Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)
I decided to test this hard drive by using it as the primary hard drive for my PVR/media center PC. Allowing me to free up some space from my internal hard drive while also putting the iomega through its paces.
The pros and cons of my experience with the drive are below:
PRO:
1. Minimalist design and square housing make the drive easy to stack with other components and won't negatively affect the aesthetic of your home theater or office.
2. The LED to indicate the device is on which is unusually bright, is situated toward the back of the drive making it less glaring in a dark room.
3. At 1 to 2 TB this drive is perfect for media use. Windows media center claims the 1TB drive, which I tested should hold 721.5 hours of standard def TV or 109.5 hours of HD TV. Or I assume, 50 hi-def movies (without extras).
4. When copying files to the drive, while recording TV, playback of TV stuttered initially, but then proceeded with smooth playback.
5. General playback was flawless, with no slowdown when playing HD content, and no indication that the transfer speed of the drive was not up to the task of acting as a media drive.
6. While not truly portable (you need to drag around a separate power cable and its much larger than most portable drives) this is small enough that you could take it with you on vacation, since it is about the size of a large paperback. Moreover while it is smaller than many other external hard drives I have used (for example it is half the size of a WD MyBook Essentials 500GB drive).
7. At around $100 the drive is a good deal, in between the prices for internal 1TB hard drives and external 1TB hard drives.
CON:
1. The only major problem I had was with the provided Power and USB cables. The USB cable was short about 3 feet but that's replaceable so the problem is relatively minor. The power cord, which would be much more difficult to replace is only about 4.5 feet and as such really limits drive placement. In my setup I did not have enough cord to place the drive where I initially intended and had to reshuffle components to get everything to fit which was a big pain.
2. As I mentioned above it is not a true portable drive and as such needs an external power cord which is annoying.
OTHER DESIGN NOTES:
Speeds when copying files to/from the drive where at an average of 19mb/s or 1.14GB/ min , much slower than USB 2.0 rated speed of 480 Mbit/s. I will note however that my other external hard drive, a USB 2.0 WD passport showed similar speeds, and my guess is that this is a result of the speed of the drive in my computer and the external drives. That said, iomega doesn't provide any precise information about the read/write speed of the drive.
Despite what another reviewer wrote the drive is not quite. A hushed but audible sound from the enclosure for the most part however this blended with the other background electronic noises and didn't detract from my listening or viewing experience.
If you want a truly quiet drive you'll have to go solid state.
The drive does tend to heat up, but only to a point that I would consider "warm" not to a heat that would worry me in terms of effecting the drive or other peripherals near the drive.
CONCLUSION:
The eGo preformed on par with the performance of most external hard drives I've used over the years. So what sets it apart is really the design.
If you're looking for something to take with you on a regular basis, I would consider a smaller drive, perhaps the eGo portable. Otherwise this is a solid option, especially considering its relative portability and size compared to some of the competition. Also portable 1TB hard drives without separate power cables are expensive, or experience frequent issues (just check amazon reviews). So I think this is a good option.
Which leaves the one caveat, if you are going to have to put the drive more than a couple of feet away from the outlet you won't be able to plug the drive in, and without power the drive is nothing but a rather expensive paperweight.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Iomega eGo 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34823 (Jet Black)
Product Description
Ego Desktop Hard drive , USB2.0 , 2TB , jet black
Product Details
- Size: 2 TB
- Color: Jet Black
- Brand: Iomega
- Model: 34823
- Platform: Windows
- Format: CD
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.88" h x 6.06" w x 4.44" l, 2.70 pounds
- Hard Disk: 2TB
Features
- Easy-to-use: USB 2.0, just plug and play
- Secure: Iomega Protection Suite including Trend Micro anti-virus software via download (free 12 month subscription), as well as backup software
- Stylish Color: Available in your choice of 2 colors: Midnight Blue and Jet Black
- Compact: Under 3 lbs and just 7.3 inches long
- Warranty: 3 year limited warranty with product registration
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