Desktop Computer Review: LaCie 300 GB Brick Desktop Hard Drive USB 2.0 Blue (301063U) Review

For Mac users, this is another great LaCie product that just works. It's cute, and you don't need to do anything but plug it in for it to work. It's formatted as FAT32 by default, but 30 seconds in Disk Utility are all it takes to reformat for OS X if you're concerned about security and efficiency. A CD is included with some backup software and other utilities, but you might find that the matching brick drive icon is all you want from the CD.

The down side is that the drive is noisy by Mac standards. I've bought LaCie products for their near-silent operation in the past and I've not been disappointed. As such, I bought this drive without a listening test. Sadly, it's now the noisiest thing on my desktop. The sound is very similar to a Powerbook running in target disk mode with its fan blowing at full speed with an additional subtle droning whine that's somewhat dissonant. Worse, the drive doesn't power down when you sleep your Mac -- this may be typical of all USB drives, but it definitely keeps this from being a five star product. I wish the fan would at least stop when the drive sleeps.

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Product Description:
Crafted by the world-famous designer Ora-Ïto, the new, blue, 300 GB Brick expresses a ludic playfulness in a user-friendly high-performance hard drive. Stack & Play multiple LaCie Bricks together to brighten your desktop and your mood (they're even stackable with LaCie Mobile Bricks). With Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface, it offers the fast data transfer rates required for substantial jobs like downloading digital photos, saving MP3s or transferring home videos from a camcorder.