Question 1

What if you do not have thunderbolt to provide it power? I assume the usb 3.0 port cannot power 2 2.5" drives in raid. Is there some kind of AC outlet converter than hooks onto the end of the thunderbolt and other end into the 110v AC wall outlet since thunderbolt is only used for the power?  I'm sick of external drives breaking on me and want something VERY rugged and this thing looks like it's got a lot of shock absorbing materials all along it.

Accepted Answer

I do have Thunderbolt power and have both the LCie and WD RAID 4TB drives plugged into my two Thunderbolt receptacles in my two 27" Thunderbolt displays for both power and data transfer. However, this rugged LaCie drive comes with an AC power transformer/converter (with foreign power plug adapters) to power the drive if you don't have a Thunderbolt display, as well as a separate short USB cable for data transfer. I left my power adapter and short USB cable in the box because I didn't need them. The USB cable and AC power adapter plug into female jack receptacles inside the removeable orange cover plug at the other end of the drive (not shown in the picture). I would assume that arrangement is there specifically for people without Thunderbolt displays.

Question 2

Kindly tell me, what's the rpm?  Sequential read vs write speed? Also what's the cache?  Thank you!

Accepted Answer

I have been using a pair of these, each in RAID 0, for alternating offsite backups for about a year now.  Best I can say is that performance depends on what RAID mode you use.   Even then a straight answer is hard to come by.  I am looking here at the box it came in and all the documentation it came with and I can't find these specific specs anywhere.  The only info is the 240MB/s advertised as a verified tested transfer speed.  I initially chose this product because, at the time, it was the only rugged large enough for my needs.  I will say that despite not knowing the specific stats, I have still been very pleased with the performance and quality of both drives I use.

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