I always wish reviews of external disks mentioned how loud they are - this is pretty much my main consideration when I buy them. I'd much rather have a reviewer say he can hardly hear it than some measurement in dB on the manufacturers site...
Is it me, or does that drive case look stomach-churningly foul? Presumably the target market is bling-hoarding magpies or those registered blind.
Given that the regular, silver-grey 500Gb 'Designed By FA Porsche' version of this drive is available for sub-£90 if you shop around, it seems to me you're paying a significant premium for something that Helen Keller would find visually offensive (yes, I know she's dead, but I think the look of the thing is so bad it could effectively reanimate the dead)
Looks aside, the functionality can't be faulted though, and LaCie are my first choice if I'm on the lookout for an external drive, providing it's housed in a gunmetal-grey case, that is.
The shiny is, well... Shiny. But it's *begging* to be lifted. This would NOT be the device on which to store one's grotty pics, financial data, evidence of fraud, or government secrets. It's a theft waiting to happen.
I suppose you might buy one as a very tempting decoy, though - load it up with usless crap, and your boring grey boxes with real data will be ignored.
We've had a number of Lacie drives in these Porsche-designed plastic enlosures and not to put too fine a point on it: they fry. And getting a replacement or refund from Lacie for drives that have failed in a matter of weeks is like pulling teeth.
Of course they look nice & tidy (I expect that's why the admin-wallahs chose them) but they just don't cool today's big, fast and hot hard drives effectively.
The Golden Disk gets warm during use, but certainly not so hot as to cause concern.
It's not especially noisy either. In an ordinary office environment, with the clack of keys in the background and not much else, I couldn't hear the drive beside my laptop unless it was busily moving the heads around. Even then, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
If you want a truly silent workspace, you might be disappointed. If not, there's nothing to trouble you here.
WD My Passport Essential 500GB Portable Hard Drive - Black (USB 2.0)
WD Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive (Serial ATA-300, 7,200 RPM, 32MB)
WD My Book Essential Edition External 1TB Hard Drive (USB 2.0, 16MB)
Intel X25-M Gen2 160GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (SATA)
WD My Passport Essential Portable 320GB Hard Drive - Black (USB 2.0)
LaCie Golden Disk 500GB external hard drive
Anonymous Coward
get the grey version instead #
Posted Monday 22nd October 2007 14:03 GMT
you can get the grey version for £64.99 from amazon.co.uk with free delivery
Dominic Tristram
Noise? #
Posted Monday 22nd October 2007 14:06 GMT
I always wish reviews of external disks mentioned how loud they are - this is pretty much my main consideration when I buy them. I'd much rather have a reviewer say he can hardly hear it than some measurement in dB on the manufacturers site...
Simon Ward
Bleugh! #
Posted Monday 22nd October 2007 14:06 GMT
Is it me, or does that drive case look stomach-churningly foul? Presumably the target market is bling-hoarding magpies or those registered blind.
Given that the regular, silver-grey 500Gb 'Designed By FA Porsche' version of this drive is available for sub-£90 if you shop around, it seems to me you're paying a significant premium for something that Helen Keller would find visually offensive (yes, I know she's dead, but I think the look of the thing is so bad it could effectively reanimate the dead)
Looks aside, the functionality can't be faulted though, and LaCie are my first choice if I'm on the lookout for an external drive, providing it's housed in a gunmetal-grey case, that is.
laird cummings
Steal this drive! #
Posted Monday 22nd October 2007 15:59 GMT
The shiny is, well... Shiny. But it's *begging* to be lifted. This would NOT be the device on which to store one's grotty pics, financial data, evidence of fraud, or government secrets. It's a theft waiting to happen.
I suppose you might buy one as a very tempting decoy, though - load it up with usless crap, and your boring grey boxes with real data will be ignored.
Ian McNee
Never mind how loud, how hot? #
Posted Tuesday 23rd October 2007 10:56 GMT
We've had a number of Lacie drives in these Porsche-designed plastic enlosures and not to put too fine a point on it: they fry. And getting a replacement or refund from Lacie for drives that have failed in a matter of weeks is like pulling teeth.
Of course they look nice & tidy (I expect that's why the admin-wallahs chose them) but they just don't cool today's big, fast and hot hard drives effectively.
Tony Smith, Editor, Reg Hardware
Re. Noise, heat #
Posted Tuesday 23rd October 2007 12:25 GMT
The Golden Disk gets warm during use, but certainly not so hot as to cause concern.
It's not especially noisy either. In an ordinary office environment, with the clack of keys in the background and not much else, I couldn't hear the drive beside my laptop unless it was busily moving the heads around. Even then, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
If you want a truly silent workspace, you might be disappointed. If not, there's nothing to trouble you here.
jubtastic1
yes but... #
Posted Thursday 1st November 2007 21:42 GMT
do they tile?
Matt Bucknall
Yuck. #
Posted Friday 2nd November 2007 13:09 GMT
That is all.
Martin Huizing
Yes, but... #
Posted Friday 2nd November 2007 15:01 GMT
...does it blend?