Seagate Firecuda Mandalorian External USB Hard Drive Review It’s LIT?

Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB External Hard Drive Review

Generally, I rarely review USB drives here on NASCompares, as aside from external casing differences, they are generally all ‘much of a muchness. So, why am I breaking this rule today and reviewing the Seagate Firecuda External Hard drive? Well, let me explain. Buying a USB drive in 2022 is something that many of us barely even think about! In their hay day, USB drives were considered pretty much the ONLY means for a private individual to store their data portable (outside of CDs of course) and the differences between one USB external hard drive and another were incredibly small. Then, as cloud services grew, as well as the cost and efficiency of hardware shrunk, USB drives had the opportunity to really spread their wings a bit. We started seeing BIGGER hard drives, FASTER hard drives, SMALLER enclosures and ultimately more refinement in how users could choose their USB storage. Add to this where a USB drive lives in the workflow of most home/business users, shifting from primary to secondary storage backups and often a parallel storage medium for most, and you find that the humble USB drive has had quite a journey indeed. The Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB Drive is one of the best examples of how USB drives have changed, mixing an impressive recipe of practicality, software, services and (let’s be honest) an almost immeasurable degree of decadence! Today I want to take a closer look at one of the growing range of USB external hard drives that are joining the Seagate Firecuda Gaming label (such as the Seagate Firecuda Gaming Docking Station we reviewed before here on the blog), show what it can do, what it can’t and hopefully help you decide if this Star Wars licensed external USB hard drive deserves your data?

Seagate Firecuda Mandalorian USB Drive Review – Quick Conclusion

Is the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot any faster or more reliable in its hardware than any other Seagate USB external hard drive? Absolutely not! This is a Seagate Backup Plus drive much like those before it, so why buy it? Well, aside from the obvious licensed branding with one of Disney Lucasfilm’s most popular franchises right now, there is actually a lot more to this drive than a regular USB drive in fancy packaging. To put it into perspective, a regular Seagate Backup Plus USB external HDD will cost you around £69. Then you have unique design/casing drives (such as the Fabric coated, gaming-focused or metal chassis cases) in the Seagate USB portfolio that retail for around £79-85. THEN you have this Mandalorian licenced external USB hard drive for £95 which includes gamer-popular LED controls and 3 years of forensic level data recovery services included! Yes, the beskar ingot and star wars livery is nice, but if that LED control and the data recovery services (worth THOUSANDS OF POUNDS if/when you need it) are for me why the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot special edition USB drive is something special. It has its flaws of course (that USB Micro B connector feels like it should 100% of been USB-C and the casing being metal will cheese some cult buyers off a bit) but if you just think of the additional price tag of this drive over it’s ‘off-the-shelf’ alternatives as paying for the inclusive data recovery services alone – it is an absolute BARGAIN!

SPEED - 7/10

HARDWARE - 9/10

SOFTWARE - 8/10

PRICE - 8/10

VALUE - 10/10

8.4

PROS

👍🏻I mean, come on, it’s a Mandalorian themed external hard drive
👍🏻3yrs of Data Recovery services included!!!!!!!!
👍🏻Toolkit software features very easy backup/sync setup & configuration
👍🏻LED controls and effects are very impressive
👍🏻Very Faithful to the franchise and well presented
👍🏻High-quality USB cable included
👍🏻Good, if predictable, performance

CONS

👎🏻Odd choice of Micro B Connector
👎🏻The casing is plastic, not metal (preference choice)
👎🏻Software is a little rudimentary compared with something like Acronis

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Seagate Firecuda Mandalorian USB Hard Drive Review – Retail Packaging

The retail packaging of the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB Drive differs greatly from the rest of the USB drives in the brand’s portfolio. For a start, it is one of the only drives that arrive in transparent plastic casing, to show off the Star wars,  Mandalorian and beskar ingot branding as much as possible. I have commented on this in the past, but 99% of data storage components that people buy are purchased online (eTailers/eShops) and therefore the packaging is a little redundant in the decision-making process – i.e. they already have your money when you first see it! The Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB hard drive is one of the few HDDs that I think would definitely sit well in the shop of your local electronics shop and certainly stand out. It takes ALOT of a USB hard drive to be interesting, but I think this drive actually achieves it at the point of sale.

One can only imagine how much Seagate had to pay to get the license from Disney Lucasfilm to get this drive out there, but they are clearly shouting loud and proud about it, with the Star Wars & Mandalorian logos a fraction larger than even the Seagate/Seagate-Gaming logos on the retail box. Given the relative understatement of the standard Seagate Backup Plus series of drive presentation, this is a really loud piece of design and one that is clearly aimed at the eyes/wallets of both gamers and star wars fans alike.

Removing the internal plastic casing shows us that there are a few other bits and bobs included with the pack, a couple of which I was pleasantly surprised by. As this is a USB External hard drive, I didn’t expect the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot to arrive with much more than a drive and a cable to be honest…

However, opening up the retail package showed me a few surprises. Yes, there was the drive (we will discuss it’s design shortly), but also a series of stickers of Mandalorian and Seagate Gaming design (not really my thing, to be honest, but I know that this is something a lot of PC/Mobile gamers will adorn their client hardware with). There was information on the inclusive warranty, details on the Seagate Toolkit software, the Rescue recovery services (VERY important and something I will touch on later) and a USB A to USB Micro B cable.

The USB cable that is included is a combination of mostly good (but one slight irksome detail). Starting positive, I like that the cable is a fabric coated cable. Anyone that has used USB cables long term (so, basically EVERYONE) will know that as the years go on and it gets twisted and turned, it can become unsightly at best and non-functioning at worst. So, I am pleased with them including a higher quality fabric coated cable as this means that the regular twisting of this cable between drive deployment will not affect its durability over time. However, I have to question Seagate’s choice (and indeed ALOT of USB external drives from all brands) that still opt for USB Micro-B as a connection choice. It is 2022! USB-C is EVERYWHERE! The EU has even issued fairly strict rules on compliance of USB-C ports on devices moving forward to eliminate wastage (something I think the rest of the world will move towards). As much as I like this cable, I actively dislike the connection choice. Again, this is not something Seagate specific, as brands such as Samsung and WD are jsut as guilty of this (perhaps it is a sie or power issue that I am unaware of), but the fact the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB drive needs this lesser-used cable is a tad annoying.

Aside from my feelings on the USB Micro B connection of the Seagate Firecuda Mandalorian USB drive, I am overall very pleased with the presentation and inclusions of the retail kit. Let’s take a closer look at the drive itself and discuss what you get for you money.

Seagate Firecuda Star Wars HDD USB Drive Review – Design

For those unfamiliar with the franchise history (which would be weird, given you almost certainly found this review on google and are well aware of the lore, but nonetheless) Beskar ingots are materials that are used for many military applications in the star wars universe, but primarily for this franchise, used for the Mandalorian armour. Therefore the branding crossover for a data storage backup drive and its protection of your data are some pretty clear lines that Seagate is trying to draw with the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB Drive. This extends to a little more than the design (which I will cover later on in the review) but you can see a lot of work has gone into the aesthetics of this design (even without the LED factor).

The external casing of the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot external USB drive is plastic, but the weaved lines of the top of the drive are textured onto the soft finish of the drive’s external surfaces. The galactic empire logo at the top right of the drive is unfortunately not-embossed (as it is in the Seagate Firecuda 530 Beskar Ingot NVMe SSD, which we reviewed here), but the Seagate logo and series Firecuda logo IS embossed – which is an odd choice and likely down to them using a similar mould as to those used in the standard USB Backup Plus series.

The connector of the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB drive (as mentioned earlier) is a USB Micro-B connector that although is not exactly my favourite choice of connector, still allows a little versatility of both versions of this connector to be used. I can also confirm that the Seagate Firecuda special edition external USB hard drive CAN be connected to your phone using a USB-A to USB-C adapter (as shown here when using the Seagate Backup Plus drive and Android mobile phone connection) and allows you to easily access and/or backup your files in either direction within your mobile device. Of course, most users will be using this drive with a PC/Mac system (and likely in conjunction with the Seagate Toolkit and backup tools that are included), but it is still nice to have that variety in how it can be connected.

The rear of the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB drive features the usual branded details and serial number as you might expect, but ALSO a very familiar logo and text of ‘This is the way’ (which I am sure will be a kick for those looking at branded merch like this). I am also impressed by the colour scheme of this drive, as it manages to toe a fine line between cheap looking but effective, without falling into tacky (in my opinion anyway).

Overall I am happy with the design of the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB external hard drive. If I had a complaint, it would be the USB Micro choice and the fact the drive does not arrive in a metal enclosure. Aside from any tiny benefits in heat dissipation, I think a metal enclosure would fit better with the ‘ingot’ theme that this licensed product is aiming for. That said, it would likely push the retail price even further higher and would result in a higher chance of scratching etc in your bag when on the go. Let’s discuss the elements of this external drive that make it stand out from the rest of the crowd, figuratively and literally.

Seagate Firecuda Mandalorian USB External HDD Review – Software

Of all the things that the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB external hard drive shouts loudly about from the official pages, one thing that does not get anywhere near the attention it deserves is the 3 years of inclusive data recovery services it is bundled with. It IS mentioned on the external packaging and included documents in the retail kit, but largely pushed down the priority list on the marketing materials. Perhaps the brand does not want users thinking about drive failure or hard drive damage in it’s daily use from accidents at work or in the home, but they really should be louder about this! For those that are not aware, if the drive fails or is damaged by things that are considered reasonable in day to day life in the first 3 years of it’s use (so, water damage from weather or fall damage from a desk – not hitting it with a car!), you can send the drive off to the Seagate data recovery team who will attempt to recovery your data (at the factory level and will dismantle the drive as needed).

I have always been a huge supporter of this inclusive service and have known about it for years, since Seagate first included with their NAS Ironwolf series of hard drives and SSDs. Indeed, I made a rather extreme demonstration of these services in a video from 2018/2019 where I loaded a hard drive with data, then started dropping it, flooding it, hitting it against a table and then (somewhat disproportionally) throwing it down the stairs – the WHOLE VIDEO on the Seagate Rescue Data Recovery series is HERE, as well as the results and return of the recovered data HERE). Even if you completely ignore the Disney Lucasfilm licensed branding and LED elements (will cover this soon) of the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB external hard drive, the inclusion of data recovery services on a drive that will lively serve as a 1st or 2nd tier backup drive is incredible value.

Indeed, the idea of how much data recovery actually costs is wildly underestimated by most users. Simple things such as ‘accidentally deleting files’ can be reversed with downloadable tools that start at either monthly subscription costs of £29 per month OR are scaled in conjunction with the scale of the data being recovered. Forensic level recovery, however (i.e where it is a bit by bit recovery and done at the factory/industrial level) can cost thousand of pounds! This is calculated on time, power usage and (of course) because the minute you are pressuring this level of recovery, you are effectively shouting that this data is ‘mission critical’ or ‘irreplaceable’, so data recovery companies can name their asking price! So, therefore having this included in the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB drive when purchased is a big, BIG bonus in my eyes.

When connecting the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB drive to your PC or Mac system, it is recommended that you head over to the Seagate official website and download the free ‘Toolkit’ application. This is a taskbar application that allows you to run a number of useful backup applications between the External Hard Drive and your Client machine in either direction. It also allows you to adapt and customize the LED settings of the Seagate Firecuda gamer LED design in a number of ways. There are a few light options for finding out about the health of the drive (though arguable the windows storage manager provides the same information).

Interestingly, the backup, Mirror and sync options of the toolkit software are remarkably straightforward and allow a lot of semi-automated things to happen when the drive is connected, as well as drilling down quite conveniently which folders or file types will be backed up in either direction. The mirroring functionality will be particularly helpful for those who use a PC/Mac for photo/video editing and are focused on their templates/workflow arrangement being saved in a native fashion (without backing up bulkier system files). Its simplicity is very welcome. There is room for more advanced features and perhaps more information in ‘log’ form, but as a free extra, it is welcome.

The LED control and range of customizations available on the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB drive are equally very straightforward and easy to use. There is a wide range of colours, patterns and frequencies to choose from in set defaults, but you can also set completely unique custom ranges too. If you are a Razer gaming laptop owner (some other LED gaming hardware brands are supported) you can synchronize the Seagate Firecuda USB Drive with your existing Razer Chroma settings and then make sure that the drive matches your existing range of LED customizations that are on the go!

By default (as shown in the .gif below, with speed at 10x) the Seagate Firecuda Mandalorian external hard drive uses a blue fade effect by default. It looks very star wars new era and I think is surprisingly subtle (I mean, we ARE talking LED hard drives here, so subtly is very relative!)

The customization element of the drive is incredibly easy and with full control on the pattern, brightness, colours, speed and frequency of changes, you can create some rather nice effects (such as the multicolour effect below in a 5x speed .gif) that can be set up and executed in 10-15 seconds with ease.

The Seagate software that you can use with the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot USB drive is a little basic in places, but definitely does the job and does it with a very user-friendly GUI. It would use a few more advanced options (drive health displayed, testing tools, etc), but as far as controlling and customizing the more outlandish LED aspects of this drive go, the software more than covers this!

Seagate Firecuda Mandalorian External USB Hard Drive Review – Verdict & Conclusion

Is the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot any faster or more reliable in its hardware than any other Seagate USB external hard drive? Absolutely not! This is a Seagate Backup Plus drive much like those before it, so why buy it? Well, aside from the obvious licensed branding with one of Disney Lucasfilm’s most popular franchises right now, there is actually a lot more to this drive than a regular USB drive in fancy packaging. To put it into perspective, a regular Seagate Backup Plus USB external HDD will cost you around £69. Then you have unique design/casing drives (such as the Fabric coated, gaming-focused or metal chassis cases) in the Seagate USB portfolio that retail for around £79-85. THEN you have this Mandalorian licenced external USB hard drive for £95 which includes gamer-popular LED controls and 3 years of forensic level data recovery services included! Yes, the beskar ingot and star wars livery is nice, but if that LED control and the data recovery services (worth THOUSANDS OF POUNDS if/when you need it) are for me why the Seagate Firecuda Beskar Ingot special edition USB drive is something special. It has its flaws of course (that USB Micro B connector feels like it should 100% of been USB-C and the casing being metal will cheese some cult buyers off a bit) but if you just think of the additional price tag of this drive over it’s ‘off-the-shelf’ alternatives as paying for the inclusive data recovery services alone – it is an absolute BARGAIN!

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Summary

Reviewer

Robbie

Review Date

2022-05-02

Reviewed Item

Seagate Firecuda Mandalorian USB External Hard Drive Review

Author Rating

5