Firewire 800 1TB for $120? Seriously?

[ilikenascar]

http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/d...e 400/USB 2.0 Hard Drive-External Hard Drives


Is this for real? Are Fantom drives worth considering? I'm debating between a G-tech 500gb (firewire 800) and an OWC mercury 500gb. Everything I read seems to say the g-tech is more stable, but you pay more. Then I come across this.....just seems too good to be true.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[SecondDealer]

Seem's almost too good to be true, I'd be careful, maybe check with the BBB before purchasing anything.

 

[ravenvii]

PCMall is pretty reputable, they're the same company as MacMall.

 

[maestrokev]

That's a very good price. Do you know if they use a 5400RPM or 7200RPM drive? Regardless, still a very good price.

 

[DOUGHNUT]

fantom drives are typically cheaper than better named brands like WD, but from my experience, it's probably nowhere near as reliable. From what i've heard, Fantom uses second rate no brand hard drives, and my own Fantom drive that i bought a couple of years ago came close to failing a couple of times (corrupted data a few times) and the enclosure actually had to be replaced. If I were you, i would buy a better named brand 3.5inch HD and get a separate enclosure. you can get 1tb internals for roughly $100 and enclosures can go anywhere from $20 to $50 depending on what you are looking for.

 

[SecondDealer]

This is the drive I just bought,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000WBJDUA/ref=dp_olp_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1234107392&sr=8-3

The WD My Book 1TB, It has esata, firewire, and usb 2.0. No complains yet, it also comes in silver for slightly more which looks great with MBPs. Spend a little extra now and avoid regretting it later on.

 

[PCFan]

Hey did anyone check that out?
http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/d...eSATA/USB 2.0 Hard Drive-External Hard Drives

Haha, omg, how weird that the same website would sell the same thing with like a 40$ difference. I don't know but I wouldn't buy from that site.

 

[ilikenascar]

I think the $40 difference is because the one you pulled up didn't have firewire 800, whereas the one I was looking at did.

I don't doubt PCmall is a good company to do business with, I was more curious what Fantom drives were like. TigerDirect offers them too.

Sounds like I should spend the extra cash and sacrifice some space for peace of mind and reliability.

Thanks.

 

[cmwade77]

Keep in mind that most of these external drives use either Segate or Western Digital Hard drives, it's just the enclosures and features that vary.

 

[Aea]

fantom drives are typically cheaper than better named brands like WD, but from my experience, it's probably nowhere near as reliable. From what i've heard, Fantom uses second rate no brand hard drives, and my own Fantom drive that i bought a couple of years ago came close to failing a couple of times (corrupted data a few times) and the enclosure actually had to be replaced. If I were you, i would buy a better named brand 3.5inch HD and get a separate enclosure. you can get 1tb internals for roughly $100 and enclosures can go anywhere from $20 to $50 depending on what you are looking for.

That's weird, because from what I've heard they use brand name drives, and mine has been rock solid for me.

They have consistently good reviews and are a good brand.

 

[sickmacdoc]

FWIW- I have two Fantom drives that have been running for close to 3 years without any issues. After checking one time I saw that these two had Western Digital drives but that doesn't mean all do of course.

I would have no issues with that if I needed some, as with a quad interface that is a heck of a deal. 1Tb externals in that price range often have only a USB 2.0, so they don't offer near the flexibility or performance that the Fantom does.

 

[maestrokev]

That's the annoying part about buying assembled external hard drives, they rarely list their exact components. All WD external hard drives using single drives are now 5400RPM and only their dual drives use 7200RPM. Makes a difference if you're using it over FW800 for video processing or other intensive tasks.

 

[Rizvi1]

I just bought the Fantom Drives GreenDrive Quad 1TB FireWire 400/800, eSATA, USB 2.0 Hard Drive w/ NTI Shadow Backup (GD1000Q) for $99 After rebates from MacMall.com. I'm not sure what else is out there. I'm interested in what the post right above said about external hard drives only running 7200 on dual drives. I don't think I'll be doing intense tasks with this particular external hard drive, I have one other one - Western Digital.. something.. it's 500gb and I bought it Summer 2007 from Buy.com. That one has Firewire 800. I'll check to see what speed that hard drive is when I Get home (5400 or 7200). That's the one I would be doing video editing and stuff with.

 

[smayer97]

GD1000Q drives are 7200 RPM drives ( I own one too)

 

[darkplanets]

Ive heard to avoid G-Tech drives... especially the 1TB version. Repeated failures comes to mind, but i'd have to dig up the exact complaints.

You can't go wrong with OWC though.