Mac Mini Add-On Base

[ParishM]

i see there are a few hard drive bases available for the Mini.

Lacie Mini Hard Drive & Hub Base
Newertech Ministack v3
Iomega MiniMax

any recommendations or things to stay away from ?



P....

 

[R.Youden]

i see there are a few hard drive bases available for the Mini.

Lacie Mini Hard Drive & Hub Base
Newertech Ministack v3
Iomega MiniMax

any recommendations or things to stay away from ?



P....

When I had my mini I had a Iomega MiniMax and it was not great. It wouldn't work with my Airport Extreme Base Station as an Air Disk and it was sometimes temperamental when mounting normally. You had to power it up in a certain way it I remember.

Not that they are bad drives, that is just my personal experience.

 

[kermit4161]

i see there are a few hard drive bases available for the Mini.

Lacie Mini Hard Drive & Hub Base
Newertech Ministack v3
Iomega MiniMax

any recommendations or things to stay away from ?



P....

I got a chance to look at the Newertech Ministack that a friend bought. As much as I like NewerTech, I can't say I was impressed with the drive. It just felt... well, cheap. The fan was louder than I'd like to hear too. But my friend hasn't complained about it, so it must be working fine for her. Also... this is based on about 30 minutes observation while transferring some files for my friend... not really enough time to get a good overall feeling. It is just my initial first impression. Your mileage may vary

 

[Heath]

I have a ministack, and I can confirm that the unit does feel somewhat 'cheap' especially the clip on top part.
The fan can be loud but does not run constantly, it is temperature controlled, when the temperature gets too high, it kicks on. However, I found that if I put the ministack under my mini, then the fan stayed on 24/7. Also the fan can get confused. I'm not sure how or why but sometimes it will start up and not turn off until you power off and power up the ministack again, then it behaves normally.
Overall despite the things I've noted here, I'm satisfied with the ministack although the build quality could be a bit better with the top piece.

They do have an updated version of the ministack, I'm not sure if shares the same issues I've addressed here or not.

Update for those who stumble here. My ministack has since died....

 

[ParishM]

has anyone tried the Lacie ?





P....

 

[grovertdog]

I have the Lacie, tho in my bizarro world, it is connected to my al-iMac. I needed more USB ports and Lacie was selling the 250gb refurbs for $70 so I jumped on one, and I use the drive for Timemachine.

Pros- all ports (FW and USB) work great, construction is just as solid as Apple, really not very loud

Cons- first unit drive died within 2 weeks. Lacie had a new one in front of me in 4 days, and it has been solid ever since.

Lacie is a terrific company to deal with, by the way. Support is good and quick.

Good luck,
GTD

 

[SolrFlare]

Aye, I'd recommend Lacie if the price is right for you. They don't offer much different than the other companies hardware wise, but they easily have some of the best support.

 

[Cave Man]

Newertech Ministack v3

What would be the advantage of a MS3 over an MS2?

I have a couple of the MS2s and sometimes they are a bit noisy. They need a little space and probably could use better heat sink. But with all that plastic, it's hard to passively dissipate much heat.