LaCie Desktop Hard Disk 500GB USB2.0 - 7200RPM - 8MB
£55.95
- Capacity - 500 GB -- Interface - USB 2.0 -- Performances - 7,200 rpm -- Buffer Memory - 8 MB
- Size - 41 x 113 x 194 mm -- Weight - 900 g
- Content - USB 2.0 cable, external power source, LaCie utilities (pre-installed on disk), LaCie 1-Click software (Windows and Mac)
Lasted 11 months - Failed after 11 months. Waiting to hear back from LaCie about a refund under warranty.
OK while it lasts - There is a reason that Lacie products are cheap - they don t last. My external disc failed after 54 weeks - 2 weeks out of warranty. Lacie will not guarantee their discs beyond this period. That ought to tell you something. If your content is worth keeping, buy quality discs eg Seagate. You get what you pay for.
I am about to save hours of your life...read on - I have just had the misfortune to purchase a lacie drive.After going through the very badly documented set-up procedure, I managed to get it working.The drive was noisy and slow with poor connectivity response times.The drive then failed, I sent it back to be repaired (took nearly a month) and now it has been returned in working condition minus all of my backups.Utter garbage, avoid at all costs.
Not a cutting edge speed machine - but good basic storage for PC and PS3 - I ve had three of these for some months and as a stand alone backup they are hard to fault, but I don t leave them on constantly. I knocked one from my desk and it packed up - hardly surprising - but that s not the fault of the drive. It gave me an opportunity to have a look inside. There was a SATA Seagate drive - can be replaced quite easily. If you are worried about an on/off switch may I suggest a switched mains supply panel? I have them attached to PC s and also use one as storage for digital images to look at on a large TV screen via a PS3. Remember not to reformat to NTFS if you wish the PS3 to recognise it. Leave it as FAT32. M**RO are selling these at present for £47, including the 12v 2A UK power supply. I see nothing wrong with the design - it s a black box! IMHO a cheap means of backing up the entire contents of most PC s for peace of mind, not a cutting edge speed machine.
Looks good, but . . . - Remember that La Cie is essentially a Mac company and therefore concentrates on design rather than performance. Their boxes look good -- they are designed by F. A Porsche (wow!), so if you re a MacUser, you will be impressed.However inside there is a bog-standard Seagate hard drive with a serial ATA -- though it is very difficult to get inside -- you re not meant to get inside a Mac. However the performance is not so good - they run hot -- don t try to stack them or they will fry - and don t drop them, or they will die. If you are PC user, look at the Western Digital external hard drives which have an ugly rubber band at either end to keep them from slipping - and if they do slip to ensure that they have some sort of protection. My last LaCie slipped from the computer, and is now dead. I now have a Western Digital replacement. If you re a Mac person, you ll love the name of a classy box designer. If you are a PC user and are looking for solid performance, look elsewhere.