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External Drives for the Office and the Road

Maxtor's OneTouch is fast and easy to use. Among ultraportables, IOGear's 2.5-Inch Ion Drive offers the most for the money.

Sean Captain

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OneTouch Personal Storage External 250GB Hard Drive (Maxtor-A01A250) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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1. Maxtor OneTouch Personal Storage External 250GB Hard Drive (Maxtor-A01A250)

250GB, USB 2.0 and FireWire interface, 4 pounds, 0.2 ounces, 7200 rpm, 8MB buffer, Price when ranked: $350

Bottom Line: Coming in a tad short of second place overall in our speed tests, Maxtor's drive is a cinch to use. Other capacities: 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 200GB, 250GB, 300GB.

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NetDisk Portable 160GB Hard Drive (Ximeta-NDU10160) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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2. Ximeta NetDisk Portable 160GB Hard Drive (Ximeta-NDU10160)

160GB, USB 2.0 and ethernet interface, 2 pounds, 11.8 ounces, 7200 rpm, 2MB buffer, Price when ranked: $240

Bottom Line: Second only to the CMS drive in speed, the NetDisk can serve a single PC or a network. A software upgrade is on the way. Other capacities: 80GB, 120GB, 250GB.

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160GB External Hard Drive (Seagate-ST3160024ark) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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3. Seagate 160GB External Hard Drive (Seagate-ST3160024ark)

160GB, USB 2.0 and FireWire interface, 3 pounds, 13.6 ounces, 7200 rpm, 8MB buffer, Price when ranked: $250

Bottom Line: Handsome drive provides one-button access to configurable backups. Available only in 160GB capacity.

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Rocketpod DrivePod PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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4. AcomData Rocketpod DrivePod

160GB, USB 2.0 interface, 3 pounds, 12 ounces, 7200 rpm, 2MB buffer, Price when ranked: $229

Bottom Line: Multiples of this unique stackable drive can share a single USB connection. No backup software included. Also available in 120GB capacity.

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Media Center PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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5. Western Digital Media Center

200GB, USB 2.0 and FireWire interface, 4 pounds, 5.2 ounces, 7200 rpm, 8MB buffer, Price when ranked: $400

Bottom Line: Great all-in-one storage box includes a USB hub and a memory card reader, but drive performance is a bit slow. Other capacities: 160GB, 250GB.

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VELOCITY SERIES V120 120GB SERIAL ATA BACKUP SYSTEM (CMS Peripherals-VELOCITY1200) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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6. CMS Products VELOCITY SERIES V120 120GB SERIAL ATA BACKUP SYSTEM (CMS Peripherals-VELOCITY1200)

120GB, Serial ATA interface, 3 pounds, 7.1 ounces, 7200 rpm, 8MB buffer, Price when ranked: $350

Bottom Line: Pricey drive provides impressive performance. Backs up data lightning-fast and can serve as a bootable hard disk. Other capacities: 80GB, 200GB.

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Combo Ion Drive 2.5in. PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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7. IOGEAR Combo Ion Drive 2.5in.

40GB, USB 2.0 and FireWire interface, 1 pound, 0.6 ounces, 4200 rpm, 2MB buffer, Price when ranked: $220

Bottom Line: Nearly as fast as the Sony Giga Vault, the Ion is light, durable, and fairly compact. Other capacities: 20GB, 30GB, 60GB, 80GB.

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GIGAVAULT 40GB Port Hard Disk w/ USB2 Adapter (Sony-RHK40U2) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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8. Sony GIGAVAULT 40GB Port Hard Disk w/ USB2 Adapter (Sony-RHK40U2)

40GB, USB 2.0 interface, 1 pound, 3.3 ounces, 5400 rpm, 2MB buffer, Price when ranked: $250

Bottom Line: An unusually quick ultraportable drive, the Giga Vault accepts USB 2.0 and FireWire interface modules. Also available in 80GB capacity.

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La Cie PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

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9. LaCie La Cie

40GB, USB 2.0 and FireWire interface, 5.7 ounces, 4200 rpm, 0.5MB buffer, Price when ranked: $349

Bottom Line: The fashionable Data Bank is superportable, but you pay for it in low performance and a high price. Also available in 20GB capacity.

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