Electronics & Computers Deals here!250 GB 7200 rpm d2 Triple Interface External Hard Drive
Manufacturer: LaCie Ltd. Part number: 300770
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Stylish FireWire 800 performance that's as cheap as the slower mainstream competition.
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Where to buy
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| PCNation.com |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
250 GB 7200 rpm d2 Triple Interface External Hard Drive price range: $210.27
- Reviewed by: Jon L. Jacobi
- Edited by: Felisa Yang
- Reviewed on: 02/15/2005
- Released on: 09/01/2004
The good: Stylish; excellent performance; FireWire 800.
The bad: Requires a FireWire 800 card for fastest performance.
The bottom line: Stylish FireWire 800 performance that's as cheap as the slower mainstream competition.
Standing vertically at about 6.25 inches high and about 1.7 inches wide (the base is a stabilizing 2.3 inches wide) the matte silver Extreme is undeniably attractive. The front panel sports only a large but subdued blue power switch/activity light; however, the d2 Extreme's versatility is evidenced by a heavily populated back panel, with two FireWire 800 ports, a single FireWire 400 port, one USB 2.0 port, a Kensington lock port, an AC jack, and a heat-dissipating vent.
As you can gather from the port list, FireWire 800, a.k.a. IEEE 1394b or FireWire B, and its IEEE 1394a predecessor aren't physically compatible in their pure forms, though the new spec does provide for "bilingual" type connections, which the LaCie drive doesn't implement. The higher 100MB per second bandwidth of 1394b comes with the help of two additional wires to assure signal integrity, plus an extra wire for future expansion, hence, FireWire 800 cables and connectors use 9 pins instead of IEEE 1394a's 6 (or 4 without the two wires that provide bus power). But it's also backward-compatible, so you can use 9-pin to 6-pin and 9-pin to 4-pin adapters that ignore the extra wires, though you'll be operating in 1394a mode. Unfortunately, motherboards and PCs that support FireWire 800 are as rare as hen's teeth these days, so, unless you're buying a newer Mac, you'll probably need an adapter such as the Adaptec FireConnect 8300 we used for our testing.
The d2 Extreme's performance in our 400MB folder and 1.9GB large-file copy tests was exceptional. It averaged 10.2MB per second with USB 2.0, 11.4MB per second with IEEE 1394a, and a whopping 12MB per second with FireWire 800. Our previous high-water mark with any interface was 9MB per second. Most of the gain came in 400MB folder tests; reading and writing the 1.9GB file was no faster than what we've seen from other recent external hard drives.
Unfortunately, it's difficult to pinpoint just what contributed the most to the overall performance gain: a fast, recent-model hard drive, the newer-model USB/FireWire bridge chips in the drive and the controller, or a combination of both. From our recent experiences with late-model internal hard drives, we suspect the larger part of the accolades should go to the chips. However, what is obvious is that FireWire 800 offers better performance than USB 2.0 or IEEE 1394a. In a single drive setup like the one we tested, it's a noticeable if minimal gain. However, in a RAID array, the doubled bandwidth and the higher burst transfer rate (61MB per second) should have a much larger impact.
LaCie provides a one-year warranty on the d2 Extreme, though tech support is a toll call and is available weekdays only from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT. However, this external hard drive is easy to use, so the company's printed documentation, support CD, and online support should suffice for most users.
User reviews
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La Cie d2s are the BEST drives EVER!
by DahlBryn on March 7, 2005
Pros: Very fast, plug 'n play, excellent construction
Cons: Uses a power brick for international shipping purposes
Summary: The above '1' poster is full of carp - d2s are flawless HDs.
The d2 line are the BEST series of externals I've ever used.
I've been using ...Summary: The above '1' poster is full of carp - d2s are flawless HDs.
The d2 line are the BEST series of externals I've ever used.
I've been using this series for two years and bought the
triple interfaces 160 and 250 drives 4 and 3 months ago
respectively and they have worked flawless, as has every
d2 product I've owned (I have 5 external d2 HDs now and
1 external d2 Dual Layer DVD burner).
They all have had absolutely NO PROBLEMS - ever.
They are all plug 'n play for both PCs XP Pro and Mac OSX.
I use mine for backups, video editing and DVD burning.
The get used alot - everyday - writing, erasing terabytes.
The FireWire 800 has the fastest and best performance.
I take different La Cie d2 drives with me everywhere and
have had NO HARDWARE problems, ever, over the years,
including the new 250 - which I haul 5 out of 7 days.
The blue front light indicates power and drive activity.
It comes with all the cables needed and the firewire ports
are powered, so you can use them for "Hub" purposes.
The d2 has a strong and solid feeling aluminum case and
has a good "heft" to it. The d2s can be placed vertical
with the included stand or stacked horizontally. Becasue
of the excellent casing, heat disipation is very good (so
there is no fan), which means minimal HD noise.
I primarily use them with Macs & OSX (10.3.8), but work
great with my Wintel XP Pro on USB 2.0 or FireWire 400
(which is great because most of my clients use PCs).
The La Cie d2s are an excellent drive & burner series
and literally are plug and play with Macs and PCs.
After using 3 different 'models' of the La Cie d2 series for
many years with no failures or problems, I would HIGHLY
recommend these sturdy "d2 Triple interface" series HDs.
.43 out of 43 users found this user opinion helpful.
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If I could have chosen 0, I would have!
by domspe on January 12, 2006
Pros: Cute, Fast & Cute.
Cons: Nearly everything about it.
Summary: Early in 2004, my company was in the market for 2 external harddrives for back-up purposes & I, personally, was in the market for the same reason. After much research, ...
Summary: Early in 2004, my company was in the market for 2 external harddrives for back-up purposes & I, personally, was in the market for the same reason. After much research, testimonial reading & spec comparison, i chose the LaCie D2 family. In the past 8 months, i have been responsible for the purchase of 2 120 GB & 2 250 GB harddrives. I have sent 2 back to the original retail store as they failed within 2 months. I have sent 2 back to LaCie for warranty repairs. So, out of 4 drives, I have had 4 replaced. This is a BAD track record. I am waiting for my personal drive to arrive back from LaCie, at which time I will sell on ebay & use the money to do some sort of online storage service that guarantees & backs up my data.
Aside from my woes with LaCie, I have heard *horror* stories from friends & colleagues about other manufacuter's hard drives... as well as other woes with iPods, memory sticks, USB minidrives, etc etc.... So, i am generally weary of all external storage devices. REMEMBER - redundancy is ALWAYS a good thing. DO NOT put all your eggs in one basket. And, NEVER assume something is fail-proof.22 out of 23 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great harddrive
by bearwoof on May 4, 2005
Pros: fast, quiet, reasonable price
Cons: none i can think of
Summary: I use the external hard-drive with a powerbook G4(I've got 40G of music) and I do alot of video editing. The best part is that it comes with ...
Summary: I use the external hard-drive with a powerbook G4(I've got 40G of music) and I do alot of video editing. The best part is that it comes with 2 firewire 800 ports so I can connect my pc and share my itunes music on both computers. Also comes with firewire400 and usb2.0 ports.
10 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I Concur with the majority
by mrkutt on August 10, 2005
Pros: Its compact, durable, quiet, easy to use, better value for class
Cons: nothing serious. I would rather a different color light.
Summary: Im really content with this machine. This is the first XHD I've actually owned. I did my research on CNET and Im happy I did. I think I put ...
Summary: Im really content with this machine. This is the first XHD I've actually owned. I did my research on CNET and Im happy I did. I think I put all of my Pro up there. This is an excellent device and I really recommend it. I will get another soon. The silly Con I have isnt really one.
7 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Do not buy this product
by drgeff on March 26, 2006
Pros: none at all
Cons: Poorly designed drive, crashed and died
Summary: I have purchased two 500gig lacie drives and my partner also purchased two of the same. Of the four drives only 1 has survived and not lost all the data. ...
Summary: I have purchased two 500gig lacie drives and my partner also purchased two of the same. Of the four drives only 1 has survived and not lost all the data. These drives are terrible, I am a normal user, large lossless music files, and used the drives for storage only. There is no suport either from lacie. I strongly suggest getting the seagate 300gigs instead, I have 9 and they are all fine. I think that the problem is that this is essential an apple drive, you have to install a special mac/apple program to windows to read this drive. If you are a mac person this drive might be fine.
5 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Amazingly fast, stylish and rugged.
by jer2eydevil88 on July 18, 2005
Pros: Stylish, Fast, Triple Interface is very useful, Intuitive construction, runs at low temps, amazingly versatile
Cons: Pricey initial cost of ownership.
Summary: Do you need an external hard drive for any audio/video work? Then you need a Lacie Pro series hard drive for your computer. This thing cost me $300 at ...
Summary: Do you need an external hard drive for any audio/video work? Then you need a Lacie Pro series hard drive for your computer. This thing cost me $300 at Micro Center aside from that initial price it has been a joy to own this hard drive. I can say that this compared to a Vantec Nextar is like comparing a Swiss Army knife to a butter knife they do one thing in a similar manner but they are very different.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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2 years and still going strong.
by thomas_allen_63 on June 12, 2006
Pros: FAST and RELIABLE and PORTABLE
Cons: Heavy when carrying it in a bag with a Powerbook!
Summary: I bought the 300 GB version nearly 2 years ago and it is still running like a champ. I've NEVER had any problems with it. Not only is it ...
Summary: I bought the 300 GB version nearly 2 years ago and it is still running like a champ. I've NEVER had any problems with it. Not only is it quiet (air-cooled housing requires no internal fan) but it's extremely fast. I'm now looking to add another one.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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No Problems Here. Solid Product
by RastaForI on August 18, 2005
Pros: GB's per dollar, Solidity, Easy to use, Looks and feels Industrial strength, also great if you don't need an Mp3 Player but want somewhere to keep your Mp3's safe.
Cons: Initially set up for Apple users, takes a while to format for PC use (but not difficult)
Summary: This unit has been very reliable for me, I use it with a 3 year old "finiky" Compaq Laptop NC1000 and docking station via Firewire. After formating to NTFS (it ...
Summary: This unit has been very reliable for me, I use it with a 3 year old "finiky" Compaq Laptop NC1000 and docking station via Firewire. After formating to NTFS (it took my Laptop exactly 1 hour to complete this task) it was smooth sailing. Very, very, easy to setup and use.
Being a musician for over 30 years with High-end steros in my office, home, and car I don't really need an Mp3 player, but I was going to buy one just back-up my Mp3's (2 birds with one stone)... I'm on my second HD with this laptop, but with my LaCies'250GB's I have my huge Mp3 collection backed up and I don't fret another laptop HD failure. Great product for business and pleasure.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Think Twice before buying LaCie
by srzbek on November 20, 2005
Pros: Broad Product Selection
Cons: Doesn't support products beyond warranty
Summary: I purchased a LaCie NAS drive from Buy.com approximately 18 months ago. The product had several shortcomings including the inability to back-up files that did not meet its highly ...
Summary: I purchased a LaCie NAS drive from Buy.com approximately 18 months ago. The product had several shortcomings including the inability to back-up files that did not meet its highly restrictive file name rules. This turned out to be nearly half of my files. The documentation with the product was terrible. Now, 18 months later, the drive ceases to function and LaCie refuses to repair it because:
"Unfortunately, LaCie does not handle out-of-warranty repairs. It isusually not cost effective to repair electronics since the price for new drives has come down and the capacity has increased".
I can understand a response like this on a $99 product but not a $600 NAS. My advice: Don't buy LaCie!3 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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worth every dollar
by marcillus on April 30, 2005
Pros: i didnt have any trouble while setting it up; I use firewire
Cons: i dont see anyhing wrong with it
Summary: it's a great buy. it's everything you need from an external drive, it has both speed and reliability. it's easy to setup and comes with instructional printed ...
Summary: it's a great buy. it's everything you need from an external drive, it has both speed and reliability. it's easy to setup and comes with instructional printed material.
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: LaCie Ltd.
- Part number: 300770
- Description: With the ability to shuttle data between any workstation with an iLink, FireWire, USB or FireWire800 connection, the LaCie d2 Hard Drive Extreme with Triple Interface is an ideal way to move data quickly and easily.
General
- Device Type Hard drive - External hard drive
- Width 6.8 in
- Depth 6.3 in
- Height 1.7 in
- Weight 3.3 lbs
Hard Drive
- Capacity 250 GB
- Interface Type IEEE 1394b (FireWire 800) / IEEE1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB
- Buffer Size 8 MB
Performance
- Max Data Transfer Rate 61 MBps
- Data Transfer Rate Details FireWire 800 : 61 MBps, FireWire : 40 MBps, Hi-Speed USB : 34 MBps
- Seek Time 10 ms (average)
- Spindle Speed 7200 rpm
Storage Controller
- Type None
Storage Controller (2nd)
- Type None
Expansion / Connectivity
- Interfaces 1 x IEEE 1394b (FireWire 800) - 9 pin FireWire 800, 1 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - 6 pin FireWire, 1 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A
- Compatible Bays None
- Compatible Slots x None
Power
- Power device type Power adapter
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Vertical stand
- Cables Included 3 x IEEE 1394 cable - External, 1 x USB cable - External
Software / System Requirements
- Software type Drivers & Utilities
- Min Operating system Apple MacOS 9.x, Apple MacOS X 10.x, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, Apple MacOS X 10.2.4 or later
- System Requirements Details MacOS 9.x - PowerPC G3 - RAM 64 MB ( FireWire ), MacOS X 10.x - PowerPC G3 - RAM 64 MB ( FireWire ), MacOS X 10.2.4 or later - PowerPC G4 - RAM 64 MB ( FireWire 800 ), Windows 2000/XP - Pentium II - RAM 64 MB, MacOS 9.x - PowerPC G3 - RAM 64 MB ( USB ), MacOS X 10.x - PowerPC G3 - RAM 64 MB ( USB ), MacOS X 10.2.x or later - PowerPC G4 - RAM 64 MB ( Hi-Speed USB )
Product series
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200 GB 7200 rpm d2 Triple Interface External Hard Drive
Manufacturer: LaCie Ltd.
Specs: 200 GB, IEEE 1394b (FireWire 800) / IEEE1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB, 8 MB, 10 ms, 7200 rpm
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160 GB 7200 rpm d2 Triple Interface External Hard Drive
Manufacturer: LaCie Ltd.
Specs: 160 GB, IEEE 1394b (FireWire 800) / IEEE1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB, 8 MB, 10 ms, 7200 rpm
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250 GB 7200 rpm d2 Triple Interface External Hard Drive
Manufacturer: LaCie Ltd.
Specs: 250 GB, IEEE 1394b (FireWire 800) / IEEE1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB, 8 MB, 10 ms, 7200 rpm
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- LaCie Ltd.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse LaCie Ltd. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.lacie.com/
- Address:
22985 NW Evergreen Parkway, Hillsboro, OR 97124
