Performance

How quickly does each drive transfer files?

There was no clear winner in this test, with different drives excelling in different areas. When it came to large file transfers, the MyCloud Mirror came out on top in both tests, pipping the Buffalo LinkStation to the post in the read test (3 mins 6 secs), but thrashing allcomers in the write test, its 3 mins 58 secs transfer time around two and a half minutes quicker than its nearest rivals (the LinkStation and Synology). At the other end of the scale was the Netgear, taking over 5 and 11 minutes in the respective tests, well behind the rest of the competition.

In the small file test it was a different story. Here, Zyxel’s drive proved the most adept, taking just 17 mins 46 secs to write over 40,000 files to the drive, and 11 mins 45 secs to transfer the files from it. WD’s My Cloud drive came second (22 mins 12 secs) in the write test, but fifth (16 mins 34 secs) in the read test. The Netgear managed third place (14 mins 10 secs) in the read test but again disgraced itself in the write test, taking over 69 mins to write the files to disk.