External HD - Lacie Porsche or D2

[sierra oscar]

Hello everyone,

Any advice on my following short listed prospective purchases?

- LaCie d2 160GB Extreme FireWire 800/400 USB2.0 Hard Drive (AU$269.00)
- LaCie d2 Serial ATA 160GB Hard Drive + Free SATA PCI Card (AU$259.00)
- LaCie Porsche P3 FireWire Hard Drive - 160GB (AU$199.00)

Not really sure what the differences are between the Porsche and d2 products. Don't know if I will use the SATA PCI card (with my current G4 iMac and future MB).

Are the prices quoted above sound about right?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Mord]

I'd avoid Lacie drives, they tend to use maxtor drives that faily easy.

Either buy a caddy and HD seperate or look for a brand that uses seagate or samsung HD's.

 

[killmoms]

I prefer my Porsche to my d2 for two simple reasons:

1) It's smaller
2) It's quieter

That said, I have my d2 because FW800 is useful for video work and moving around the large files typically involved. So, depends on what you need it for. My Porsche is where my music lives, so it's on basically all the time, which is why I like it quieter.

EDIT: Maxtor USED to have a reputation for shoddy drives, but that's pretty much disappeared in recent years. As for Lacie, my d2 is still purring happily after almost 3 years of use. YMMV, but honestly, I don't think drive reliability is all that much of a concern anymore.

 

[sierra oscar]

I'd avoid Lacie drives, they tend to use maxtor drives that faily easy.

either buy a caddy and HD seperate or look for a brand that uses seagate or samsung HD's.

oh.... I didn't know that - thanks for the advice. My research continues... Seagate you say...

 

[sierra oscar]

I prefer my Porsche to my d2 for two simple reasons:

1) It's smaller
2) It's quieter

That said, I have my d2 because FW800 is useful for video work and moving around the large files typically involved. So, depends on what you need it for. My Porsche is where my music lives, so it's on basically all the time, which is why I like it quieter.

thanks Killmoms - will be buying 2 ext drives one for backup and one for extra storage - so both would apply to me.

what do you think of the reliability of the Lacie drives?

 

[killmoms]

thanks Killmoms - will be buying 2 ext drives one for backup and one for extra storage - so both would apply to me.

what do you think of the reliability of the Lacie drives?

I know our workplace (3rd largest post house in L.A.) uses them almost all the time, as do many of the studios that send us big bunches of files... so my personal experience and the decisions of my employer lead me to make a pretty strong recommendation.

I'd say it's really a wash these days in terms of reliability. You shouldn't bank on ANY hard drive, regardless of manufacturer, surviving much longer than 3 or 4 years of continuous usage. Thus, you should backup accordingly.

 

[Mord]

all my maxtor drives have died within 16 months of me owning them, two of which being lacie drives.

 

[killmoms]

all my maxtor drives have died within 16 months of me owning them, two of which being lacie drives.

The plural of anecdote is not data. Bad luck? Maybe you thrash the **** out of 'em? Who knows? Also keep in mind that Lacie does not always use Maxtor drives. The manufacturers of the actual hard drives in their products can vary over time.

EDIT: Just realized, Maxtor was bought by Seagate this year... so, same company.

 

[SpaceMagic]

I have a LaCie drive. Cannot fault it.

 

[Mord]

The plural of anecdote is not data. Bad luck? Maybe you thrash the **** out of 'em? Who knows? Also keep in mind that Lacie does not always use Maxtor drives. The manufacturers of the actual hard drives in their products can vary over time.

i've never seen any other drive in a D2 and i've taken a fair few apart, honestly it's a better idea to build one yourself, it's extremely easy to do allot cheaper and you have greater controll on the specifications.

 

[killmoms]

i've never seen any other drive in a D2 and i've taken a fair few apart, honestly it's a better idea to build one yourself, it's extremely easy to do allot cheaper and you have greater controll on the specifications.

Greater control just means which of the 4 hard drive manufacturers you buy from, because honestly, are there ANY chipsets out besides the Oxford ones, that are actually used?

I just think it's irresponsible to say "Don't buy LaCie because I've had bad luck." A single person isn't a statistic. Neither am I, individually, but I'd say when a whole company endorses them (as did my college's digital video program), that's at least getting towards something resembling data.

 

[gauchogolfer]

I'm also very happy with my Lacie Triple Interface 250GB, and will be buying another 350GB version when I get back to the states. Also, Maxtor/Seagate are now the same company, if that helps to alleviate any worries.

 

[sierra oscar]

this makes great reading for me - thank you all for your continuing input.

Mord: I realise that if I do this myself - it will be cheaper - but not by much (after I've done my sums with my local suppliers) - so for just a few dollars more, I can get a complete unit - one that I don't have to find a universal power supply, find the right sized casing etc.

 

[eXan]

Hello everyone,

Any advice on my following short listed prospective purchases?

- LaCie d2 160GB Extreme FireWire 800/400 USB2.0 Hard Drive (AU$269.00)
- LaCie d2 Serial ATA 160GB Hard Drive + Free SATA PCI Card (AU$259.00)
- LaCie Porsche P3 FireWire Hard Drive - 160GB (AU$199.00)

Not really sure what the differences are between the Porsche and d2 products. Don't know if I will use the SATA PCI card (with my current G4 iMac and future MB).

Are the prices quoted above sound about right?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Where are you going to install that PCI card in your iMac?

 

[sierra oscar]

Where are you going to install that PCI card in your iMac?

I know - it was in jest - so this 'free' add on wasn't 'value' to me

I've an additional question - I was planning on buying 2 ext drives - however could my one ext drive be partitioned for my desktop and portable?

 

[killmoms]

I know - it was in jest - so this 'free' add on wasn't 'value' to me

I've an additional question - I was planning on buying 2 ext drives - however could my one ext drive be partitioned for my desktop and portable?

I think his point was that the free add-on, which is crucial to using the drive (as you don't have any external SATA ports), indicated that the entire product was not an option.

Also, why partition? Why not just use the whole drive on either? Just want to enforce space limits on yourself?

 

[sierra oscar]

I think his point was that the free add-on, which is crucial to using the drive (as you don't have any external SATA ports), indicated that the entire product was not an option.

Also, why partition? Why not just use the whole drive on either? Just want to enforce space limits on yourself?

oh ok - so I don't 'need' to partition - thanks killmoms.

re: SATA Ext Drive - I thought I read that model had at least dual connectivity + FW, or else I wouldn't have considered it an option - I'll go back and check actually, so that's a good point

 

[miles01110]

I second the "build your own" option.

I'd go with Seagate- I have had LaCie drives fail on me.

 

[killmoms]

I second the "build your own" option.

I'd go with Seagate- I have had LaCie drives fail on me.

Seagate = Maxtor now, man, so if LaCie is still buying from "Maxtor," they're buying Samsung. Honestly, do we even read the thread?

 

[seany916]

I really like G-Technology. 2 drives, no failures. No positive comments on La Cie, though the CD burner I bought years ago still works perfectly. If your computer can handle it, get FW800 spinning at 7200, it's worth the extra dough unless you want to go eSATA.

 

[slackersonly]

The savings in a build-your-own come mostly from your ability to buy the hd at a great price. Check out outpost.com as they seem to have seagates on sale often.

 

[cuts]

don't buy la cie

i can't tell you how much i dislike la cie. i believe thier products are designed to fail as soon as the 12 month warranty expires. some people have good luck with la cie, but i've been looking around and it seems MOST people (like me) have very bad experiences with them. don't buy la cie.

 

[CrackedButter]

I have a LaCie drive. Cannot fault it.

Somebody added something sensible to the thread then. I have 2 Lacie drives, one being over 2 years old now, the other nearing or just over its first year of life. Hello from Swansea by the way.

i can't tell you how much i dislike la cie. i believe thier products are designed to fail as soon as the 12 month warranty expires. some people have good luck with la cie, but i've been looking around and it seems MOST people (like me) have very bad experiences with them. don't buy la cie.

I'm about to start a new company with a few friends and one of our design goals or objectives is to create our product which lasts as long as its warranty. That way when it fails people will come back to us for repeat business and buy more of them. We can't go wrong, I'm surprised nobody else has ever thought of this!

Lacie is one word just so you know.

 

[Locatel]

Lacie makes a great enclosure, but you never know wich HD is inside. I've seen Lacie d2s with Maxtor, Samsung and Seagate. Their product is covered by a 1 year warranty.
Mercury Elite Pro Aluminum units are mounted with the latest Seagate drives. The unit is covered by a 2 year warranty PLUS 3 year warranty for the drive, directly from Seagate (the drive itself is covered by a 5 year warranty). I don't think you'll find a better deal than this, and they cost about the same.
Check it out: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firew...teAL/800+USB2/