LaCie 500GB Desktop External USB2.0 Hard Drive - £64.99 delivered @ Play.com !

I guess so, regardless of whether you connect to a laptop or a desktop machine.

I think I may use it with my PS3, but either way, always power-off by pulling the power cord (or using a switch on the AC supply) after the host machine has shutdown to make sure no data is lost.

Apart from that, do you find it a good drive?

BFN,

fp.

My 320GB of these is a good bit of kit. Heat isn't an issue as the whole thing is made of metal, so it radiates the heat pretty well. I usually unplug it when I'm not using it (I can't actually remember for sure if it has a switch). The only issue I have with mine is that it vibrates quite a lot. That'll be totally down to the drive - the 500GB ones may have a different drive. It's clearly undampened, though (I wouldn't have thought you'd expect it to be). I actually have a 1/4" bit of foam that I put mine on when I use it to stop the desk from resonating. It's about as small as you could make a 3.5" drive model, it's tough and it looks good.

I expect this, like mine, uses an IDE drive... in theory it might be a good idea to get one that uses a SATA drive (it'll definitely be a newish drive design and you'll be able to swap it with your PCs main drive in the future - plus you should get a fast E-SATA connection) - but that's unlikely to be a concern for most people, I'm guessing.

For those that have ordered one from Play, how long did it take to arrive?

just what my OH was after, thanks!!

I had the 160gb version of this a couple of years back and it did have a switch - odd that they remove it. They do seem to sleep in response to my Mac sleeping but shut down and they stay on.

As an aside tho I broke one of the pins off the psu lead (odd svideo like connection) and the LaCie customer service sent me a new one without charge! Excellent customer service without a doubt.

My drive (in black, with an internal Samsung drive, and no external power switch), arrived yesterday (even though posted on Monday by the Parcel Force 24 service!).

Another thread has just been posted about the same drive available from eBuyer for £59.99.

Don't eBuyer have a bad reputation for customer service? I seem to recall reading a huge thread on this at HotUKDeals earlier this year.

PS. Direct link to eBuyer item:

[ http://www.ebuyer.com/product/133284 ]

BFN,

fp.

Got it 3 months ago.. no problems so far!