Specifications

Reviews
Buffalo DriveStation 160GB
Not the most exciting drive, but it
gets the job done
T
he Buffalo DriveStation is your basic 160GB
hard drive sheathed in a plastic shell. There
are no fans to keep the 7,200rpm drive cool,
but during testing the chassis did an excellent job
of dissipating the drive’s heat.
While the unit we received features a Hitachi
drive, Buffalo uses a variety of drives in its
DriveStation line, so it’s impossible to know which
drive will end up in a particular unit. The front of the
DriveStation features a solitary light indicating drive
activity, while the rear of the device includes a USB
2.0/1.1 port, a power plug, and a switch that lets you
set the drive to turn on and off along with the PC or
simply stay on all the time. Like most backup drives,
the exterior looks clean and simple.
The drive is bundled with a trio of utilities for data
backup, power management, and drive formatting. We suppose the
drive-formatting software could be useful for folks who don’t know
how to locate Windows’ Disk Manager. The power-management software is
nice because it lets you set a timer that allows the drive to go into power-saving
mode after a period of inactivity. You can also conveniently shut down the drive
completely and turn it back on via the software, which is useful if you’re too lazy
to flip the switch on the drive’s backside. Hey, we understand.
The meat of the bundled software—the backup app—is useful and does its
job sufficiently, allowing you to create backup scripts that
can be executed on demand or on a schedule you deter-
mine. Our only beef is that the software doesn’t do incre-
mental backups, which are practical because they save
only what’s been changed or added to a folder since the last
backup. Instead, if you set the software to save your “My
Documents” folder every day, after a week you’ll have seven
backups of your documents. Not only is this inefficient, but
it’s also bound to fill the drive quickly.
All told, the DriveStation doesn’t bring anything new to the
table, but it capably performs its duties. Plus, despite its $300
MSRP, the street price is about half that amount, making it a
compelling product if you’re on a tight budget.
—JOSH NOREM
MAXIMUMPC JANUARY 200586
The DriveStation boasts the smallest
footprint of any backup drive we’ve tested
thanks to its fan-less design.
Small, quiet drive and decent software.
BUFFALO PELT
BUFFALO CHIPS
Doesn’t stand out in the crowd of backup drives.
$300, www.buffalotech.com
8
MAXIMUMPC
VERDICT
M
om always told us that looks aren’t everything.
Such is the case with AOpen’s XC Cube EX65.
The company’s small formfactor box looks
mighty sexy, but has a few rough spots we’ll call “
character flaws.”
Externally, the EX65 PC has a sleek, curved front panel
and a door that cleverly hides the unsightly optical drive.
Internally, the EX65 is based on Intel’s 915G/ICH6 chipset, which features
integrated graphics that work OK for average, run-of-the-mill computing.
Serious gamers can stab in an x16 PCI Express graphics card for more
frames per second. Like most small formfactor boxes, the EX65 supports only
single-slot cards.
We were able to
install a GeForce
5750 card without
any problems, but in
a stunning setback,
our plans to seat a
Radeon X800 XT or
GeForce 6800 GT
were quashed.
For some reason,
the EX65 comes with
only enough power
leads to run the opti-
The XC Cube’s sexy exterior
can’t hide some fatal
character flaws.
Buffalo DriveStation 160GB
Not the most exciting drive, but it
he Buffalo DriveStation is your basic 160GB
hard drive sheathed in a plastic shell. There
are no fans to keep the 7,200rpm drive cool,
but during testing the chassis did an excellent job
While the unit we received features a Hitachi
DriveStation line, so it’s impossible to know which
drive will end up in a particular unit. The front of the
DriveStation features a solitary light indicating drive
activity, while the rear of the device includes a USB
2.0/1.1 port, a power plug, and a switch that lets you
set the drive to turn on and off along with the PC or
simply stay on all the time. Like most backup drives,
The drive is bundled with a trio of utilities for data
backup, power management, and drive formatting. We suppose the
drive-formatting software could be useful for folks who don’t know
job sufficiently, allowing you to create backup scripts that
can be executed on demand or on a schedule you deter-
mine. Our only beef is that the software doesn’t do incre-
mental backups, which are practical because they save
only what’s been changed or added to a folder since the last
backup. Instead, if you set the software to save your “My
Documents” folder every day, after a week you’ll have seven
backups of your documents. Not only is this inefficient, but
it’s also bound to fill the drive quickly.
All told, the DriveStation doesn’t bring anything new to the
table, but it capably performs its duties. Plus, despite its $300
MSRP, the street price is about half that amount, making it a
compelling product if you’re on a tight budget.
The DriveStation boasts the smallest
footprint of any backup drive we’ve tested
thanks to its fan-less design.
SPECS
Chipset
Intel 915G (LGA775)
RAM
Two DDR333/400 slots
Expansion slots
One x16 PCI-E, one PCI
Storage
Four SATA, one PATA
Power supply
275 watt
Audio
Onboard AC97 5.1
LAN
10/100/1000
Ports
Four High Speed USB 2.0 (four
Internal), three FireWire A, PS/2
keyboard/mouse, Serial, parallel, RCA
SPDIF, optical SPDIF (two)
cal drive, the hard drive, floppy drive—
and nothing else. And because high-power PCI
Express graphics cards use the newer six-pin connec-
tor, you’re screwed; even though the EX65’s 275-watt power
supply could probably handle an XT or GT card, the leads just aren’t there.
While we’re at it, we’ll also bitch about the EX65’s lack of parallel ATA ports.
AOpen gives you four SATA ports and a meager single PATA port. That’s just
not enough PATA for people who want to reuse their current PATA drives
along with an optical drive. We would also have liked it if the four SATA ports
were put to use through an external SATA adapter for easier installation.
Our final gripe is the outrageous noise level. We fitted the LGA775 with
a 3.6GHz, er, Pentium 4 560
chip. Under heavy CPU loads,
the EX65’s CPU fan spins up
to 5,500rpm and sounds like
a leaf blower set to high. We
understand that keeping a
Prescott cool is a chore, but
this thermal solution isn’t
much of one.
—GORDON MAH UNG
Great looks and easy to work on.
DERRINGER
PEN GUN
Too loud under loads and not enough power leads.
$325, www.aopen.com.tw
6
MAXIMUMPC
VERDICT
Internally, the EX65 is based on Intel’s 915G/ICH6 chipset, which features
integrated graphics that work OK for average, run-of-the-mill computing.
The XC Cube’s sexy exterior
can’t hide some fatal
character flaws.
cal drive, the hard drive, floppy drive—
and nothing else. And because high-power PCI
Express graphics cards use the newer six-pin connec-
tor, you’re screwed; even though the EX65’s 275-watt power
supply could
probably
handle an XT or GT card, the leads just aren’t there.
probably handle an XT or GT card, the leads just aren’t there.probably
AOpen XC Cube EX65
Pretty on the outside—and that’s about it
8“
13.5“
8“
2“
6.75“
6.5“