AcomData E5 320GB External Desktop Storage: Slap on another
by Purav Sanghani on August 27, 2005 12:48 PM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Introduction
Storage space - for what do we need it? Documents, system files, applications, application libraries, common shared files, music, videos, pictures, temporary files, operating system page files, internet cache files, downloaded programs, archived programs, archived music, archived video, archived pictures, ZIP archives, archived archives, and much more.So, how much storage space is enough for us? 20GB was more than enough for us four years ago, but when 2005 hit, 200GB was barely enough to store the plethora of data that we acquire and collect nowadays. What options do we have? Well, the obvious one is to buy another hard disk drive and install it into our cases. But what if you run out of physical internal storage space in your case or interfaces on the motherboard or controller cards? The only other option is to buy external enclosures and install those 3.5” hard drives into them or buy external storage drives that come ready to “plug and play”.
Many companies, both big names and “no names”, have introduced external storage devices that are mere 3.5” hard drives installed into a sealed enclosure with an invisible “void-able” warranty seal on it. AcomData is one of these companies that many have never heard of, but they definitely have a product to look at. Their product line includes many external storage devices ranging in features and capacity and we have a chance to look at one of their higher end desktop storage drives, the 320GB USB2.0 and FireWire 400 based E5 external storage device.
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Andyvan - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link
That is exactly what I've been envisioning for several years.-- Andyvan
Ecmaster76 - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link
With standardized external SATA devices on the horizon, I would advise wiating to buy unless you really need external storage right now.Any of you cool dudes at Anandtech know how soon we can expect a wide selection of external SATA?
psychobriggsy - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link
You can already buy external SATA enclosures. When I was looking for mine, I saw SATA versions of the IcyBox for example, and the price was pretty much the same in fact.UltraWide - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link
I got a 320GB version on firewire through my audigy2 and it's excellent. it's fast, quiet and runs very cool.psychobriggsy - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link
Earlier this month I bought a 200GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 (the silent IDE version) and an IcyBox external Firewire/USB2 enclosure (the one with the blue lighting). That worked out a lot cheaper than buying something pre-made like this. It too has a Firewire passthrough.The price? £80 in total. Which is around $125 after you take tax off the UK price.
It's been coupled with my iBook, which only has a 40GB 4200 RPM hard drive. It's a handy backup solution, and I store all my media file on it as well. I plan to get a Mac Mini at some point in the future to which it will be permanently attached. The combination can then serve music to a SqueezeBox2 or similar, once I get one of those.
ElFenix - Monday, August 29, 2005 - link
i've had hit or miss experiences using do it yourself external drive kits. i *think* that the premade ones tend to have better chipsets inside. and the diy stuff doesn't come with the software. and sometimes the premade stuff is about the same cost (after rebates and sales) as diy.formulav8 - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link
I wish I could talk my wife into letting me get that for her laptop. Her slow 60gb 4200 rpm drive is almost full. Oh well, she won't let that happen with that much money.Jason
Olaf van der Spek - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link
> and the results of CPU load for the FireWire 400 interface surprised us even more, since it is pier-to-pier.What's a pier?
TheInvincibleMustard - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link
Arr, matey ... that be when ye be shipping pirated medias between your two drives ... yar-har-harrrrrr.:-D