Buffalo ups the portable storage ante to 500 GB
Buffalo has announced the release of their new 500GB MiniStation TurboUSB hard drives for only $329. Half a terrabyte in your shirt pocket is what that price will get you along with security software to keep your stuff safe. The drive is shock-mounted so your mobile data will be nice and safe and a fast transfer rate makes sure it will get where you need it fast.
This sounds great, however, the product page says max power consumption is 2.5 watts. I thought normal USB ports only supplied 500mW? Isn’t that half a watt? I know my OQO USB port won’t power a lot of external hard drives (I’ve tried).
It doesn’t say anything about an external power supply.
I have a 120 gig version of this same model. It comes with a seperate power cord (or I guess auxiliary would be the better term) that you can connect to another usb port to supplement the power from the primary connection if needed. (There is a dedicated power jack on the back of the drive.)
However on everything from old laptops to Kev’s old Q1 the data connection provides enough power to run the drive. I have yet to need it.
hth