Sun StorageTek SL500 400 GB 800 GB

Advantages: Big and FAST
Disadvantages: None come to mind......

..., but for now it might be worth waiting for these to drop in price. A disk this size (and the 500Gb) seem to be a good sort of price. The 400Gb one is listed around the 240+VAT price. Internally I believe there are 2 disks sitting there, hence the unit is a bit longer than the earlier Lacie disks. Also the unit gets quite warm, but again, this doesn't seem to affect the use of it all. The disk also comes with a full collecton of connecting cables, which is very useful - oh so often, a peripheal goes up in price when they have 'Cable not included' on the box! Finally, it's worth mentioning that there are two versions of this disk: "Big Disk" and Big Disk Extreme" - the extreme one has a more effecient firewire 800 interface....apparently up to 50% quicker. I cannot vouch for this at the moment however. All in all, it's reliable, quick... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Noise, Speed
Disadvantages: Can't think of anything.

...I came across this a week ago, and was taken in by the capacity and low-noise level. It seemed perfect for installing into a media center PC. Media Center boxes for a lounge need to have plenty of space for recording tv shows, whilst being quiet as to not interrupt the movies. This hard-drive gives you the best of both worlds. 400Gb - an abundance of storage. (Ideal for ripping your entire music collection onto it) or for movies and downloaded tv episodes. You're probably wondering what the difference is between this and the other 400Gb drives on the market, and this one is quietly leading the way. Top performance, with whisper quiet acoustics. My verdict - buy one today.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Fast, high capacity storage. Well built, looks good. 2 year warranty, No fan.
Disadvantages: No fan.

...Freecom before as they've always looked a bit cheap and nasty so this would be an interesting experience. The box did feel reassuringly heavy though, a good start. ############### # What's in the Box? ############### Apart from the drive, the box contained a small light external PSU, a USB lead and a CD with some backup software. The case is made of extremly solid and heavy aluminium with a silver plastic front piece with a sexy blue '400GB' light (yes, you can have sexy lights. Really.) at the front just to prove how big it was. The finish is excellent and I have to say, if this is anything to go by, I'm converted to Freecom. Unlike the picture here, my unit has the aluminium finished in matt black which looks really nice on top of my black PC. It's also surprisingly compact - not that much bigger than a hard drive at 20x11.5x4 cms... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful