Compactdrive Pd70x Reviewsss

[khoking]

Dear PMers,
Since we have quite a number of PMers getting the PD70X (most will receive it tomorrow), hence I hope to compile a list of the reviews from various users/owners and giving it as a guideline for future owners of the performance and setup they should imply on the PSD.

Here's a standard format of user input, please use the following standard input only, so that we can maintain consistancy and easier reference :)

Here's mine (got my hdd today 23th June 2005 :) )

Setup
Seagate = 80GB 5400RPM 8MB cache
Batteries = 4 x Ravoyac 2100mAh
CF card = Transcent 45x 1GB

Test results
Speed on batteries = 150 seconds to transfer 978 MB
Speed on AC adapter = xxx seconds to transfer xxx MB
Total transfer per charge of batts = xxx GB or more than xxx GB (if u don't want to test till end...)
Speed from PD70X to PC = 175 seconds to transfer 978 MB

Other comments
~ built...quality... reliability...userfriendliness, etc, write anything u feel like :)

(Please keep the thread clean, no comments or discussion, just reviews only. We want to make this thread easy and clean and fast reference for others) :)

[mohamadfazli]

Setup
Seagate = Samsung 40GB 5400RPM 8MB cache
Batteries = 4 x Sony 2500mAh
CF card = San Disk Ultra II 1GB

Setup
Speed on batteries = 110 seconds to transfer 971 MB (as indicated on the screen)
Speed on AC adapter = 110 seconds to transfer 971 MB (same???)


Wish that the hinges are of more superior quality. A bit plasticy, and i think a bit fragile too. Dun bother to test that.. ha ha...

But overall.. quite happy.

[alvinlau]

Setup
Hard disk = Hitachi 40GB 5400RPM 8MB cache
Batteries = 4 x Energizer 2500mAh
CF card = Ridata Pro-2 80x 1GB

Test results
Speed on batteries = 111 seconds to transfer 991 MB

Other comments
Hinges look very fragile. Why don't they make the whole unit aluminium?

[mikench]

Setup
Hard disk = Samsung 40GB 5400rpm 8MB
Power = AC Adapter
CF card = Lexar Pro 40x 512MB

Test results
Speed = 80 seconds to transfer 487MB

Other comments:
DisLikes:
- CF door doesnt really latch securely.
- CF slot is really shallow
Likes:
- Speedy transfer
- It's smaller that I expected
- Error reference table is a nice touch (hope I dont need it)

[Initiald]

Setup
Hard disk = Cannibalised Hitachi 30GB 4800rpm 2MB
Power = AC Adapter
CF card = Kingston CF Elite PRO 1GB

Test results
Speed = 150 seconds to transfer 955MB

Other comments:

DisLikes:
- The back aluminum cover plate holding and sealing the hardisk portion very difficult to take out.
- A little tricky to format a HD (maybe a good thing)
- I thought the picture made it look more compact and slimmer than it really is
- CF slot could have been deeper

Likes:
- Fast even for a low spec HD and CF
- Relatively cheap

[franky]

I got a WD 60GB hdd for Rm365, used Kingston CF Elite PRO 1GB but got only bout 200MB of files only. Uses Sanyo 2500 battery. It took about 49 sec.

Dislikes
1) Same as the others mentioned.
2) With the battery its quite heavy to hang on your belt.
3) The pouch or casing should be rubberised to absorb impact incase accidently dropped.
4) Price of casing + hdd + battery is about RM900, not cheap
5) Hinges should be metal.
6) Hdd can still corrupt and rosak. So it is not 100% safe.

Like
1) Fast copy
2) Suitable for outdoor use.
3) Uses battery

Overall - Acceptable.

[khoking]

I have put a seperate discussion thread on the PD70X here:
http://www.photomalaysia.com/forum/index.p...wtopic=4885&hl= (http://www.photomalaysia.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4885&hl=)

:)

[digitalartist]

I made the following post at the MiO OTG thread and I felt that because it has some relavance to those considering buying the PD70X versus the Mio OTG, I have reproduced it here for your convenience:-

Fixed a new Samsung 80 gigs HDD into the PD70x and downloaded a 2 Gig Sandisk Ultra II CF Card filled with 1900 MB (full) of 1Ds 18MB files. Amazing performance. 3 minutes 35 seconds to transfer 2 Gigs . I'm really impressed. And the Samsung HDD has only a 2MB cache. Wonder what it'll be like with a HDD with 8MB Cache.

I then fitted a 3 years old Hitachi 40 Gig HDD and downloaded the same CF Card. It took 4 min and 3 seconds. Dont know what the cache size is. Still a very good time when you consider that same HDD in my ancient PCX370 1st generation Digi Wallet (which is now dead) took about 12 minutes to download a ONE gig microdrive.

For comparison the Apacer CP200 CD writer takes nearly 14 minutes to write one 780MB CD. And the Sanyo 2500 mAh Ni-Mh batteries in the PD70X seems to be performing well too. With all the experimentation and disk formatting, etc, Im still getting the full 3 bar indicator meaning the charge is still above 4.8v.

Not satisfied with the accuracy of my previous test of the MiO OTG, I then did a retest of the MiO OTG with the same 40 Gig HDD and the same 2 Gig Sandisk Ultra II CF Card and using the stopwatch funtion on my cellphone (last time I was using a wristwatch). I also used a fully charged 3600 mAH Li-Ion battery pack from my old PCX370 (last time I used AA Batteries). The transfer time for TWO gigs is exactly 16 mins 1 second which suggests my earlier test gave a slower time probably because of weak AA batteries. So its not too bad for a RM 135 product if you use a strong power supply source like an AC adapter or a Li-Ion Battery Pack.

The downsides of the MiO ?? I had to sit there and watch the thingy because the only indicator that it was starting to copy, and that its finished, are one beep and two beeps respectively. If you went away to pee and came back after its finished the transfer, you wouldn't know its done its job, because all that would be staring at you would be the dumb blue light. I also didnt like the AA external battery pack. On normal AAs I suspect the performance deteriorates as the batteries got weaker. The Card reader unit needs to be plugged via a short adaptor from large to small USB Plug. So you have to lug around 4 different parts including the card reader and other miscellaneous wires as well.

My conclusion is, go get the PD70X if you can afford it. Its fast, its battery efficient, its all in one pack, and KKK gives you both the AC charger and the in-car cigarette lighter charger and Sanyo 2500mAH rechargeable batteries all for the price of RM550 or about 4 times the cost of the MiO OTG.. I think its worth the price. After all, my first generation PCX 370 was RM900 and the Apacer CP200 was also nearly RM800. The build may appear a bit rough but it does its job well and the simple LCD screen tells you all you want to know about the progress of the download, although a file structure display would have been welcome. And dare I say, a screen to view RAW files?

But if you are under financial constraints, and are prepared to tolerate a few inconveniences like slower transfer times, the MiO OTG is quite a good value-for-money buy. It does what its supposed to do. I have bought the MiO OTG as a backup digital wallet for use only if my PD70X should go kaput on me when I'm in the middle of the Taklimakan Desert.

The three and a half minutes transfer time of the PD70X for two gigs is top of the class.

[timothyc]

Setup
Harddisk = Samsung 40GB 5400RPM 8MB cache
Batteries = 4 x Sanyo 2500mAh
CF card = Kingston Standard (24x?) 1GB

Speed
~4.5 minutes to transfer 969MB of MP3s (137 files of various sizes) - managed 14 transfers with a set of batteries that were fully charged 5 days back)


I am thinking RAW files from the camera will give different results. Will try that later.

[khoking]

I have sold quite a number of PD70X in Malaysia...anybod wanna adds more review/comments here? :)

[jasonle01]

Setup
Hard disk = Hitachi 20GB 4200RPM 2MB cache
Batteries = 4 x Sanyo 2500mAh
CF card = Kingston Elite PRO 1GB

Test results
Speed on batteries = Around 130 seconds to transfer 991 MB

Other comments
Extreamly fast for transfer 1G data.

[Sebelas]

Setup
HDD = Samsung 40GB (pre-installed)
Batteries = 4 x Maha PowerEx NiMh 2500mAh
CF card = Lexar 80x WA 1GB

Test results
Speed on batteries = 7 mins 20 secs to transfer 976 MB (with verification. I'd never xfer w/o verification)

Other comments
Solid metal body. Crappy plastic doors.

[wasabi]

my 7x 's plastic door , broken d.......:086:

[lurker]

my 7x 's plastic door , broken d.......:086:


so fast?

[wasabi]

so fast?

oh, the card reader side... the unit masih boleh pakai :116:



//brought/use oredi 1yr++

[khoking]

my 7x 's plastic door , broken d.......:086:

if you need a replacement door, let me know and I will get one for you in my next order from CompactDrive :) Consider this as my service to CompactDrive users though I have never sold a single PD7X before...FOC (Free of Charge / take it as a CNY gift :049: !)

New door for PD7X is metal hinged, so should be more rugged than the old fully plastic one :109:

Email me at khoking@gmail.com with your full name, address and tel, so that I can keep a record of your order...(dont pm ya...)

[noordin]

Isn't there a new more compact replacement coming out soon? Just saw a thread about it somewhere here.

[Sebelas]

There's always a replacement coming out.

Last 1 I heard was called a D200. :080:

[noordin]

There's always a replacement coming out.

Last 1 I heard was called a D200. :080:

Too expensive lor.... :laugh:

[mikench]

CompactDrive should really do something about the robustness of the PD-series doors. Despite the new metal hinges in the PD70x, the door is still flimsly and doesnt close securely.

Other than that issue, mine's been performing flawlessly since I got it. It's one of my better investments of 2005.

So when is the "faster download rate" firmware update coming around?

[bbear]

Besides my earlier terror with PD70x ( Partly CF partly Copy Mechanism ? ).. it has been performing reasonably well especially after upgraded the firmware to have Copy with Verification. I am feeling more secure to have verification even that the actual transfer speeds will be slower.

One of the main design error that i am not happy with PD70x is that it would not bypass the battery during operation if both AC adapter and Batteries are used at the same time. i.e. PD70x still drain batteries power even when AC adapter is in place.

[khoking]

Isn't there a new more compact replacement coming out soon? Just saw a thread about it somewhere here.

There will be a new model from CompactDrive in February (if there is no delay), called MD80 :)

It is not a replacement model for the PD70X, as MD80 is using 1.8" HDD instead of 2.5" HDD which the PD70X is using, in order to make it more compact in size.

1.8" HDD is not common, more expensive and max capacity is only 60GB now. Still, for most 40GB is more than enough as a holiday storage device :)

The previous discussion thread is here:
http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8494&highlight=md80

http://i.pbase.com/g3/32/616632/3/54095920.Model.jpg

[mikench]

Looks good KK.
I've always felt that the PD70X was pretty heavy with the HDD installed.
A lighter, smaller package is always welcomed. Has to perform better if not on par with the earlier makes.

[Sebelas]

There will be a new model from CompactDrive in February
I like the new model, even if she looks blurred.

[khoking]

Looks good KK.
I've always felt that the PD70X was pretty heavy with the HDD installed.
A lighter, smaller package is always welcomed. Has to perform better if not on par with the earlier makes.
The speed and performance is same as the PD70X :)

I like the new model, even if she looks blurred.
She is in Singapore... :icon_syda

[mikench]

Man....this looks real good.
I found it funny that they used Pbase to host their images.

Anyway, I know if I sell my PD70x and get this fellar, they're gonna come up with one that has a image preview LCD at the end of the year. Dont you just hate what technology does to your wallet?

[khoking]

Man....this looks real good.
I found it funny that they used Pbase to host their images.

Anyway, I know if I sell my PD70x and get this fellar, they're gonna come up with one that has a image preview LCD at the end of the year. Dont you just hate what technology does to your wallet?

but but...your PD70X will still be able to download your 1GB CF in 2 mins... :icon_pidu

[mikench]

I know...

but but...there's something out there that's smaller, lighter, has a backlit LCD and can play mp3s!!

[c108md]

Just received mine today as promised. Charging it now.:111:

By the the CF door should be plastic or metal? Mine's plastic.

Just wondering.

TQ KKK

[khoking]

Hi c108md,
The door is plastic, but the hinge is metal... :)

If it broke, let me know and I will get a new replacement for you FOC :D

[mac]

just wondering, if i put in normal alkaline batteries and then plug-in the power adapter but off the device, will it damage my alkaline batteries? i have resort to use alkaline battery due to the infamous rechargeable brand losing it charge within hours of full charge.

[khoking]

just wondering, if i put in normal alkaline batteries and then plug-in the power adapter but off the device, will it damage my alkaline batteries? i have resort to use alkaline battery due to the infamous rechargeable brand losing it charge within hours of full charge.
good question...not 100% sure but I think the charger will detect the batteries as non-rechargeable and will not charge it.

Same as if you put alkaline batteries into Maha charger, the charger will detect the batteries as non-rechargeable and will not start the charging process. This is for safety precautious :111:

[mac]

i did try to put slot in a weak set of alkaline batt, its would read as below 4volts, cannot even power-up the PSD, so i left it in there plus jack in the adapter overnight, this morning the battery is 5.6volts !!! it did not only power up the PSD but i tried to transfer 1GB CF twice, now i am scare that the battery would explode

[khoking]

i did try to put slot in a weak set of alkaline batt, its would read as below 4volts, cannot even power-up the PSD, so i left it in there plus jack in the adapter overnight, this morning the battery is 5.6volts !!! it did not only power up the PSD but i tried to transfer 1GB CF twice, now i am scare that the battery would explode

wow... :laugh:

I guess you have to take out the Alkaline batts when power by cord on the PD70X... :p

[wasabi]

Compactdrive RWAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/3901/dscpc7x6si.jpg

[ShaolinTiger]

Been thinking of getting one of these for myself, looks very useful.

[khoking]

Been thinking of getting one of these for myself, looks very useful.
It is the most owned and hot selling PSD in the world! :laugh: