Hard Drive Power In A Small Package
The latest hard drive in the iStoragePro series from CI Designs promises even a better performance than before. Read how this newest model stands up to a road test.
The iStoragePro iT1PKT portable hard drive is the latest offering in CI Designs line of portable storage. Its specs are impressive and I was asked to review this product that promised a lot in terms of performance. And it did.
The streamlined design belies the power beneath. It matches my Apple products, going very well with my MacBook Pro. It comes with a Seagate ST9320423AS, considered to be one of the best hard drives available today.
The next step was to test the iStoragePro iT1PKT to see how fast it can go. I went ahead and used AJA’s System Test software, which I find to be a neat application because it’s what video editors use. Video production needs a lot of power so what better test than to simulate what they do.
With the drive empty, the iStoragePro was very fast. At 98 percent capacity, it still held up well. Manufacturers do quote drive speeds done on an empty drive so it’s good to actually test a hard drive loaded with files to see how it fares in real life. Hard drives start slowing down, especially when it hits the 70 percent capacity mark, and the fact that the iT1PKT still ran well at 98 percent was a feat in itself. I played a video from the drive and there was no skipping or pixelizing of frames. I installed Snow Leopard on it and used it as a startup disc, and it even loaded up faster than my MacBook Pro hard drive. You can actually bring this drive back and forth from your home Mac to your office Mac, like a tiny little laptop.
The drive is installed with two Firewire 800 ports and a USB port. What I like most is that it has a power button, which makes it safer to plug into your computer without risking a power fry. I find the cable that comes with it is pretty short, but that can be easily solved as cables are not that expensive anyway.
The price of the iT1PKT is very comparable to its competitors. A review at BareFeats.com mentions hard drives in this series to perform well for those who work in video production, which makes it excellent for those who will use it for tasks that require less power. It performs well, has solid construction, a reputable and sturdy hard drive and looks good as well. The iStoragePro iTPKT is a great option for those looking for a serious portable storage solution.http://library.creativecow.net/articles/hofmann_jerry/istoragepro.php
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