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LaCie Ethernet Disk Mini with Gigabit Ethernet review: LaCie Ethernet Disk Mini with Gigabit Ethernet
The LaCie Ethernet Disk Mini is a decent NAS drive for a good price. If you need more features or faster performance, look elsewhere.
The LaCie Ethernet Disk Mini is a compact network-attached storage device. It is designed for the home user who doesn't need high performance: it delivers middle-of-the-road performance when reading and writing files over a local network. With a Gigabit Ethernet port, a USB port for direct connection, UPnP-based media server functionality, and a second USB port for storage expansion, the drive offers a wide range of connectivity and uses. At $300 for the 500GB version, it's fairly priced compared to the competition. If you need faster data transfer speeds and don't need the media serving capabilities, consider the comparably priced Ximeta NetDisk Portable. And if you'd like even more features such as RAID capability and a built-in print server, take a look at the slightly more expensive (per-gigabyte, that is) HP Media Vault MV2010.
LaCie Ethernet Disk Mini with Gigabit Ethernet
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
- Capacities: 250GB, 320GB, 500GB
- Capacity of test unit: 500GB
- Number of drives/bays: 1 drive/installed
- Max capacity: n/a
- Hot swap/cold swap: n/a
- Drive speed: 7,200rpm
- Cache: 16MB
- Dimension: 1.7x6.8x6.3 inches
- Notable design features: none
- Connection options: Gigabit Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports (one for direct connection to a PC, the other for expansion)
- OSs supported: MS Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista; Mac OS 9.x/10.2 and up; Linux 2.4 and up
- Software included: LaCie IP Configurator, LaCie 1-Click Backup Software
- Any additional features: Connects with hard drives and cameras via USB
- Service and support: One-year warranty; toll-based phone support available Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST; e-mail support site offers driver and software downloads and FAQs
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
 | 5GB read test (min:sec) | | 5GB write test (min:sec) |