With the current generation of consoles, the need for hard drive space is paramount. Many major blockbuster titles need 30-40GB minimum to actually install the base game—a number that is only going to expand as more games include 4K textures and features. This is where external hard drive options come into play, and companies like Seagate are building solutions that are affordable and fantastic at expanding the disk space on your favourite console.
The Seagate Game Drive Hub for Xbox offers Xbox One players (Along with PS4 players should you wish to reformat it) the ability to add an additional 8TB of space to your console. The Seagate Game Drive Hub for Xbox looks like one would expect from an external hard disc drive. It has a white and black aesthetic that matches beautifully with the standard Xbox One S. As with most external drives above a certain size, it features an external AC adapter and also has a bit of heft to it, weighing in at a little over 2lbs. It maintains the design elements of the Xbox One, featuring a beveled edge on one side, with the rest of the box looking sleek and simple. There are 2 USB 3.1 ports on the front, ensuring you never lose USB options by adding the Game Drive Hub.
With the space, it is no surprise the Game Drive Hub is a little bit louder than other smaller hard drive options. Now this is not to say that it will drown out a room with noise, but if you were hoping for completely silent operation, you may be disappointed. Although the slight noise level is present, overheating is never a concern. While the drive will get warm after significant use, I never noticed it ever getting too hot and it was well within what one would expect for a drive of the size.
One thing I was very pleased by was the speed. Seagate has ensured it scores far better than the stock internal drive. The base stock drive offers users a read/write speed of between 59MBps to 85MBps whereas the new Seagate Game Drive Hub for Xbox boasts speeds up to 160MBps, and while I never managed to reach this speed, in testing it managed fantastic results (see chart below).
| Game | Game Hub | Gears 3TB HDD | Stock Internal Drive |
| Halo 5 | 31.4 | 32.87 | 34.76 |
| Sunset Overdrive | 22.3 | 30 | 27.81 |
| Gears of War: Ultimate Edition | 30.19 | 33.5 | 34.65 |
| Ori and the Blind Forest | 34 | 35.16 | 33.76 |
Setting up the drive was a simple matter. It involved plugging the drive into the Xbox One system and letting the Xbox One know that you will be using the drive as an external drive. Format as needed and you are off to the races. From this point on you can load games, media, and anything else your heart desires from the Xbox Store onto the drive directly. With the added 8TB you can download most of the currently available Xbox One library, and as the games get bigger moving to the 4K generation, the Game Hub will be there ensuring you don’t run out of space downloading and playing your favourite games.
At $199 USD the Seagate Game Drive Hub for Xbox is a great way to expand your Xbox One system in preparation for new game downloads. With every new game requiring a full installation, an external drive has quickly become a must. With games like Doom, Forza 7, and Fallout 4 all taking up well over 40GB fully installed, the demand for larger hard drive solutions is a must. While any external hard disk drive will work, the Game Hub is an option that fits in well with the Xbox One range of consoles, and also has a few bonus options to make it a great choice.
