Which Hard drive: Lacie or Seagate?

[socorose]

Hi All,

I have a powerbook G4 and barely have 3 gbs of space left on it, so I need to buy a new external hard drive. I already have an Acomdata 80 gb one, but I think I want to buy a 500gb external and put everything on that one, and not use the acomdata anymore.

I am currently debating between the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 500 GB USB / eSATA / FireWire 400 External Hard Drive and the 500GB Lacie D2 HD Quadra. I dont know how to do anything fancy or difficult on my laptop or external hard drive. I really just want to drag and drop to be able to back up my photos, music and documents. I keep reading bad/negative reviews on both drives so I don't know how to decide which one to buy. I don't really know how to do much formatting on a drive unless the exact instructions/prompts are given to me. Both of these drives are almost the same price on Amazon, so I just need some advice on which to pick.

So I'm basically just wondering which drive is the most user friendly (mac ready), dependable drive for being able to drag and drop documents for backup.

Thanks for the help and advice!

 

[wallaby]

I would avoid the Seagate, especially since the eSATA connection is about 1/3rd the speed it should be. The Quadra hasn't gotten stellar reviews either. May I suggest a WD MyBook? The Pro version supports firewire400, 800, and USB. It's about $175 on Amazon, not sure what the one's you're looking at cost. I'm in the same situation as you, but haven't bought one yet.

 

[socorose]

Western Digital?

Is the Western Digital Mybook well rated/reviewed? When I was at the Apple store a couple of days ago, someone was in there with some problems with their computer and their WD drive, so I think I got a little spooked with WD.

The WD Mybook does seem quite user friendly though. My budget is basically $200 and below for 500 gb and a USB/Firewire 400 drive.

So, out of Lacie, Seagate, and Western Digital, is WD the easiest/most user friendly? Is it already formatted for a Mac and does it come with mac software?

Thanks!

 

[telecomm]

So, out of Lacie, Seagate, and Western Digital, is WD the easiest/most user friendly? Is it already formatted for a Mac and does it come with mac software?

Thanks!

I'm pretty happy with my 250 GB MyBook Premium (with FW400 and USB), and I'm expecting a 500 GB premium to arrive this morning.

All in all, they seem a good value, though a little noisier than I would like. They do come with support for the Mac (you can install a driver that puts the drive to sleep when you put the computer to sleep, and wakes it when the computer wakes). And, if I remember correctly, they come formatted for FAT32, which can be quickly changed to Mac OS Extended with Disk Utility.

 

[Habakuk]

I have the LaCie d2 Quadra 500 GB since four weeks and it's working perfect. Ships pre-formatted for Mac OS X journaled. Fast as hell. Not very quiet (put it on a soft base) and not small or lightweight but for a desktop drive okay. Does not support S.M.A.R.T. feature in that external housing at FireWire 800. Goes to sleep and wakes up when my MBP does.

The drive inside is a Samsung Spinpoint T166 HD501LJ SATA-II Media/16 MB buffer/7.200 rpm. According to AJA KONA System Test (File Size 256 MB):
Write: 58,1 MB/s
Read: 63,1 MB/s

Forget that Retrospect Express Version 6.1.126 backup software that comes with the drive. It's crap! It will produce good clones but it is faulty, slow and demands extremely high ressources. Use Carbon Copy Cloner instead. For the shortcut button on the drive one can assign other actions.

 

[numbersyx]

Is the Western Digital Mybook well rated/reviewed? When I was at the Apple store a couple of days ago, someone was in there with some problems with their computer and their WD drive, so I think I got a little spooked with WD.

The WD Mybook does seem quite user friendly though. My budget is basically $200 and below for 500 gb and a USB/Firewire 400 drive.

So, out of Lacie, Seagate, and Western Digital, is WD the easiest/most user friendly? Is it already formatted for a Mac and does it come with mac software?

Thanks!

Nice looking and they handle Macs well. I have the MyBook Pro with a triple interface and I would recommend it on the basis that FW800 is superfast. The only problem with the drive is that it is noisier than others that I've tried.

 

[andy5000]

I have the same thoughts as Habakuk. i have also just got the 500gb lacie d2 quadra. I also have a 250gb usb lacie and that has been faultless so im hoping the d2 will be the same. Can be noisey if you dont put it on something. A piece of thin foam solves the problem.