Specification and initial thoughts
The idea of LaCie's Two Big is very similar to that of Thecus' N2050. It can hold two SATA hard disk drives, which can be configured into various array modes, handled in hardware by a controller inside the TwoBig enclosure. An eSATA interface provides a connection between device and host machine, which should make it about as plug 'n' play as a USB device, but a hell of a lot quicker. That's the theory, anyway.
Let's take a quick look at the crucial info of the particular Two Big model we have on test:
| LaCie Two Big 1TB | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 1 TB |
| Host Interface | eSATA (SATA 3Gbps) |
| Disk Interface | 2 x 500GB SATA 3Gbps drives |
| Rotational Speed (rpm) | 7200 |
| Transfer rate | 3Gbps |
| Max Sustained Transfer Rate | Up to 110MB/s with eSATA |
| Supported RAID levels | 0 (Fast), 1 (Safe), concatenation (Big), JBOD |
| Size | 9.6 x 3 x 5 in. / 245 x 76 x 127 mm (LxWxH) |
| Weight | 5.5 lbs / 2500 g |
| Warranty | 2 Year Limited Warranty |
| Price (inc. VAT) | £599 with PCIe eSATA card, £619 with PCI-X eSATA card |
Currently, LaCie's website lists 500GB and 1TB variants of the Two Big, also offering versions with an extra hard disk to replace a failed one, should data security (and as such RAID-1) be the user's primary concern.
Some new motherboards feature eSATA ports, often provided through a Silicon Image SATA chip. However, go back as little as a year and onboard eSATA is quite hard to find (it's not the same as an internal SATA connection). As such, LaCie is bundling eSATA cards, either PCI-X or PCIe. We requested the PCIe adapter as it suited the testbed in use. However, we also ended up with a PCI-X adapter card. Unfortunately the test bed only possessed feeble 33MHz/32-bit conventional PCI slots. This did give us an opportunity to see if PCIe could trump PCIc, however.
Looking at the price of 500GB hard disks, we get a figure of about £299 for the unit itself. However, LaCie doesn't appear to ship this device without disks, making this point moot.
Enough musing, time for some examining...
