WITH PICS.....
Here is a follow-up on my hard drive choice for my Mac iTunes music server:
Other World Computing (OWC) Mercury Elite Pro 750GB @ $250US
7200RPM Oxford 934 FireWire 400 & USB2
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/external/elite-al-pro-quad I purchased two 750GB drives: one primary and one back-up. These are used as dedicated for music storage for iTunes playback. I had been using the Lacie Big Disk d3 500GB (FW 800) , without any backup for over 1 year. Now at 300GBs of AIFF music (325 artists/520 Albums) I decided to be smart and backup the tunes. Though I had NO problems with
my Lacie Big Disk, except for an occasional platter spin whine, I wanted to go with another brand--I read too many stories of Lacie HD failures.
I am using SuperDuper, from those great folks at ShirtPocket, as the automated back-up utility. So far so good.
First thoughts on the OWC Mercury Elite Pro 750GB drives.... My first reaction is that they are quiet. They may have a fan, but they are nearly silent even with a macbook pro. The G5 sound is louder than the OWC drives so I have no issue. I tried to measure the sound but it is less the the RadioShack meter's lowest setting 60db (at 1m). As a reference, the OWC drives are about 50% as quiet as the Lacie. I think nearly everyone would accept this level of noise, even if the drive was located in the listening area.
I transferred the AIFF files using iTunes functionality (assign a new library folder location and "Consolidate library") without a hitch.
Out-Of-BoxOWC provides both FW and USB cables. There is a disc with Hard Disc Tools and backup software--. There is a standard power block that is needed to operate the OWM Mercury HD. Easy to use. It was plug and play. Documentation present as well.
In UseI am using the FW400 direct cable connection to my G5 Mac. My first powered impression was: Uber bright LEDs! The Power/Read-Write LED on the OWC Mercury is a bare leaded LED that is visible through the front air perforation holes. Because the LED seems to be operatting with little/no resistor the bright Blue LED floods my dimly lighted room in blue light. This brightness is not desirable and might even be a problem for someone who positions their HD at eye level on their desk. It is really bright! See my photos for a comparison to the very acceptable Lacie Big Book LED.
LEDsFinally, the last area is the LED functionality (not relevant to brightness). I have to compare it to my Lacie Big Book HD....
The Lacie Big Book works like this:
Power applied to drive and Computer OFF or in SLEEP: LED=OFF
Power applied to drive and Computer ON: LED=ONlow
Power applied to drive and Computer ON and HD read-write: LED=ONhigh (intermittent)
The OWC Mercury's LED works like this:
Power applied to drive and Computer OFF or in SLEEP: LED= ON
Power applied to drive and Computer ON: LED=ONhigh
Power applied to drive and Computer ON and HD read-write: LED=ON
higher(intermittent)
So the OWC
LED remains ON even when the computer is sleeping or OFF. Therefore, you need to turn off the Power switch(rear) to power off the LED. I don't see any preferences to change this behavior. And since it is very bright I find this annoying. I would prefer the Lacie implementation.
I hope the reliability of the OWC drives offsets the other issues I mention above. I can't comment on reliability since it has been less than 1 month since these have been installed.
I hope this give a little insight into Mac storage options, since very little is available on the subject. Since I purchase mine there is a 1TB version of the USB2/FW400 version (lower cost than the eSata/FW800/USB2 combo)
Fit and finish of enclosureI will limit my comments to the exterior enclosure...breaking the seal voids the warranty. The HD case/enclosure looks very compatible with Apple's design scheme. simple case simple hole pattern. Though upon closer examination it was easy to see that the perforation pattern has flaws the holes are staggered which makes the pattern uneven--from 3 feet this is not noticeable, but from 10 inches it is noticeable. This is simply a result of cheap metal tooling. The enclosure is an aluminum extrusion with metal end plates. The paint finish is very good and matches Apple's silver color scheme. The brand and model is subtly present on the side case.
All of my OWC Mercury Hard Drive IMAGES here:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;area=browse;album=1398 Note the drives are not normally located on the subwoofer, this was for the photo's only!Enjoy your music, ed
