Guide Rating - 5 stars

The Bottom Line
The MiniStack 500GB External Hard Drive is a great external storage device. Newer Technology put some thought into the MiniStack, and it shows. The MiniStack External Hard Drive is designed to look very similar to the Mac Mini, but is fully Windows PC compatible as well. The MiniStack External Hard Drive is delivered pre-formatted for Mac OS X, so a reformat will be required for Windows users.

Pros

• Built in USB and FireWire hub
• Small form factor
• Great software

Cons

• Heats up with extended use
• Great software included Dantz Retrospect backup software.
• Requires reformat for use on Windows PCs.
• Near silent operation is great for use in environments where extraneous noise is an issue.
• MiniStack External Hard Drive is delivered pre-formatted for Mac OS X users with software installed.
• The MiniStack External Hard Drive is available in 0GB, 80GB, 160 GB, 250 GB, 320GB, 400GB & 500GB.

Guide Review - MiniStack 500GB External Hard Drive
Features of the MiniStack External Hard Drive
The MiniStack External Hard Drive features both USB 2.0 and FireWire connectivity. The MiniStack External Hard Drive also has a three port USB hub and a three port FireWire hub built in as well allowing you to connect peripherals to the MiniStack directly.

The MiniStack External Hard Drive also has a large external passive radiator heatsink on the bottom of the enclosure to keep the hard drive cool. The exhaust fan in the MiniStack enclosure is automatically regulated for speed via a thermal probe.

The actual hard drive used in the MiniStack enclosure is a 7200 RPM unit. While the external case looks like aluminum, it is actually only plastic.

MiniStack External Hard Drive in Use
In use the MiniStack External Hard Drive is very quiet. Video editors will appreciate its near silent operation. While both USB and FireWire port are available, I performed my testing via FireWire.

During testing I noticed no appreciably difference in performance between the MiniStack External Hard Drive and my internal 7200RPM hard drives. I was able to move smaller files to and from the MiniStack at virtually the same speeds as the internal drives on my PC as well as stream video with no problems.

The set up of the MiniStack External Hard Drive was straight forward and required a vacant FireWire port, AC power for the drive and hubs. PC users note that the MiniStack comes pre-formatted for Mac OS X, reformatting will be required before you can use it.