Ben Nicholson
May 31st, 2003, 08:31 AM
I'm looking for an external FireWire/IEEE1394 drive, for use as a capture/storage drive for DV work.
I currently have a dedicated capture drive in my desktop; but I'm planning to go mobile this summer, and am consequently selling my desktop.
My ideal specs would be:
FW800
~200GB
7200rpm
8MB cache
My budget is about £400.
I'd like to get FW800 because the laptop I plan to get will have 1 x FW800 and 1 x FW400; I'd like the extra speed, as well as being able to connect my camera & capture disk on separate buses. 8MB cache would also be nice.
My dilemma is this: At the moment, if I want FW800, my only choice is one of LaCie's new d2 drives. In my budget range, this will only have a 2MB cache; also, I'm moving to Japan later this year, so I'm not sure if the warranty (if bought in the UK) will be valid in Japan too (and is this drive flexible in terms of voltage - UK = 220V, Japan = 120V?).
Here is what the LaCie (http://www.lacie.com/uk/products/product.htm?id=10019) looks like in terms of appearance & specs:
http://www.lacie.com/imgstore/product_medium/d2_hd_fw800_rt.jpg
FireWire 800 and USB 2.0
Rotational Speed (rpm)_:_7200
Interface Transfer Rate_:_FireWire 800: 800 Mbits/s (100MB/s)
Max sustained transfer rate_:_FireWire 800: up to 55MB/s
Average seek time (write)_:_10 ms
Buffer_:_2 MB
The best UK price I've found is £375 (inc. tax). If I spend £492, I can get 250GB and an 8MB cache.
The alternative is getting a stock IDE hard drive, and putting it into a FW enclosure; I'm thinking of the following:
WD Caviar Special Edition 7200rpm 8MB cache 200GB (http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=38)
Best UK price (AFAIK): £175 (inc. tax)
ADS Pyro 1394 Kit (http://www.adstech.com/products/PYRO1394DriveKit/intro/API800intro.asp?pid=API-800)
http://www.adstech.com/products/PYRO1394DriveKit/intro/images/API800w.jpg
Best UK price (AFAIK): £100 (inc. tax)
So for £245, I could get a nice 200GB drive with 8MB cache, which would be flexible/extendable for upgrades & hardware failure. On the other hand, no FW800.......
I think my choice boils down to:
FW800+2MB cache+pretty case+more expensive vs. FW400+8MB cache+OK-looking case+cheaper.
Opinions please!
I currently have a dedicated capture drive in my desktop; but I'm planning to go mobile this summer, and am consequently selling my desktop.
My ideal specs would be:
FW800
~200GB
7200rpm
8MB cache
My budget is about £400.
I'd like to get FW800 because the laptop I plan to get will have 1 x FW800 and 1 x FW400; I'd like the extra speed, as well as being able to connect my camera & capture disk on separate buses. 8MB cache would also be nice.
My dilemma is this: At the moment, if I want FW800, my only choice is one of LaCie's new d2 drives. In my budget range, this will only have a 2MB cache; also, I'm moving to Japan later this year, so I'm not sure if the warranty (if bought in the UK) will be valid in Japan too (and is this drive flexible in terms of voltage - UK = 220V, Japan = 120V?).
Here is what the LaCie (http://www.lacie.com/uk/products/product.htm?id=10019) looks like in terms of appearance & specs:
http://www.lacie.com/imgstore/product_medium/d2_hd_fw800_rt.jpg
FireWire 800 and USB 2.0
Rotational Speed (rpm)_:_7200
Interface Transfer Rate_:_FireWire 800: 800 Mbits/s (100MB/s)
Max sustained transfer rate_:_FireWire 800: up to 55MB/s
Average seek time (write)_:_10 ms
Buffer_:_2 MB
The best UK price I've found is £375 (inc. tax). If I spend £492, I can get 250GB and an 8MB cache.
The alternative is getting a stock IDE hard drive, and putting it into a FW enclosure; I'm thinking of the following:
WD Caviar Special Edition 7200rpm 8MB cache 200GB (http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/products.asp?DriveID=38)
Best UK price (AFAIK): £175 (inc. tax)
ADS Pyro 1394 Kit (http://www.adstech.com/products/PYRO1394DriveKit/intro/API800intro.asp?pid=API-800)
http://www.adstech.com/products/PYRO1394DriveKit/intro/images/API800w.jpg
Best UK price (AFAIK): £100 (inc. tax)
So for £245, I could get a nice 200GB drive with 8MB cache, which would be flexible/extendable for upgrades & hardware failure. On the other hand, no FW800.......
I think my choice boils down to:
FW800+2MB cache+pretty case+more expensive vs. FW400+8MB cache+OK-looking case+cheaper.
Opinions please!