Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

cmeisenzahl · Dec 30, 2005, 02:42 AM

I've got a USB 2.0 Porsche Design drive that I like too.

http://www.lacie.com/products/range.htm?id=10033

LaCie Brick Desktop Hard Drive 500GB
Hi-Speed USB 2.0
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10695

wuzup101 · Dec 30, 2005, 05:39 AM

I like chicken...

B Gallagher · Dec 30, 2005, 09:07 AM

Hehe yeah the LaCie drives look nice.. I'm planning on picking up this one once I get some more money saved up...

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10468

Any suggestions?

mduell · Dec 30, 2005, 09:45 PM

Originally Posted by B Gallagher

Hehe yeah the LaCie drives look nice.. I'm planning on picking up this one once I get some more money saved up...

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10468

Any suggestions?

"Don't". Building your own takes 2 screws, gives you a 5 year warranty instead of 1, and saves you $25.

(mduell is not a fan of LaCie)

Dark Helmet · Dec 31, 2005, 01:11 AM

If it had firewire i'd be all over it.

wuzup101 · Dec 31, 2005, 02:00 AM

I just bought a Vantec NexStar3 enclosure for a 3.5" HDD (A maxtor 250gb/16mb/7200rpm) that I picked up. Shipped from newegg it was about $150. The NexStar3 isn't exactly the cheapest enclosure you can get, but damn is it nice looking. Kinda wish It was firewire/usb2.0, but I guess that saves me from having to buy a firewire hub anyway. Drive is very fast, and the enclosure is the nicest looking I've seen yet (including all the premade ones).

B Gallagher · Dec 31, 2005, 04:31 AM

Yeah I wish I could get it with FW too. I could, actually, but then it would cost more, and not be compatiable with a lot of friends' laptops.

Sigh...

analogika · Dec 31, 2005, 08:14 AM

I avoid the LaCie Porsche hard drives. As always, you get what you pay for.

The d2 (Triple Extreme) drives, however, rock.

Chito · Dec 31, 2005, 09:11 AM

I have a Porsche FW 250 Gig drive and it's been solid as a rock (knock on wood). I'm going to buy another one soon. I use mine for video and have never had a bit of trouble with it, although I've read quite a few posts from those that absolutely hate them. I don't like the "kiddy" look of the leggo drives.

hickey · Dec 31, 2005, 12:11 PM

I've heard bad things about the porsche designed Lacie drives. Im buying a drive and enclosure seperately to save some cash and get a better warranty.

JHromadka · Jan 1, 2006, 10:54 PM

Are any of the do-it-yourself enclosures rackable?

analogika · Jan 3, 2006, 06:41 AM

I don't know about that, but the LaCie d2 drives ARE rack-mountable (2 to 1 HU) with an optional rack-mount kit.

I have two mounted in my 19" rack, and am very happy.

CatOne · Jan 3, 2006, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by wuzup101

I just bought a Vantec NexStar3 enclosure for a 3.5" HDD (A maxtor 250gb/16mb/7200rpm) that I picked up. Shipped from newegg it was about $150. The NexStar3 isn't exactly the cheapest enclosure you can get, but damn is it nice looking. Kinda wish It was firewire/usb2.0, but I guess that saves me from having to buy a firewire hub anyway. Drive is very fast, and the enclosure is the nicest looking I've seen yet (including all the premade ones).

I had a NexSatar 2 and the damn thing wasn't bootable. So I scrapped it. Is the 3 bootable?

mduell · Jan 3, 2006, 10:27 PM

Originally Posted by CatOne

I had a NexSatar 2 and the damn thing wasn't bootable. So I scrapped it. Is the 3 bootable?

Not on a Mac, since Macs don't support booting off USB.

wuzup101 · Jan 4, 2006, 04:47 AM

Yup not bootable off USB (and it's USB only). I only use it for storage, it's actually DOS formatted actually so I can hook it up to my PC and the ones in our computer labs. I guess if I really needed a bootable drive in a pinch I could drop it in to one of the other FW/USB enclosures that I have.

megasad · 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by cmeisenzahl

LaCie Brick Desktop Hard Drive 500GB
Hi-Speed USB 2.0
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10695

Liking LEGO as I do, I really like this design

I'm needing to buy a 500GB external hard drive soon, as my eMac's 160GB is flowing over and also so I can use it as a backup drive with my future iMac.

Whilst I was going to buy the drive and enclosure separately, as I have done in the past, the saving here would only be about £10 (£260 for the lacie one vs. ~£230 for a separate drive and ~£20 for an enclosure).

However, I was just wondering it anyone who had one might answer a few questions:

1 - How easy is it to take apart the enclosure and change the drive inside? I really want a white brick, but the 500GB one is red...

2 - How loud is the fan? When you put your Mac to sleep, do the drive and fan in the brick spin down?

3 - What make of hard drive is inside? A model number would be appreciated.

Also, does anyone know any shops in London that sell these drives? I'd really like to see one in person before buying.

analogika · Mar 15, 2006, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by megasad

1 - How easy is it to take apart the enclosure and change the drive inside? I really want a white brick, but the 500GB one is red...

2 - How loud is the fan? When you put your Mac to sleep, do the drive and fan in the brick spin down?

3 - What make of hard drive is inside? A model number would be appreciated.

Generally, with LaCie enclosures:

1. It probably can be done, but it definitely voids your warranty.

2. No fan. Drive spins down on sleep.

3. Nobody knows, and it appears to vary (I have two "identical" LaCie d2 drives which obviously contain different drives, as they sound completely different. All my d2's are very quiet except for that one.)

megasad · Mar 15, 2006, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

2. No fan. Drive spins down on sleep.

That's what I thought, but if you check on the LaCie pages, only the 160GB and 250GB models are fanless. The 300GB, 400GB and 500GB models all feature "smart fans." Does anyone know just how smart these fans are? And why are they even needed? I thought hard drives ran at the same temperature, regardless of capacity.

mduell · Mar 15, 2006, 07:33 PM

Originally Posted by megasad

That's what I thought, but if you check on the LaCie pages, only the 160GB and 250GB models are fanless. The 300GB, 400GB and 500GB models all feature "smart fans." Does anyone know just how smart these fans are? And why are they even needed? I thought hard drives ran at the same temperature, regardless of capacity.

Some of the bigger drives use more platters, and thus produce more heat from friction.

tooki · Mar 15, 2006, 09:53 PM

Friction?

Please, man, learn how hard disks work before making nonsense statements like that.

tooki

megasad · Mar 16, 2006, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

Friction?

Please, man, learn how hard disks work before making nonsense statements like that.

tooki

So... 500GB hard drives run at the same temperature as 160GB ones? Or near enough that if I were to buy the white 160GB LaCie Brick, sans fan, and change the hard drive out for a 500GB one, I would not have to worry about it overheating? I want the quiet and the white...

mduell · Mar 16, 2006, 09:16 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

Friction?

Please, man, learn how hard disks work before making nonsense statements like that.

tooki?

Air is viscous, so you've got friction at the platter-air interface.

Please, man, take a fluid dynamics class before making nonsense statements like that.

megasad · Mar 24, 2006, 03:39 PM

Well, I played with a couple in a shop today and I like them very much. They look and feel good. The ones with fans have a few slits on the side whilst the fanless ones don't.

I had a look for screw holes but there are no visible ones. If anyone knows of any take apart instructions, please let me know.

Failing that, since I shall be using this for backup rather than all the time, a fan won't be a horrible thing. And red is nice enough (the blue however is yucky).

Um, that's all.

zubro · Mar 24, 2006, 06:26 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

I avoid the LaCie Porsche hard drives. As always, you get what you pay for.

I have 3 of them, no problem at all...

Dark Helmet · Mar 24, 2006, 07:00 PM

Originally Posted by zubro

I have 3 of them, no problem at all...

I don't think ANY product has 100% failures.

Even if they failed at 90% you will still find 10% making claims of "no problems at all".

megasad · Mar 24, 2006, 08:43 PM

Originally Posted by zubro

I have 3 of them, no problem at all...

Do you not find the plastic of the case a tiny bit tacky? I played with one in a shop yesterday and though it looks like metal it feels like not-nice plastic (nice plastic (to me) being like how LEGO bricks and iBooks and eMacs feel like...)

Anyway, the plastic that the Brick one is made of feels like actual LEGO and as I found it for less than £200, I bought it already. Plus, a bare drive is £230, so it made money sense too!

applesnapple · Mar 24, 2006, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

tooki?

Air is viscous, so you've got friction at the platter-air interface.

Please, man, take a fluid dynamics class before making nonsense statements like that.

lol shut down

iRussel · Jul 5, 2006, 10:42 AM

I have bought two of the 300GB Lacie Brick HD's and made a striped Raid. They work good but one of them makes alot more noise then the other one. Kind of a bummer seeing how my Intel iMac is so quiet. Fortunately I only use them for music and can have then turned off when I'm not listening to my tunes. Also the USB cables that came with them are very short.

iRussel · Jul 6, 2006, 10:29 AM

I took a look to see if you can get into these drives. It appears you should be able to from the bottom but I didn't want to take off one of the large rubber feet which are glued on to the bottom plate. My guess is there are screws underneath the feet.

Landos Mustache · Jul 6, 2006, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by iRussel

I have bought two of the 300GB Lacie Brick HD's and made a striped Raid. They work good but one of them makes alot more noise then the other one.

Return it.

iRussel · Jul 7, 2006, 09:22 AM

Well they have smart fans, maybe not smart enough to know they are in a RAID configuration. I should have taken the time when I fisrt got them to check them out a little more. Now I have 350GB of music on them that took me days to load. I think I'll just have to live with it. I don't use them unless I'm listening to music so I don't hear the fan noise. I was contemplating getting the 250GB ones because they don't have fans.

Yose · Jul 9, 2006, 02:35 AM

Originally Posted by mduell

"Don't". Building your own takes 2 screws, gives you a 5 year warranty instead of 1, and saves you $25.

(mduell is not a fan of LaCie)

I live within walking distance (okay, it's a long walk) of one of their warranty centres and have found them pretty liberal with their policy.

That said, my LaCie D2 HDD has been chugging along since, well, seems like forever. (more like when the were first shipping 80gb ones in 2001, or was it 2002.. whatever year I dumped that devil-girl)

And while I agree with you building your own is cheaper... they do make some svelte cases. Also, 2 D2's fit nicely between the top handles of the G5. I plan on getting another 2 for mirroring.

To each his own.

iRussel · Aug 15, 2006, 07:55 AM

Update on my Lacie Brick 300GB drives.

The one that I had that didn't make as much noise as the other one is starting to act up. After running it for awhile it starts to howl. I think its the fan because it seems to still work ok but it makes a hell of a lot of noise. I decided to see if I could take a peek at the inside of it. I thought I would be able to get at some screws that were hidden underneath the rubber feet on the bottom. I took two of the rubber feet off but there aren't any screws to be found. I'm not sure how I can get the drive open. It must need to be pried somehow, bummer.

Looks like I'll have to take it back to the store for a refund I hope. I don't really want to exchange it for another one. I would rather buy a fanless enclosure and start makng my own from here on in.

I WAS the One · Aug 15, 2006, 09:49 AM

I think this is a better option:
The MiniStack

Leonard · Aug 15, 2006, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by mduell

tooki?

Air is viscous, so you've got friction at the platter-air interface.

Please, man, take a fluid dynamics class before making nonsense statements like that.

Actually, I believe the heat isn't from the platters' friction with air, but from the electric motor. Electric motors get hot, especially when they work continuously. The bigger the HD, the more platters and the more weight the motor has to turn. Also speed would also cause more heat as the motor has to go faster.

iRussel · Aug 15, 2006, 12:31 PM

I think this is a better option:
The MiniStack

Looks cool but I have an iMac

slpdLoad · Aug 15, 2006, 12:55 PM

I love my LaCie d2 Firewire 800

mduell · Aug 15, 2006, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by Leonard

Actually, I believe the heat isn't from the platters' friction with air, but from the electric motor. Electric motors get hot, especially when they work continuously. The bigger the HD, the more platters and the more weight the motor has to turn. Also speed would also cause more heat as the motor has to go faster.

The heat from the motor is due to the efficiency of the motor being less than 100%. But the work done by the motor is converted into heat by viscous forces on the rotating platters.

chefpastry · Aug 15, 2006, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by I WAS the One

I think this is a better option:
The MiniStack

I agree. I'm using one with my MacBook and it's been great.

I WAS the One · Aug 16, 2006, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by iRussel

I think this is a better option:
The MiniStack

Looks cool but I have an iMac

It doesn't matter dude... it just an external drive, it is compatible with any Mac, I don't have a Mini either, I use a MDD G4! and it works great!

iRussel · 08:31 AM

I went and took another look at the MiniStack. Having the extra ports would be nice. The only reason I won't buy one is they have fans. My iMac is so quiet it's annoying to have a fan on an external drive. I'm going to buy a couple of enclosures and build my own.

megasad · Jan 20, 2007, 01:54 PM

Though I did try to buy one back in March of last year, the order was actually cancelled by the shop I bought it from and so I ended buying a SmartDisk CrossFire.

However, later this year I plan on putting a 250GB drive in my MacBook and as the 500GB one is now fulI of movies and TV shows and iMovie projects and such, I wanted a 250GB drive to dedicate solely to backup.

So! eBuyer currently sell the red, fanless, 250GB LaCie Brick for just over £60. It's actually the cheapest 250GB external drive they sell...

Soon, I will finally have a LEGO brick hard drive. Yay.

brassplayersrock² · 06:54 PM

<snip>

brassplayersrock² · Jan 20, 2007, 06:54 PM

Originally Posted by analogika

I don't know about that, but the LaCie d2 drives ARE rack-mountable (2 to 1 HU) with an optional rack-mount kit.

I have two mounted in my 19" rack, and am very happy.

I have the table top rack from laCie with my 300 gig and light scribe disk reader and it works great! such a space saver, and it adds a little bit of class to the desk.

Originally Posted by analogika

I avoid the LaCie Porsche hard drives. As always, you get what you pay for.

The d2 (Triple Extreme) drives, however, rock.

totally agree with you. a friend had to return a porsche drive twice before going to a d2 after I convinced him and he has been happy ever since. For me, no problems what so ever with my D2, even after going coast to coast a few times.

Alex

edit: multi quote is nifty