What is the Maxtor OneTouch II Firewire and USB 250GB?
It is a 250GB external harddrive, that has both firewire and usb connectors and a one touch system backup (if using the provided software).
It comes in a stylish aluminium casing with a blue front and a funky blue neon light in the front "One touch" button and a power button, 2 firewire and 1 USB connector to the rear.
The unit comes with a stand so it can be stood up on it's side to save desk space, a power pack (needs to be plugged into mains), software disk and USB and Firewire leads.
So what's all this GB/Firewire/USB stuff really mean?
Let's break this down:
------ 250GB of hard disk ------
This is how much data it will hold. Well I use mine to store MP3's, photo's and video footage. On average (all depends on length of music track and the quality of the recording), 1GB will hold 16 hours of music (16-18 albums) so on this baby your looking at about 160 days worth of non-stop music - just to give you an idea! There are larger drives out there now, but for most users this is more than enough.
------ Firewire and USB ------
These are just ways to connect this device up to your pc. Most people will have USB 1.1 or 2.0 connectors on their pc's, this product supports both type. Firewire (also known as iLink or IEEE 1394) is found on some pc's but is mainly used on Apple Macs (it is an Apple invention).
Which is better/faster transfer rate? well now for the really boring science bit *shakes hair and walks out of a salon*.
USB 2.0 has a transfer rate of 480Mbs whereas Firewire transfers at 400Mbs, so it looks as if USB2.0 should be faster......but due to differences in the architecture Firewire can have a faster sustained throughput.
For most users though the deciding factor will be what ports are available on your pc.
On the front is a very nice looking neon lighted button, that once the accompanying software is installed will allow you to backup your whole system (or whatever you specify in the program setup) with one click. Personally I haven't used this as I transfer files over manually and use the drive as a running device rather than a backup of my stuff.***** My Experience of Use *****
I found this device very easy to use with my windows XP home computer.
Installation was a matter of connecting the cables up (one nice touch is the power button on the back - my old one had to be unplugged to be turned off). In windows XP the drive was automatically detected and installed. I then had to format the drive to use it. Maybe if I would of installed the accompanying software it would of done this process automatically on first connection.
The only thing you may notice at first is that it states that the amount of space on the drive available is only 233GB rather than the 250GB. There is nothing wrong here it just some computer mathematical jiggerery-pokerery - something to do with there being 1024MB to a GB rather than 1000 etc
Copying files to and from the drive is fast, but if your moving a lot of data it can take sometime compared to moving across internal drives.
The only drawbacks to the device is that it does emit a bit of a hum/drone when on - but this isn't very noticeable (I only noticed when I turned it off). It does get a little warm on use too, but I guess that is what the aluminium case is for - to disperse the heat.
****** COST ******
Now to the really important bit....COST. This is where I'm going to let you all down and not say. The reasons being I was given mine as a gift well over a year ago (probably 2 years now) and prices and specifications have chnaged dramatically over that time. But this shows how good a product it is as it must have been used almost everyday in that time (excepting holidays etc), so quite a robust little item.
All in all it's a great little backup device that looks good and does exactly what it is supposed to....hold data.
More details
Design
Good
Ease of use
Very easy
Instruction manual
Good
Manufacturer Support
Good
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