[coolmac]

I could use a firewire hard drive to use between computers.

My choices have come down to the LaCie d2 120gig or the Western Digital Caviar 120gig external hard drive.

Does anyone have experience with these? I've seen the LaCie but not the WD, anyone have the WD?

[G4ME]

lacie has been in the business of makine firewire bridges longer then WD, I sware by my two year old bruner.

[Paul S]

I will second the LaCie recommendation. The only issue with then is that they are a little loud. Depending on what you do, that may not be an issue. I have a 60GB external plugged into my machine right now and it's not a problem for me.

[tuttle]

Paul S wrote

I will second the LaCie recommendation. The only issue with then is that they are a little loud. Depending on what you do, that may not be an issue. I have a 60GB external plugged into my machine right now and it's not a problem for me.

What do you mean by loud friend? Do you mean Imation SuperDisk loud? Or GVP firewire drive loud? Or maybe louder. I hope not too much. I am thinking about purchasing a LaCie 120 GB drive. Is it louder than an EZquest drive? Also, is your LaCie drive of the older models, or the new tower models (Upright, and not propine)? Many thanks.

[coolmac]

I can answer your question as I now have the LaCie d2 120gig sitting on my desk.

It is VERY quiet, the only thing you hear is a little click when it powers on, I don't even hear any thrashing when its going through a program.

It's also very cool looking sitting next to a recent Powemac, though I am also interested in knowing if the ezquest cobra 120gig is just as quiet and any faster.

[tuttle]

coolmac wrote:

I can answer your question as I now have the LaCie d2 120gig sitting on my desk. It is VERY quiet, the only thing you hear is a little click when it powers on, I don't even hear any thrashing when its going through a program. It's also very cool looking sitting next to a recent Powemac, though I am also interested in knowing if the ezquest cobra 120gig is just as quiet
and any faster.

You say you have just bought this item, now as I used to own a GVP firewire drive, I must ask how are the instructions that came with your device? Are they detailed, not only in trouble shooting, but in the procedures in which one turns on and off the device—GVP's instructions were vague at best. This may be too early too ask, but have you any problems, major and minor alike? My GVP had many problems, and I would want to avoid any problems with my next purchase as any inconvenience is to be avoided. Many thanks to anything you have to say on the subject.

[Paul S]

My apologies. I hadn't realized LaCie came out with something newer than what I have. My drive is the last generation with the blue face plate.

I had talked to a LaCie person several months ago who said something was in the works that would be much quieter than the old design. Something about removing the fan and using the metal case to dissipate the heat. I guess that's the new one that is out now. If so, I can believe it is very quiet.

[coolmac]

You say you have just bought this item, now as I used to own a GVP firewire drive, I must ask how are the instructions that came with your device? Are they detailed, not only in trouble shooting, but in the procedures in which one turns on and off the device—GVP's instructions were vague at best. This may be too early too ask, but have you any problems, major and minor alike? My GVP had many problems, and I would want to avoid any problems with my next purchase as any inconvenience is to be avoided. Many thanks to anything you have to say on the subject. [/B][/QUOTE]

IA far as documentation, there was just a sheet that came with the drive to explain installation, an allen wrench and instructions on how to attach the base to stand the drive vertically were also included (very easy).

In any case no instructions are really necessary, just plug it in and attach the firewire cable, there is a power switch on the front that emits a blue light when powered on.

Two software programs come with the drive, one for partioning and one for maintenance but they are for OS 9, though you don't even need them as OS X has its own utilities that do the same thing.

Just go into OS X Drive Utilities and format the drive, it took all of 5 minutes.

I've only had the drive for a few days, so far no problems at all, there doesn't seem to even be a fan, it has a very cool aluminum case and is quite heavy.

It actually looks more expensive than it is.

[tuttle]

coolmac wrote:

IA far as documentation, there was just a sheet that came with the drive to explain installation, an allen wrench and instructions on how to attach the base to stand the drive vertically were also included (very easy). In any case no instructions are really necessary, just plug it in and attach the firewire cable, there is a power switch on the front that emits a blue light when powered on.

Two software programs come with the drive, one for partioning and one for maintenance but they are for OS 9, though you don't even need them as OS X has its own utilities that do the same thing. Just go into OS X Drive Utilities and format the drive, it took all of 5 minutes. I've only had the drive for a few days, so far no problems at all, there doesn't seem to even be a fan, it has a very cool aluminum case and is quite heavy.

It actually looks more expensive than it is.

Many thanks for the information. I have OS 9.0.4 and 9.1. Hopefully there would not be a problem. As for my GVP drive—it looked cheaper than it actually cost! It looked like it cost $65! And not to mention the inconvenience it caused. The more I hear about LaCie, the better it sounds, though I have alrady made up my mind about the product. Hope they are still in stock.

[CIA]

Buy a empty firewire case that has the Oxford-911 chipset, should run you around $70 after shipping, then buy the best quality internal drive you can find. Ask around, everyone has an opinion on the best drive.

Bare drives are MUCH cheaper then buying a pre-built external drive. Anyway, putting the drive in the case is easy as pie, and..... BAM! You just saved yourself like $50+ bucks, and have a nice external firewire drive.

I hear FireWire depot has a nice bare external firewire case, Slimline Ultra III I think. It has USB 2.0 in addition to firewire on it, so you have extra options for hooking it up.

[tuttle]

Yes, yes, I hear much of building your own drive, but I ask myself the same question whenever I browse what has been offered in terms of enclosures. Why would I want to do a things like that? In a world of aesthetics and many choices, these enclosures are simply sinfully ugly. I wouldn't be caught dead with one of those on my desktop. Shallow I know, but who among us can say any differently? The only other alternative is settling, as this is done much too often in daily life, so why not do the oppostie in somthing much more under our control? This I ask as I look at the fine aluminum casing of the LaCie 120 GB FW drive, thinking it is far prettier and sleeker than my former uglier and mentally-ill GVP drive, oh yes indeed. Aesthetics cannot be ignored, in this life or the next, in what we look for in our daily routine. Perhaps either/or should sum up what is best; ethics or aesthethics? Whatever Kierkegaard has said on the subject grows thin. I choose aesthetics.

[CIA]

Clearly you are not looking very hard. I've found some very nice looking empty cases.

And it was firewiredirect.com not firewire depot as I mentioned in my earlier post. (Nice Empty case)

[coolmac]

Tuttle, I thought exactly as you, I thought of putting a Western Digital SE 120gig hard drive into a case as the drive has the 8mb cache, but the cases I've found are so ugly I nixed the idea.

None of the cases come even close to looking as good as the LaCie D2 case, especially since it matches exactly the recent Powermac cases.

I think the performance difference is negligible and the LaCie case looks like a piece of high end audio equipment, never mind the fine reputation LaCie has.