Lacie vs G-Drive Thunderbolt Externals for iMac

[AndrewMRiv]

Hello everyone, you may have seen my previous topics asking about the viability of a Drobo and I have recently changed my mind on it and am looking into other storage solutions.

I recently ordered a 27" iMac with a 256gb SSD which will only hold the operating system install and the installed apps.

My intent right now is to have a fast thunderbolt drive (3tb) to hold all my storage (iPhoto Library, iTunes Library with tons of music and videos, homework, etc.). I would later daisy chain another thunderbolt drive if my iTunes Library were to get too big and I would move it onto a newer hard drive. I would likely to do the same with my iPhoto Library since I take a lot of pictures.

I have been in and out of the Apple Store frequently and have been looking at Lacie and G-Drive.

Lacie is less expensive but so many people swear by G-Drive only.

Since I am a bit on the poorer side, I am leaning towards the Lacie but can anyone verify if the G-Drive is worth saving up for? Or am I just paying for a cooler-looking exterior?

Thank you.

 

[phrehdd]

Hello everyone, you may have seen my previous topics asking about the viability of a Drobo and I have recently changed my mind on it and am looking into other storage solutions.

I recently ordered a 27" iMac with a 256gb SSD which will only hold the operating system install and the installed apps.

My intent right now is to have a fast thunderbolt drive (3tb) to hold all my storage (iPhoto Library, iTunes Library with tons of music and videos, homework, etc.). I would later daisy chain another thunderbolt drive if my iTunes Library were to get too big and I would move it onto a newer hard drive. I would likely to do the same with my iPhoto Library since I take a lot of pictures.

I have been in and out of the Apple Store frequently and have been looking at Lacie and G-Drive.

Lacie is less expensive but so many people swear by G-Drive only.

Since I am a bit on the poorer side, I am leaning towards the Lacie but can anyone verify if the G-Drive is worth saving up for? Or am I just paying for a cooler-looking exterior?

Thank you.

Unless you are doing work with iPhoto (edits etc.) on the external drive, everything you mentioned would work just as well on a decent USB3 external set up. Playback of music and movies can even be done on a decent USB2 or Firewire external drive. I would highly suggest you go to a local store that carries decent USB3 devices and give it a try - strictly based on the ability to return the item if you find it doesn't meet your needs. Assuming all goes well, you can always later get a Thunderbolt external enclosure/drive. TB units are going down in price and in 2014, TB1 should be much lower in price.

Perhaps some of the computer equipment sites and Barefeats would be helpful in selection.

 

[AndrewMRiv]

Unless you are doing work with iPhoto (edits etc.) on the external drive, everything you mentioned would work just as well on a decent USB3 external set up. Playback of music and movies can even be done on a decent USB2 or Firewire external drive. I would highly suggest you go to a local store that carries decent USB3 devices and give it a try - strictly based on the ability to return the item if you find it doesn't meet your needs. Assuming all goes well, you can always later get a Thunderbolt external enclosure/drive. TB units are going down in price and in 2014, TB1 should be much lower in price.

Perhaps some of the computer equipment sites and Barefeats would be helpful in selection.

Thank you for your response. I do not edit much in iPhoto since those usually just go to Facebook after being sorted, I do a lot of music recording in logic and record videos for YouTube. Forgot to mention that in my post. I would like thunderbolt speeds for tasks like those.

Thank you for your input, though! You do have a good point that I could save money in USB. In fact, I might even get a USB drive and when TB prices go down, just turn the USB drive into a time machine backup drive.

Thank you again.