The Software

What makes the E5 stand out from those older external storage devices? The main feature is the PushButton backup that allows us to back up predefined lists of files or even an entire volume at the press of a single button. AcomData includes with the E5 a CD containing USB 2.0 drivers for the older Windows 98/SE/ME operating systems, the PushButton Backup software, and Retrospect Express, which allows scheduling and scripting multiple types of backups. Retrospect Express is a piece of software by one of the leading storage device companies, EMC, so we expect and can probably assume it to be reliable.

Take a look at some of the screens to get a better idea of what the software is capable of…

Backup Options

Click to enlarge.

Restore Options

Click to enlarge.

Automation

Click to enlarge.

Activity Monitor

Click to enlarge.

Tools

Click to enlarge.

Configuration

Click to enlarge.



The AcomData E5’s Construction The Test
Comments Locked

19 Comments

View All Comments

  • Andyvan - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    That is exactly what I've been envisioning for several years.

    -- Andyvan
  • Ecmaster76 - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    With standardized external SATA devices on the horizon, I would advise wiating to buy unless you really need external storage right now.

    Any of you cool dudes at Anandtech know how soon we can expect a wide selection of external SATA?
  • psychobriggsy - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    You can already buy external SATA enclosures. When I was looking for mine, I saw SATA versions of the IcyBox for example, and the price was pretty much the same in fact.
  • UltraWide - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    I got a 320GB version on firewire through my audigy2 and it's excellent. it's fast, quiet and runs very cool.
  • psychobriggsy - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    Earlier this month I bought a 200GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 (the silent IDE version) and an IcyBox external Firewire/USB2 enclosure (the one with the blue lighting). That worked out a lot cheaper than buying something pre-made like this. It too has a Firewire passthrough.

    The price? £80 in total. Which is around $125 after you take tax off the UK price.

    It's been coupled with my iBook, which only has a 40GB 4200 RPM hard drive. It's a handy backup solution, and I store all my media file on it as well. I plan to get a Mac Mini at some point in the future to which it will be permanently attached. The combination can then serve music to a SqueezeBox2 or similar, once I get one of those.
  • ElFenix - Monday, August 29, 2005 - link

    i've had hit or miss experiences using do it yourself external drive kits. i *think* that the premade ones tend to have better chipsets inside. and the diy stuff doesn't come with the software. and sometimes the premade stuff is about the same cost (after rebates and sales) as diy.
  • formulav8 - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    I wish I could talk my wife into letting me get that for her laptop. Her slow 60gb 4200 rpm drive is almost full. Oh well, she won't let that happen with that much money.

    Jason
  • Olaf van der Spek - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    > and the results of CPU load for the FireWire 400 interface surprised us even more, since it is pier-to-pier.

    What's a pier?
  • TheInvincibleMustard - Saturday, August 27, 2005 - link

    Arr, matey ... that be when ye be shipping pirated medias between your two drives ... yar-har-harrrrrr.


    :-D

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now