Fantom Drives G-Force 500GB USB 2.0 & eSATA External Hard Drive - GF500EU

Great price however unit stopped working 46 days after purchase. It was also pretty noisy during the time it did work. Not happy right now. It is hard to find computer hardware that has any type of working life. Maybe It was luck of the draw and I received a bad unit. I will write another review after I get the unit replaced. This is the 3rd Fantom drive that has stopped working on me. I have lost more back up information using these drives than I have lost from drives going down on my desktop computer. This is the first Fantom Drive G-Force that has gone out on me.
 
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The drive was easy to install and use. It took a fair amount of time to format but, I can't think of a better value for the money. The drive is extremely quiet and fast. I am very happy with my purchase and have had it up and running for three weeks with no problems.
 
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Picked up one of these to add to my Scientific Atlanta HD DVR box. Purchased an eSATA cable and connection was simple. Box took a while to boot up and longer to format, but now have way more capacity than before. So far, Fantom drive seems reliable. Blue glow from beneath my TV is a little disconcerting and drive hum is audible when TV is not on (would have liked it to be a little quieter). Good value.
 
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had it for a month or so, works flawlessly. i got the pci sata card and cable hookup. fast transfer and i can even play games from it!!! with the sata hookup of course. GREAT BUY!
 
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Owned one of these for about 4 months now, and no problems, no hiccups, no lost data, fast when connected via Express card, and works exactly as expected. I never heard of Fantom until I spotted a Buy.com good deal for this GF500EU -- eSATA/USB selling for less (with rebate) than other 500GB USB-only drives. Feels solid, and maybe could even be considered a bit heavy for carrying around with a laptop. Has an off/on switch, but no fan. I work the thing pretty hard sometimes but haven't noticed any excessive heat build-up, so a fan probably is not necessary as long as it's not used in an extremely hot environment. As noted in another review, simply opening the case voids the one-year warranty. Rebate received a bit sooner than expected.
 
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I purchased this Fantom HD from Buy.com about 3 months ago and it's been working perfectly. It's used with a MacBook Pro running Final Cut Studio 2. Processing video files for 8 or 9 hours a day is a heavy load for any HD, and this one handles the job without a hiccup -- no dropped frames or timeline lockups. Getting started was just a matter of connecting it to the MBP via Xpress card (or, USB for a slower transfer rate), hitting the ON switch (BTW, I don't think the specs mention the enclosure has a Off/On switch) and the drive was instantly recognized. It took just a few more seconds to erase then format the drive for the Mac OS. A rebate was offered when I purchased this HD; the check arrived only a little more than a month after I mailed in the rebate form. If you're thinking about getting this Fantom and using the enclosure for swapping drives, be advised there's metal tape over the screw that has to be removed to get inside. Removing the tape voids the warranty. Anyway, the unit looks exactly as pictured -- not a designer case but built solid and maybe just a bit heavier than other externals I've purchased. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if needed.
 
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I ordered one of these things on a sale day; I have more of these external USB drives sitting around than I can count. This is the first one from this manufacturer. This one died about 15 days into its life; it now will run for 5 minutes or so when it's cold, and then it goes non-functional. I don't know if it's the USB/SATA controller or the drive (a WD5000XXXX) itself. It's also not clear to me whether this is related to the cooling provided by the case they chose. In any event, it's about to be shipped back to the the factory. No doubt there's infant mortality no matter who put the drive together, but there's my story.
 
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I've had it about two weeks, and it's working spectacularly. I started off using the USB connector, then switched over to eSATA. I'm getting speeds just a hair slower than my internal SATA drives, but maybe only 5-10% less and it's worth it to me to have the portability on this beast. Be warned about one thing: SATA and eSATA use entirely different cables. The connectors look identical but the cables are keyed differently and are not interchangeable, so you'll have to seek out eSATA ones. I actually had some trouble finding them; they are not as readily available as normal SATA cables are. But, now that I've got it I'm very happy with the setup. You can't go wrong for the price.
 
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This drive is everything I imagined it to be. Looks great, costs little, and does the trick.
 
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Works exactly the way I wanted it to. Plugged it in to my Mac via USB, used Carbon Copy Cloner, and a few hours later had a perfect clone of one of my 500GB internal drives - my safety backup. That's all I needed! Haven't tried the eSATA port yet but will do so as soon as I get the eSATA adapter for the Mac Pro. I love that it matches my Mac Pro case too...that's bonus.
 
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I bought this to use with my Tivo Series3 (24*7 operation) and it is still going strong after two weeks. The aluminum enclosure looks nice, is well built, and it cools well even though it doesn't have a fan. It doesn't provide much sound insulation though so I can sometimes hear the drive working. I can't hear it over the TV sound though (even at the lowest levels) so it works well with the TiVo. Also, it doesn't come with an eSATA cable so it will cost you an extra $10 if you want to use the faster transfer technology.
 
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This drive is vary easy to use and set up. No software needed or anything. Just plug it in to any wall outlet and the USB port on your computer and go. I also like how quiet it is. I've had this thing for a week and I love it. It's a little bulky but other then that it's great.
 
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I purchased this drive to use with my Dish Network DVR unit. With my DVR I can add additional USB storage to expand my recorded shows and movies. I connected it up to the DVR and it was immediately recongnized. I am now able to move my recordings effortlessly from the DVR to the external drive. Ahhhh...lots of space.
 
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I am using it as a backup for my Apple G4. I need to get a eSATA connector to speed up the USB2 transfer rate.
 
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This hard drive is easy to set up and works well. Come preformated to FAT32, so you will need to change that before using it. Doesn't include an eSATA cable, but works well on the included USB 2. Small, looks pretty good.
 
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I was very surprised by the quality of this Fantom drive. I had never bought a Fantom product before and was kind of taking a chance on this one. I am very happy. The case is exceptionally designed and even though it does not have a fan (nice and quiet) the case design is keeping the drive cool. The internal drive in my model is a Western Digital SATA. I have had other WD drives in the past and have always had great results with them. For those of us who use eSATA exclusively, it would have been nice to have a cable. I know everyone includeds a USB cable but now I am stuck swapping my homebrew drive with this one if I want to use both. I am looking for a good cable to add. I will buy more Fantom products in the future and you should too.
 
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Top quality, low price, great value, fast delivery. A++
 
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A bit noisy with a high pitch sound during writing.
 
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