Storage Devices

DESKTOP STORAGE Western Digital Caviar WD1200B Just when you think they can't make a hard drive any bigger, Western Digital comes along with its largest capacity drive yet. At a whopping 120GB, the Caviar WD1200B's only competition is the next smaller Western Digital drive, which has 100GB of space. Unlike most large-capacity drives on the market-like the Maxtor Diamond Max 536DX, which has a speed of 5,400rpm—the WD1200B drive runs at a speedy 7,200rpm. In our lab tests, that extra speed makes all the difference—the WD1200B scored 22 percent faster than the Diamond Max. It even topped the smaller Western Digital drive by 2 percent. $299 / Western Digital / (877) 934-6972 / www.westerndigital.com (Tested March 2002)

REMOVABLE STORAGE Benchmark ValuSmart Tape 80 Backing up big drives or big servers doesn't have to be a big headache. The Benchmark ValuSmart Tape 80's media can hold a whopping 80GB per tape—30GB more data than OnStream's 50GB cartridge. Best of all, you won't be left waiting around for your backups to finish, because the Tape 80 can transfer 1GB of data in just over seven minutes. For even more capacity, eight cartridges are better than one, and the newly introduced ValuSmart Tape 640 Blade ($4,449) is an automated, front-loading backup system with eight Tape 80 cartridges built into a carousel—big enough to handle even the largest jobs. $1,449 / Benchmark / (877) 772-3624 / www.4benchmark.com (Tested February 2002)

RECORDABLE CD/DVD   CenDyne Lightning III 40x12x48 Still burning CDs on an old 12X-speed CD-R writer? In a blink, write speeds on CD-RW drives have leapt from 20X to 24X to 32X, and now the next generation—40X CD-R writing—has entered the arena. Our new A-List champ is our first 40X drive—the CenDyne Lightning III—which clocked the best times with the most flexibility. Ready to install in nearly any PC and bundled with quality Nero 5.5 CD recording software, the Lightning III is a snap to use right out of the box. But the real bonus is its speed: It burns a full CD-R of audio in five minutes and data even faster. The only competitor to come close was the EZQuest FireWire 32x10x40, which actually turned in faster burn times on CD-Rs (three minutes for audio, 10 seconds longer for data). But it's difficult to recommend a FireWire drive when so few machines come standard with FireWire built-in. Besides, the CenDyne is faster on CD-RW recording, which continues to gain in popularity. Best of all, the very complete CenDyne package of ease-of-use and speed also carries a very affordable $180 price tag—worth every penny and then some. $180 / CenDyne / (714) 437-7039 / www.cendyne.com (Tested June 2002)

NETWORK STORAGE Maxtor MaxAttach NAS 4300 Need more room to store those high-volume or infrequently accessed files? Everyone is turning to network attached storage (NAS) to free up valuable server space, and every hardware company—including Gateway, Compaq, and Dell—seems to be jumping into the fray with its own NAS offering. But when it comes to experience in the storage arena, Maxtor has been nothing but storage for nearly two decades. Infinitely scalable and standing at 1U high, this 640GB device gives workgroup networks a huge boost, regardless of platform. Plus, backing up your server is easy since the MaxAttach works with all major archival programs, including those from Microsoft, Veritas, and Legato Systems. Better yet, the MaxAttach installs in less than 10 minutes. $5,499 / Maxtor / (866) 629-8224 / www.maxtor.com (Tested February 2002)

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Ziff Davis Smart Business.