LaCie's Thunderbolt SSD combines speed, portability

#1 Macworld

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 04:31 AM

Post your comments for LaCie's Thunderbolt SSD combines speed, portability here

#2 payneok

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 05:13 AM

So whats it cost????

#3 Bach

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 06:19 AM

How about a little more on operation. Does it "sleep" when you put your system to sleep? This is info that is as important to me as any but is left out out of all of your reviews. Also operational noise levels, while it may not pertain to SSD drives it would with something like the Promise Arrays.

#4 PosterMan

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 07:19 AM

payneok, on 09 December 2011 - 05:13 AM, said:

So whats it cost????

Too much... $899! It's fast but I'll have to sell a whole lot more posters and pictures to justify that cost... :unsure:

#5 PosterMan

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 07:22 AM

Bach, on 09 December 2011 - 06:19 AM, said:

I don't have the SSD version, but, I do own the 1TB 7200 RPM model. It does sleep for me when I put my MBP Early 2011 to sleep. Noise levels are not too bad, but, with the length of the Thunderbolt cable and power cable you can put it "out of range" so that the fan is really not that noticeable.

#6 jdb8167

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 08:43 AM

Anyone know if you can buy a Thunderbolt drive enclosure? I have a spare 240 GB SSD that I can use. I only can find RAID enclosures via google.

#7 whitedog

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 09:06 AM

Nine hundred dollars for a 240GB drive? Ouch. Adding Thunderbolt to an SSD array sure jacks up the price. And, at that price they don't even include a cable. That's OK, I guess, as anyone who can afford such a drive clearly has money to burn anyway. How many years have they been telling us SSDs are coming down in price? It seems it will be a while yet - if ever - before SSDs are affordable to the average consumer. The same seems to be the case for Thunderbolt. I was originally enthusiastic about Thunderbolt, but premium prices and limited product choices have cooled me down considerably. Now I'm just one more skeptic waiting on the sidelines to see how things work out.

#8 chiefsilverback

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 09:48 AM

Why is the HDD based Pegasus unit faster than an SSD based solution?

#9 TheFLP

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 12:28 PM

chiefsilverback, on 09 December 2011 - 09:48 AM, said:

Why is the HDD based Pegasus unit faster than an SSD based solution?

I imagine that with four drives, a hard disk array is going to be faster than two SSDs. Maybe when somebody puts four SSDs into the Promise we'll see how fast you can really go.

#10 JDW

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Posted 09 December 2011 - 03:44 PM

I don't really consider myself that old, but for you young whippersnappers balking at the price, consider well the cost of your average hard drive in the 1980's and early 1990's. In comparison with that, this drive isn't overpriced at all. It's only "expensive" if viewed in light of the fact that computer technology prices have fallen dramatically through the years.

If you are employed and really want this drive, just reflect on which vices cost you money unnecessarily, stop doing those things for a few months, and then you'll have enough to pay for one of these drives. :-)

In my case though, it's just a matter of not having a Mac that has a Thunderbolt interface in the first place. My Nov. 2009 QuadCore iMac i7 is still serving me well, so I probably won't upgrade to a Thunderbolt machine in the near future.

#11 jerseid

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Posted 10 December 2011 - 08:10 AM

I think that in order for Thunderbolt to really take off apple needs to NIX the $50 cable and include it with there Pro series of computers. Who in there right mind would pay $900 for a portable hard drive and another $50 on top of that? That is a deterrent to adopt it as a technology. Could you imagine if USB cost this much in it's beginnings?
Also, if I were to buy this and use it I need cross compatibility. People hold on to old Macs for a LONG time this would be a sensible approach.

#12 jwdsail

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Posted 11 December 2011 - 06:46 PM

I just want a Thunderbolt port *added* (not replacing any existing ports) to both of these adaptors..

http://www.newertech...ts/voyagerq.php

and

http://www.wiebetech...s/UltraDock.php

I'm happy to pay a fair price for these much needed upgrades... Please NewerTech and Wiebetech.. TAKE MY MONEY!!!

#13 PhilippaPendrell

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Posted 12 December 2011 - 12:34 AM

LaCie products are good, but way too expensive. $900 for just 240gb, albeit SSD is too much when they can't even 'kick in' a cable.
....and I agree with BACH, I'm also interested if an external drive puts itself to sleep or you have to physically keep turning it off when not in use.

#14 chiefsilverback

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Posted 12 December 2011 - 06:12 AM

TheFLP, on 09 December 2011 - 12:28 PM, said:

chiefsilverback, on 09 December 2011 - 09:48 AM, said:

Why is the HDD based Pegasus unit faster than an SSD based solution?

I imagine that with four drives, a hard disk array is going to be faster than two SSDs. Maybe when somebody puts four SSDs into the Promise we'll see how fast you can really go.

I could understand how four HDDs would be faster than 2, but if the manufacturers are to be believed, an SSD is to an HDD what a Bugatti Veyron is to a Model T, so even if you combine the power of four Model T's it still no where near as fast as one Veyron!?!?!