Iomega MiniMax Hard Drive, FireWire 400/USB 2.0, 500GB - 33746

List Price: $145.99 Discount Price: $125.99

Features:

• Device Type - Removable Hard Drive
• Dimensions WxDxH - 6.5" x 6.5" x 1.6"
• Weight - 2.3 lbs
• Connector -- 3 x 4-pin USB 2.0 Powered USB, 3 x 6-pin IEEE 1394a Powered FireWire

Accessories:

LaCie 711854U Hub with USB 2.0

Customer Reviews:

MiniMax 500 GB Ext. Hard Drive -Good Buy [Posted on 2008-02-18]
I read the reviews prior to purchasing this hard drive, which is my first one. Jaguar immediately opened a prompt to format the MiniMax 500 GB ext. drive. I clicked okay. The formating took place immediately and my files are working perfectly. I was concerned about the review that stated that the drive was noisy. I heard a humming sound the first few days that it was running. But the humming was not constant. After a few days the drive is totally quiet. I mean quiet. The humming sound is no more. The only time I hear it is when Jaguar performs a back-up onto the drive. I am very happy with the performance of this drive.

The reason why I did not give it 5 stars is because the three 2.0 ports do not function properly. If I plug in a printer or a jump drive, the port does not operate it. Perhaps it was not designed to do so. To be honest I really did not investigate this but usually Jaguar does pic up the signal when an external device is available for use. I have a four socketed 2.0 external port that is plugged into the back of my Imac, but it does not have enough power to operate my printer, scanner or even my Ipod, thus I have to plug these devices as needed. I was hoping that the three ports in back of the Iomega would remedy this problem for me.

Over all I am not disappointed with its performance, but I will be contacting Iomega concerning the usefulness of the three ports on the back of the hard drive.

Bobbi

Reliable so far; not that noisy [Posted on 2008-02-27]
I have this attached to my Mac mini, where is serves as the backup drive for 3 computers over the network.
It has been working well so far (4 months) of 24/7 backups, and the assortment of ports is a nice complement to those of the mini.
It can make some fan noise when it is heavily used, but it doesn't bother me at all even when I am watching TV (it is located under the TV).
I wouldn't put it in my bedroom though (some noise, plus that bright blue LED!).

I really wanted to like it... [Posted on 2008-03-04]
I bought a couple of these to use with my iMac, one as a primary data drive and one as a backup drive. My plan was to put them under my Airport Extreme Base Station since they are the same form factor. The feature set is great: three FW400 ports and a 3-port USB hub. However, there were three things that really bothered me.

1. They run really, really hot. The top of the case is too hot to touch for more than a moment and I was really concerned that the heat would eventually lead to a reduced lifetime of the drives and the AEBS that I put on top of it. In addition, the warranty is only 1-year.
2. The fans are not very silent. The fans inside are always running and while I don't consider them to be loud, they are certainly fairly audible. They are much louder than my iMac (which is fairly quiet).
3. Did I mention that they run really hot?

In the end, although I loved the form factor and the built-in FW400 and USB hubs, I decided that I didn't want to risk problems down the road with the heat and returned them.

Runs extremely hot under Mac Extreme Base Station [Posted on 2008-05-27]
Despite the fan and heat sink capability, my Iomega MiniMax ran increadibly hot under by Mac Extreme Base Station - really to the point where I couldn't put my hand on the Extreme Base station. No way this can be good for anything. I love the idea and looks, but I had to return it in a day.

LOUD. [Posted on 2008-07-02]
It's got space and lots of ports but I can hear it in my bedroom from my office two doors away. It's just way too loud.

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