OWC Mercury-On-The-Go, 500gb, firewire, hdd, portable hdd, sata, triple-interface, usb

OWC's Triple-Interface Mercury-on-the-Go 500GB HDD

The Mercury-On-The-Go from OWC is a somewhat tempting three-way connectible 500GB portable HDD. Component-wise there are no surprises, under the hood is a 2.5" 5400 RPM Hitachi Travelstar 5K500 with an 8MB cache. With Firewire 400/800 and USB 2.0 you get three-way connectivity and bus power.

I don't think that there is quite enough cool looking circuitry in a portable HDD to warrant a clear case, but the design works. At 3.5" (W) x 5.5" (D) x 1" (H) and at 2.5 lbs it is as light as can be expected. The kicker for the Mercury is the price; it is $359.99, which means that you are going to want to go on the road with your equipment a lot in order to justify the expense. If you work from home a 3.5" will give you a lot more bang for your buck. [OWC via Slippery Brick]

8:00 PM on Fri Apr 18 2008
By Chris Magor
5,958 views
25 comments

Comments

jvwain at 07:56 PM on 04/18/08
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This is ridiculous. this is just a drive enclosure with a nice HDD in it. I bought a similar case for old 160 GB drive I took out of my Macbook. You'd be better off buying the case and finding your own drive then spending your money on this...
psrivats at 07:59 PM on 04/18/08
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Way more cheaper options here:
[www.cooldrives.com]
LastAndLeast at 08:01 PM on 04/18/08
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It'd be cheaper to have your personal servant write down all the 0's and 1's
lafond66 at 08:11 PM on 04/18/08
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I'm pretty sure the last line you meant that at home a 5.25" will give you more bang for your buck. a 1TB drive runs $250, which is perfect if it just sits on your desk.
bosskev at 08:27 PM on 04/18/08
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"I don't think that there is quite enough cool looking circuitry in a portable HDD to warrant a clear case..."

Agreed. However, the beauty of a clear case is that you can slide your own artwork inside the case.
[idisk.mac.com]
frigg at 08:30 PM on 04/18/08
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7200 RPM would make it more useful for audio/video type editing.
nightsky at 08:38 PM on 04/18/08
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@lafond66: No, they meant 3.5" that is the standard internal drive size for desktops, and 2.5" for laptops.
Chris Magor at 09:34 PM on 04/18/08
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Right you are lafond66
Chris Magor at 09:35 PM on 04/18/08
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Lovely pic bosskey
strider_mt2k at 09:53 PM on 04/18/08
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@bosskev: Well done!
discounteggroll at 10:28 PM on 04/18/08
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@bosskev:
thumbs up over here. If the drive chen is pantsing repeated itself over and over (like looking at 2 mirrors facing each other) that would be icing on the cake
westonalan at 10:30 PM on 04/18/08
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I love the OWC on-the-go portable external. I have a triple interface one i hold my entire iTUnes library on, and another USB only one for video editing storage. I have had no issues, and they do not get hot at all, there's a huge heat sink or whatever its called. the triple interface is really nice, but a bit more pricey. the 2nd one i bought was the USB only case only and dropped in a 320gb Samsung spinpoint from the Newegg for 140ish.
poisonfist at 11:18 PM on 04/18/08
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@psrivats:
The only case there that has the same combination of connection option as this mercury is listed as $99.98 and the Hitachi Travelstar being about $300 it is definitely not cheaper.
Chris Magor at 11:52 PM on 04/18/08
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It is awesome capacity for a portable. I don't need a portable, but it is the way I would be heading if I did.
Hand_O_Death at 12:30 AM on 04/19/08
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Is this PS3 Compatable?
lafond66 at 01:53 AM on 04/19/08
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@nightsky: haha, wow, your right. 5.25" in cd-rom drives. I'm an idiot. Feel free to ridicule.
sweetrock82 at 04:47 AM on 04/19/08
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@bosskev inserting art work can help in personalizing it more
phryed at 07:12 AM on 04/19/08
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and where's the eSata? guess i will wait for the quad-interface.
liquidsoapdispenser at 09:58 AM on 04/19/08
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I like the idea of a clear case because it's easy to see the drive inside! I have so many external enclosures that I have to tape notes on the outside saying what size drive it is, if it ATA vs. SATA, etc.
Daimyo Nintendo at 10:04 AM on 04/19/08
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if it AINT SSD I don't care. People still use spinning platers to store data? pathetic What is this 1950.
kevman90 at 10:31 AM on 04/19/08
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@bosskev: wow. You are way to bored.
TheDude06 at 10:52 AM on 04/19/08
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What makes this different/better than the other 5000 options that have been on the market for years and years?

The blurb mentions its extra expensive, but doesnt list any benefits.
bosskev at 05:07 PM on 04/19/08
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@Chris Magor, @strider_mt2k, @discounteggroll: a belated thank you, thank you and thank you
robo at 09:30 AM on 04/21/08
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It is shiny clear plastic... I actually bought the FW800/USB version. Contrary to what another poster said, it can get pretty warm but not nearly as hot as the MBP.
Soldier_CLE at 09:45 AM on 04/21/08
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@bosskev: Not bad! Not bad at all...

Now to see if Micro Center carries these drives in store. No longer would I need to deface my current externals (getting the cases engraved for my company) for carrying around!

Now, it's just a slip of a card and be done with them!