Looking at getting a firewire hard drive for my PB G3; doesn't need to be portable.

I've been looking at the Lacie Firewire Hard Drives, for several reasons. First, they are stackable with my CD-RW from Lacie. Second, their prices are competitive. Macworld also rated them the fastest overall of the group, but said they were too expensive. In Canada, they're relatively cheap, which means only a little more than the US (incl. exchange rate). A 60 gig is about 530, which works out to about 350US.

I've heard that they are incessantly loud, but they are 7200 RPM Maxtor drives (except for the 75 gig which is IBM). I know their software is a bit of a hassle (Silverlining), but I've got assurances that they're bootable now (not before). I'd like to hear is anybody has anything to say about the drives, especially the noise part. (I've posted about this before- nobody replied). ;(

As for the Maxtor drives themselves, I heard too many complaints about them from people in the MacFixit forums to want to go that route; they're actually more expensive than Lacie up here.
The other drive companies aren't really available in Canada, and I've priced the idea of getting a case from the states and a ATA drive here, and it just isn't cost or hassle effective (incl. shipping and customs, it's more expensive). As far as I know, those are the only two drives I've seen up here; any Canadians with knowledge of others can correct me here.

Any and all opinions welcome. (I'm waiting for the Lacie drive to come into stock at the local retailer before heading over; just wanted to see if anybody could change my mind or make me feel better about the purchase - Thanks!)

I have both drives. At work I have the 40 GB Maxtor and have not had a problem with it. It is attached to G4-533 running 9.1. My LaCie (30 GB) is primarily used at home (it has gone to work a few times) and is attached to an iMac DV SE (400). At work you do not notice the noise these drives make (LaCie is much louder), but when I hooked the LaCie up to the QUIET iMac the drive sounds deafening. It is about to be moved to the floor (under the desk). Both have performed great. Installation was a breeze. The LaCie is 7200 RPM and may be a little louder and faster. Transfer rates are much faster on the G4, but very solid on the iMac.

There's an active thread in this forum complaining about fan noise on the LaCie - I think its title is "Removing fan from external HD" or something.

From reading various posts, I have the impression that Maxtor has improved its Firewire interfaces. MacNN just reviewed one favorably (see Reviews section).

You can always buy the drive you want and put it in a Firewire case like the ADS Pyro.

You might want to wait until the new Oxford Firewire bridges are available - they're faster. I understand that GraniteDigital.com is already selling them.

Dude,
If you looked at the post, then you would have seen that I finally broke down and bought one, even after asking repeatedly about fan noise, only to find that it's really damn loud. I've even added repeatedly to the post you mention. ;-) No biggie, but the latest news is that Lacie says the drive is supposed to be quiet, and want to check out my fan. Since Lacie is around the corner from me in Toronto, I'll bring it in next week. Let you guys know then.

Sorry - when I saw rossandford's post, I assumed that yours was new as well, and didn't realize that you had already posted in the other thread. Good luck with the fan.