Wildfire Drive Speed - Hardware Review - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, Feb, 2001 by Holly Aguirre

Maxtor 1394 External Storage

HOC RATING

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8

* Requirements: PC: Win 98/NT 4.0/2000, Pentium II, 32MB RAM, FireWire port, Internet connection; Mac: FireWire port, Internet connection * List Price: $399 * Manufacturer: Maxtor Corp., 800-432-1700, www.maxtor.com

IF YOU PROCESS DIGITAL PHOTOS, VIDEO-clips, and music files, your home office system craves the speedy transfer rates of IEEE 1394 technology, often referred to as FireWire or iLink. But who says you have to stop there? Once you've gathered and collected all those chunky files, the 80GB Maxtor 1394 External Storage hard disk is a great place to put them.

The Maxtor is a fast and hot-swappable storage solution that's compatible with both Macs and PCs. The hard disk is virtually effortless to install, and boasts data transfer rates up to 30 times faster than USB and among the highest storage capacities currently available to consumers.

Those who know the nightmare of installing a hard disk can rest easy--merely download the appropriate drivers and plug the device into your FireWire connection and you're set. You don't even have to worry about static electricity. Maxtor also offers a PCI adapter card for those who are looking to make the switch to IEEE 1394.

We hooked up our Maxtor to a Micron Millennia desktop and were extremely impressed with the data transfer rates we achieved--we transferred a whopping 32MB file, flush with images and graphics, in a matter of seconds.

What's not to like? There are no tapes to worry with, nothing to unscrew. We would have appreciated the inclusion of a basic set of drivers on a CD or floppy, but that didn't turn out to be a big issue. At first glance, the Maxtor may seem a little larger than most storage solutions as it is a bit larger than your garden-variety Zip drive; however, once you observe its performance, that won't be an issue either.

(A) Slashes document-downloading times

(B) Drivers not supplied

Maxtor 1394 External Storage Rating: 8

RATINGS

HOME OFFICE COMPUTING rates products on a scale of 1 to 10--with few 9's or 10's--based on value, performance, innovation (medals go to rare standouts in these areas), ease of use, and suitability for home offices. The (A) and (B) symbols indicate pros and cons.