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LaCie Adds 2TB Option to Its 'Rugged' Thunderbolt/USB 3.0 Portable Drives
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NO THUNDERBOLT DAISY CHAIN! (sad face)
This is 40% irrelevant because Im more upset about the SSD version of this drive, but its the same enclosure, so if for some reason people wanted to boot off of this mechanical drive they have the same problem I do.
I like to use two monitors. I do graphic design and its just plain helpful. Unfortunately, on my 2011 iMac there's only one thunderbolt port. My monitor is not an apple one, so it has to go on the end of the TB chain, except, this drive only has one port, so it ALSO has to go at the end. I get either super fast boot times, or a second monitor. Bummer.
This is 40% irrelevant because Im more upset about the SSD version of this drive, but its the same enclosure, so if for some reason people wanted to boot off of this mechanical drive they have the same problem I do.
I like to use two monitors. I do graphic design and its just plain helpful. Unfortunately, on my 2011 iMac there's only one thunderbolt port. My monitor is not an apple one, so it has to go on the end of the TB chain, except, this drive only has one port, so it ALSO has to go at the end. I get either super fast boot times, or a second monitor. Bummer.
Always loved that design. I picked up a 7200 rpm 500GB USB 3 one about 18 months ago, and at that time they were the only brand I could find that was offering the faster rpm. Always been pleased with it, but I've never managed to fill it and don't use anything with TB so hopefully when that time does come, they'll have the option somewhere, quietly.
Lacie has always been an expensive option, but this is the first time I've seen quite such complaining about their products. Curiously, the drive is rather ugly underneath that sleeve, and they really never have updated the design!
Lacie has always been an expensive option, but this is the first time I've seen quite such complaining about their products. Curiously, the drive is rather ugly underneath that sleeve, and they really never have updated the design!
Technology moves onward.
New iMacs and Macbook Pro w/Retina display both have dual Thunderbolt ports. And when the new Mac Pro ships, you'll have 6 ports.
You won't likely see bus-powered devices with 2 Thunderbolt ports since there is no way for the downstream port to supply the required 10watts for other devices.
You'll be wanting to consider some upgrades to your iMac or monitors to be happier. Or consider adding the CalDigit dock to add some ports. Granted, you won't be able to boot from the USB ports in the dock. Yes, more $$$.
DisplayPort 1.1 does not support monitor daisy chain.
Apple should have required that Thunderbolt was done correctly from the beginning, or provided a DisplayPort 1.2 connector, given that the discrete graphics chips inside the computers already supported it.
All current Apple products support USB 3.0 (with the exception of the dated Mac Pro). If you are willing to put in the money for a $300 external drive with Thunderbolt, don't you think you should have the money to have a recent computer as well?
The point is that some Mac users have preached and preached about how freaking awesome Thunderbolt is and how awful USB 3.0 is and so companies like LaCie are giving them what they want, a Thunderbolt hard drive at 3x the price of a USB 3.0 only one. Since some people can never admit they are wrong, they will gladly pay through the nose to say they're using Thunderbolt no matter the cost.
I suppose there's those few that have a 2011 Mac that doesn't have USB 3.0 but do have Thunderbolt. They have to pay through the nose to get enhanced performance because Apple was too cheap to include a 3rd party USB 3.0 chip that year.
I'm not sure if you understand the concept of making a hard drive enclosure more rugged than a normal/average enclosure like this one having a shock absorbing case and MIL protection against drops up to four feet that a normal enclosure would not survive and hence the name "rugged" (and yes they make SSD rugged *ENCLOSURES* as well). I mean I can't believe I'm explaining the name right now. It's blatantly obvious and has nothing to do with the naked drive itself. It's a name for the *CASE* and a simple visit to their site would explain it.
Yes, anyone not sleeping under a rock the past half decade or so knows that SSD is faster than conventional drives, although a small Sata3 SSD that is not raided will still typically top out around 150MB/sec. Show me a 3TB SSD for $110 like I paid for my USB 3.0 WD Media drive and I'll go buy one. I got THREE 3TB drives for less than the price of a single 1TB SSD. Not all data needs to be moved just short of light speed you know. That doesn't mean a Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 interface isn't a VAST improvement over USB 2.0, which tops out around 36MB/sec maximum. Even a 5400 RPM 2TB drive can typically do around 110MB/sec so offering a USB 3.0 and/or TB interface is still a good idea. I think some people are just spoiled by RAIDED SSDs and want the fastest imaginable speed even though the only thing they typically do on their computer all day is post obnoxious comments on a Mac forum, which hardly necessitates such a speed. I personally have two RAIDed 5400 RPM 1TB drives which gives me 360MB/sec reads and yet is large enough to accommodate a wide variety of media at a fraction of the cost of an SSD at 1/4 the storage. The 3TB external media drives I have are USB 3.0 5400 RPM and can write at 110MB/sec and as I said, only cost me about $110 at the time. HD Video doesn't need faster speeds so it would be a waste to spend a fortune on SSD for such uses. You call such things "just about useless" and that's about what I think of your comment as it has no bearing on reality. Just a few years ago 100MB/sec on an external drive would have been considered quite good and people would have raved about FW800 drives achieving rates around that point. It's amazing how fast people become spoiled with numbers, especially ones that don't mean much in day-to-day use unless you move giant files around all day long.
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Haha as soon as you mention LaCie, the whiners turn up in droves. Wah, it's 5400, wah it's orange, wah wah.
These are great for TV people, though, for dumping footage in the field, for sending media across the world or sending shows to a broadcaster.
The colour doesn't really matter in these cases and there are many more expensive things to whine about in the Film/TV industry.
Would I spend $300 of my own money on one of these, though? I've got no need, so answer is no.
When Thunderbolt was first released USB 3.0 was no where to be found on any Mac's....it was a relatively upsetting balance for allot. Go look it up.
I dont need to, I'm an owned of one of those macs and mine has Firewire. I've never had the need to use Thunderbolt... and thats largely in part of the fact that my macbook has more thunderbolt ports than I have ever seen thunderbolt devices on store shelves: ZERO.
2011 (sold well into 2012) Macs don't have USB 3.0, but do have Thunderbolt? You call a 2 year old computer "dated" ??? My god we live in a disposable society.... (shakes head).
And no, if someone bought a 27" iMac in early 2012, I don't expect they should have to buy a brand new computer just to use a faster external hard drive.... But yes, it's overpriced (but then so are all TB products I've seen). OTOH, so were FW400 (and later FW800) products compared to USB2.
I guess you don't have a Best Buy near you. I've seen plenty of Thunderbolt drives there.
Plenty of Best Buys in my area, including Future Shop, Apple Stores, and many other computer shops like CanadaComputers. Doesn't matter, I've still yet to see a single Thunderbolt device for sale. Even if there were devices available in stores, you can put your life savings on a bet that the price tag would be outrageously high for such a device as all things Apple related are. Thunderbolt is a massive failure.
Look up target display mode or target disk mode and tell me if they can be run via USB. I honestly don't know, and doesn't affect me much, but you asked the question (I'm actually too lazy to see if you are the OP on this post... but you seem curious so feel free). You can find out why those are used while you research that. If you're not a Mac user, they won't apply (again, going on old info).
But... even power users may use these target modes infrequently, but it's nice to be able to. System admins, someone who wants to carry around just a drive instead of a motherboard and other stuff. Basically, you have a main line in to your PCI bus without having the data managed by a USB controller (which has a certain bandwidth cap and will max out).
Probably not significant to all but the rarest of power users on rare occasions, but overall good capability in the technology. I just want more TB ports and less expensive products.
I like......
LaCie products....But I have to concede, I was not affected by any "horror history" regarding their products. Like the design, not too much the price, tough.....
Good addition on a new capacity and lowering the price of the previous model........
LaCie products....But I have to concede, I was not affected by any "horror history" regarding their products. Like the design, not too much the price, tough.....
Good addition on a new capacity and lowering the price of the previous model........