[NEWS] - WD FireWire/USB 2.0 Combo

CougTek

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LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Feb. 17, 2003 - Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) today announced availability of its external FireWire®/USB 2.0 combo hard drives. This new drive offers users the high performance of FireWire, ideal for digital audio and video with the convenience of USB 2.0, one of the most popular interfaces in the industry. In addition to the versatility of FireWire and USB 2.0 interfaces, Western Digital's FireWire/USB 2.0 combo external hard drives provide both speed and space with a high performance 7,200 RPM Western Digital Caviar hard drive inside and with available capacities of 120 and 200 GB.

Western Digital's FireWire/USB 2.0 combo external hard drives are ideal for adding fast, reliable, high-performance storage for desktop users and provide notebook users a cost-effective way to increase their storage capacity through either a FireWire or USB 2.0 port. Additionally, the external drives are a convenient solution for backing up an internal hard drive in one location, rather than on multiple CDs or other removable media. Multiple drives can be stacked together and routed through a hub, enabling users to add virtually unlimited storage capability.

Western Digital's FireWire/USB 2.0 combo external hard drives provide hot-swappable storage that can be easily disconnected from the computer and locked up for security, or shared from computer to computer. The hard drives are compatible with any computer with an available FireWire or USB 2.0 port and are backwards compatible with existing USB 1.1 ports, using either Windows® 98 SE/ME/2000/XP or Mac® OS v9.x or later operating systems; and are built for Mac OS X. All Western Digital external hard drive products carry a one-year warranty.

Western Digital's FireWire/USB 2.0 combo external hard drives are available through Western Digital's retail partners, Internet resellers including catalog partners, selected distributors, and the Company's online store at store.westerndigital.com. Manufacturer's suggested retail pricing for Western Digital's FireWire/USB 2.0 combo 120 and 200 GB external hard drives is $299 and $399 respectively.

Press release.

Thanks to Buck for the news.
 

Pradeep

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Hmm, Maxtor's external 250GB drive seems like a better value-for-money. Bulk storage rarely requires 7200rpm.
 

blakerwry

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I wonder what the advantages/disadvantages of 5400 vs 7200RPM USB2/firewire drives are...

I assume no matter what you'll always need a AC->DC adapter to run the drives...

so that leaves us with marginal speed improvements by using 7200rpm at the cost of higher heat and noise... am i correct?
 

Pradeep

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blakerwry said:
I wonder what the advantages/disadvantages of 5400 vs 7200RPM USB2/firewire drives are...

I assume no matter what you'll always need a AC->DC adapter to run the drives...

so that leaves us with marginal speed improvements by using 7200rpm at the cost of higher heat and noise... am i correct?

Only the 2.5" drives can get away with using bus power. The 3.5" drives definitely need an AC power source.
 
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