Hard Drive Heaven (Maxtor Basics Desktop 500 GB)

Member Name: icetsunami

Product:	Maxtor Basics Desktop 500 GB
Date:	28/07/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and quick

Disadvantages: Power via external unit

Intro

Here we have an external hard drive from the Maxtor Basics range. The unit requires, and is packed with, an external ac adaptor and connects to the PC (or Mac) via Mini USB. It weighs in at 1.06Kg and has dimensions of 4.4(H), 12.7(W) and 20.3 (D) cm.

Aesthetics

It's black. It's chunky. It is not quite beautiful but certainly better than many generic brick shaped drive enclosures I have seen or used. The unit is matt black and bears a couple of discreet logos and a power light. The leading and tail ends are nicely rounded and it can sit flat or on it's side.

Tech Spec

500 Gb Capacity
7200 Rpm Spindle Speed
8MB Buffer Size (16MB available)
3.5" Form Factor
60 MBps Data Transfer
Average Latency 4.17ms
Plug & Play Compliant

Installation

Basically, no pun intended, the unit needs to be connected by Mini USB 2.0 and will automatically be detected, Installed and ready to use within a few seconds dependent on the specification of your computer.

Use

Well what can you say about an external hard drive? I have used it many times to store a variety of media and documents and have experienced no loss or corruption of content. The unit is also quiet when in use. I have not tried hot swapping the drive and I am unsure if it is supported.

Capacity

Just a note to remember, especially if you are not particularly technically minded.
1 Gb is equal to 1024Mb but commercially 1Gb is sold as 1000 Mb. So your actual capacity will be less than stated though you haven't actually 'lost' anything. This seems weird and possibly fraudulent to some but it is the industry standard of commercial measurement.

Summary

Quick, capable and cheap drive for extra storage needs. Very good product.

*Please don't forget to back up your media and documents*

Summary: Best in class at this price

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