PCmag.com has a small review on the Micro Solutions backpack USB 2.0. This external USB2.0 drive is able to write at 32 speed, rewrite at 10 speed and read your data back at 40 speed.
Besides connecting to your PC using the USB2.0 interface the drive can also connect to it by using a parallel or PC Card interface. The performance however isn't really satisfying:
As exciting as it sounds on paper, the backpack didn't quite live up to expectations when attached to a 1.2-GHz Athlon system running Microsoft Windows XP. Using both data and audio content, we measured its throughput when performing direct disc-to-disc transfers, copying data from the hard drive, and burning discs from predefined layouts. |
Real-world USB 2.0 CD-R recording speeds varied from 8X to 17X and hovered in the range of 11X to 13X when we were burning audio discs. USB 1.1 recordings plodded along at 4X to 5X speeds, and our parallel-port tests, as well as all CD-RW trials regardless of interface, produced figures in the range of 2X to 3X.
During our testing, we developed mixed emotions about the drive's bundled recording software, SpeedyCD, which offers an elegant, intuitive interface but lacks basic features like the ability to choose between disc-at-once and track-at-once recording. We were also disappointed with the backpack's bulky form factor. It weighs a hefty 4.5 pounds and measures 2.2 by 7 by 11.8 inches (HWD).
You can read the entire review here. If you would like more information on what drive to pick then visit our forum here.
Source: PCmag.com
