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Cost Constraints

HOT: Castlewood Orb 2.2GB

NOT: Winstation Systems SCSI SuperDisk External

The current generation of removable-media drives range in price from $79 to $350, with many of the products hovering between $100 and $150. Bear in mind that the type of interface you choose affects the final cost of a drive. Removable-media devices that use the SCSI interface, for instance, usually fetch a premium because they are supposed to provide faster performance than other interfaces. However, our lab tests didn't support SCSI's claims--see "Test Report: Fast Orb and Jaz Rise to Top."

In addition, some SCSI drives, including the ones we tested from Iomega and Winstation, don't come with SCSI cards; you have to buy them separately. Iomega offers an optional $50 SCSI card for the 100MB and 250MB Zip, but for other SCSI drives like the Iomega Jaz and Winstation SuperDisk, you'll need to buy--for $50 to $100--an adapter from a vendor like Adaptec.

The price of the media also plays a role in the overall cost of these devices. Of the drives we tested, the Castlewood Orb takes the nod for best overall value. The Orb's $200 price seems like a big investment, but its giant-capacity 2.2GB cartridges cost just $30 each. Compare that with the Jaz: You'll shell out $350 for the drive alone, plus $125 for a 2GB cartridge.

Disks for the other drives we evaluated cost even less than the Orb cartridge. Iomega's 100MB Zip disks, probably the most popular removable media out there, have fallen in price, though not by as much as some would hope. Zips and SuperDisks typically go for $12 each in a three-pack or $10 each in a pack of ten. (SuperDisk and Zip media are not sold singly.) Caleb's UHD144 costs $8 per disk in packs of five. Sony's 200MB HiFD disks are expected to sell for around $15 each.

Drives from Hi-Val, Imation, Iomega, and Sony, along with their media, are sold in nationwide computer and electronics chains, by major computer mail-order vendors, and by Web suppliers. Winstation drives are harder to find, but you can get them direct from the company as well as through several Web sources. Their media, the SuperDisk, is widely available. The Caleb UHD144 and the Castlewood Orb are relatively new players, but the manufacturers of both say that their drives and media should be available at computer retailers throughout the country, so be sure to check your local stores.

In addition to cost and availability concerns, keep in mind the type of media that your peers use. Your lighting-fast Orb won't be of much use when you need to swap media with Zip-using coworkers. Indeed, the Zip has become ubiquitous in part because it is ubiquitous.