OWC intros 1TB external FireWire hard drives

Other World Computing today introduced a new 1TB drive in its line of external FireWire Neptune drives. The range includes seven drives ranging from capacity from 80GB to 1TB, with a 7200RPM speed hard disk common to all. The new range is fully compatible with Apple Time Machine back-up software. OWC claims the Neptune series is affordably priced, sharing its Oxford chipset and heavy-duty power supplies with OWC's Mercury Elite series of external drives.

All of the shock-resistant Neptune drives have two six-pin FireWire 400 ports, one FireWire cable and pre-loaded software for plug-n-play usability. Intech HD SpeedTools and Prosoft DataBackup III work with Mac computers and operating systems, while NovaStor NovaBackup is the included Windows interface.

The 80GB-250GB drives feature an 8MB data buffer, with the 320 and 500GB models doubling that to 16MB and the newly added 750GB and 1TB models coming with a 32MB buffer that allow for transfer rates of up to 400Mbps.

The 80GB drive is priced at $85, with a 250GB model costing nearly $100. The range tops out at the 1TB model, priced at $230.