagate go flex enclosure that came with a USB adapter. It doesn't matter which adapter you use all the drives can be used in any of the Seagate adapters. I purchased the thunderbolt adapter hoping for faster speeds.

I found nothing unusual in Console. In fact it didn't list anything at all while the drive is being accessed for read or write.

This is what is listed for Thunderbolt when looking at it through "About This Mac" under Hardware:

Thunderbolt Bus:

Vendor Name: Apple Inc.

Device Name: Mac mini

UID: 0x0001000C105EB9A0

Firmware Version: 25.1

Domain UUID: 8DC4658E-662C-A351-BE83-960C1062B83E

Port:

Status: Device connected

Link Status: 0x2

Receptacle: 1

Port Micro Firmware Version: 2.1.3

Cable Firmware Version: 1.0.16

Cable Serial Number: C4M3506014RF797AK

GoFlex Desk Adapter Thunderbolt:

Vendor Name: Seagate

Device Name: GoFlex Desk Adapter Thunderbolt

Vendor ID: 0x16

Device ID: 0x2000

Device Revision: 0x5

UID: 0x00162000001CA100

Route String: 3

Firmware Version: 26.0

Port (Upstream):

Status: Device connected

Link Status: 0x2

Port Micro Firmware Version: 2.0.7

Cable Firmware Version: 1.0.16

Cable Serial Number: C4M3506014RF797AK

Port:

Status: No device connected

Link Status: 0x7

Port Micro Firmware Version: 2.0.7

also for… About This Mac, Hardware… SATA/SATA Express:

Thunderbolt AHCI Controller:

Vendor: Thunderbolt

Product: AHCI Controller

Link Speed: 6 Gigabit

Negotiated Link Speed: 3 Gigabit

Physical Interconnect: SATA

Description: AHCI Version 1.20 Supported

ST1500DL001-9VT15L:

Capacity: 1.5 TB (1,500,301,910,016 bytes)

Model: ST1500DL001-9VT15L

Revision: CC98

Serial Number: 5YD5HN7T

Native Command Queuing: No

Removable Media: Yes

Detachable Drive: No

BSD Name: disk2

Rotational Rate: 5900

Medium Type: Rotational

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified

Volumes:

EFI:

Capacity: 209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)

BSD Name: disk2s1

Content: EFI

GoFlex 1.5T:

Capacity: 1.5 TB (1,499,957,936,128 bytes)

Available: 879.33 GB (879,325,851,648 bytes)

Writable: Yes

File System: Journaled HFS+

BSD Name: disk2s2

Mount Point: /Volumes/GoFlex 1.5T

Content: Apple_HFS

Volume UUID: 2BAACFB8-E860-3917-87DA-C27F45388CDE

Using the software you suggested, I tested both drives: my Seagate 1.5 TB drive connected to the GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter and my external FireWire 800 Seagate 2 TB drive.

The results are not worth writing home about, to say the least… But there again the Seagate 1.5 TB 5400 RPM drive isn't exactly a fast drive. I was considering purchasing a SSD to insert in the Thunderbolt Sled in an effort to avoid taking apart my Mac. Now I'm wondering if it will be able to reach its potential speed on the sled vs. being inserted into the machine.

In any case the performance results are just a fraction of the promised 559MB/s Read, 527MB/s Write.

Any ideas?

Thunderbolt adapter with Seagate 1.5 TB drive 5400 RPM:

FireWire 800 Seagate 2 TB drive:

No, I wasn't expecting 559 MB/s in your direction but I certainly wasn't expecting 80 MB!! In any case, it's purchasing the SSD that's concerning me.OWC is posting the theoretical speeds of 559 MB/s Read and 527MB/s write with their 6G – SSD drives. They don't mention having to have a RAID system to approach these speeds. I was hoping for maybe 120 to 200 MB per second for one of their 6G – SSD drives.

OWC is advertising Elite Pro Dual (No Hard Drives) for $299.00 that can operate two 4 TB drives giving you 8 TB of storage in a raid. They give no clue as to how fast it would be though…

I'm still hoping to get about 120 MB per second from a single 6G – SSD drive. Do you think I'll get anywhere near that kind of performance from a single solid-state drive?

I've seen that drive. It will not be available until October so I haven't seen a price on it yet. Anyway, I'm just going to get the fastest hard drive I can and use it with my Seagate thunderbolt sled.

I have a FireWire 800 enclosure with 22 TB drives inside for total of 4 TB of storage. I'm going to purchase a single 4 TB drive to use as a backup for the FireWire 800 enclosure.

The REALLY good thing about the Seagate thunderbolt sled is that when you plug a hard drive into it the computer is able to obtain a discs S.M.A.R.T. status. I have several drives laying around the house and I plugged them into the sled knowing some of them were giving poor performance. I didn't know until I got the thunderbolt adapter but the computer reports the S.M.A.R.T. status as being "FAIL"… I suspected this, but I couldn't confirm it with FireWire.

NOW, if I can only get the sled to run a drive at speeds faster than 80 MB per second… LOL

Oh and… Exciting news… I guess…

I have another go flex enclosure with a 2 TB drive inside, I didn't know it was a 7200 RPM drive so I tested it and hear of the results.

Not bad! So I'm hoping an even faster drive like the new Seagate hybrid (part SSD part HHD) 4 TB 15,000 RPM drive for $224.98 might be my next ridiculous expenditure. I don't want to do it, then again those two hard drives in the FireWire 800 enclosure are over two years old. With no way of knowing their SMART status, I'm forced to come up with a plan to back them up.

I'm still thinking one 4 TB drive will do the trick.

Any suggestions? Am I missing a simpler less expensive solution?

I've never tried USB 3, but I've seen the same results with Thunderbolt… The 5400 is much slower than the 7200, that being said…

You say you HAVE tested a Seagate hybrid drive?

What will the read/write speeds… I was about to go out and purchase one. On the other hand, I do want to get a SSD drive is just that the size limitation to cost ratio is still quite offputting.$449.99 for a 480 GB hard drive. I've been waiting for the prices of these drives come down since they were introduced.

In any case, I was about to purchase a 4 TB Seagate hybrid drive… But if they're not much faster than your average 7200 RPM drives… Then what's the point?