Syquest SparQ 1GB


SparQ 1 Gigabyte Technical Specifications
Interface	Parallel Port (External) - PC EIDE (Internal) - PC
Disc Acceptable	SparQ drives read, write and format only SparQ 1 Gigabyte Cartridges.
Writing Speed	Parallel Port design sustained transfer rate is approximately 0.9 MB per second with a burst rate of 2.0 MB per second. Parallel Port performance varies with your processor speed. EIDE burst rates of up to 16.6 MB per second. (PIO mode 4) and data transfer rates from 3.7 to 6.9 MB per second. Application performance supported with a 512 KB intelligent caching buffer. Actual performance will depend upon system and configuration
Standard Feature	Worldwide power supply (external), and software write-protection option. Internal drives come with a beige 5.25-inch mounting kit. When removed, fits in any 3.5-inch universal PC drive bay. Parallel Port drive features a parallel pass-thru for additional devices.
Portable	Drive fits in your hand and weighs less than 24 ounces. Cartridge weighs less than 3 ounces. Both are ruggedized for portability. For ultimate flexibility, drive can be positioned in a horizontal or vertical orientation with included stand.
OS Support	DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT.
Recommended Media	*1.0 Gigabyte (1008 MB) removable cartridges with one 3.5 inch platter.**
Access Time	Average seek time 12ms.(typical)

*As measured by standard industry definition of 1 Megabyte = 1 million bytes.
Some PC and OS manufacturers define 1 Megabyte = 1.024 million bytes and use this number when
dividing capacity to determine available usable megabytes.
The difference in calculation methods may result in the perception that your cartridge
has fewer bytes available than it really has.

The Tests

Since the SparQ uses the Parallel interface, installation is extremely simple. The drive does not even need a driver and it can be directly used through "My computer". Since I don't believe in test program, I will be giving a phyical number to copy a 100 MB file to and from the drive.

Test System Configuration
Processor	Pentium II 300 overclock to 450 Mhz
RAM	64MB PC100 Micron SDRAM
Motherboard	Abit BH6
Hard Drive	IBM 6.4 GB Deskstar 7
Operating System	Windows 98 Build 4.10.1998

The time taken was about 50s. As you can see from the results, the speed is quite fast compared to an IOMEGA Zip External (USB) which took about 2 minute and 30 seconds (Information from courtesy of Anthony Tan). A thing to mention was also that this drive was also fast enough to run full-motion video without dropping frames.

The Good

There are two configurations for SparQ 1 gigabyte removable cartridge drive the parallel port external or EIDE internal. Thus it is able to connect to any laptop or desktop system. It can also be placed vertically or horizontal positions to save valuable desk space. The parallel port drive also features a parallel pass-thru for additional devices

Conclusion

The 100MB Iomega ZipPlus, from Iomega Corp., isn't the fastest drive, nor the one with the most capacity, nor the most economical ($160 street for the external drive, 14 cents per megabyte for cartridges). But SparQ 1 Gigabyte delivers the right combination of ease of use and portability to make it ideal for a range of tasks, from shuttling files between home and office to taking data on the road. And with 12 million drives old and counting, the Zip line of drives is the closest thing to a e facto standard for augmenting your floppy disk drive. So if you need to share files with other PC users (one of the biggest jobs of a removable drive), it's fairly likely they will have a Zip Drive, or have access to one. If you are adding a drive to your current PC, ask around; if there are Zip users in your circle, you'll have your answer.

However since SyQuest has filed for bankrupcy there may be a lack of support. Howvever in the present day world computer technology move by leapt and bound. In 2 years time the mobile storage may have change so much that the present day technology may be totally obsoleted. Thus buying what you need for the near furture is always the smartest move. Moreover for the quality, the price of this product is really a great bargain. Even getting a few more cartriage the price is still less than the nearest competitor.

In conclusion if a top performance and cost effective drive is what you are after and you are not worry about the lack of support, then the SyQuest SparQ 1.0 GB should be the first candidate on your list.

Format	Quickly erase any cartridge
Duplicate	Copy entire cartridges with ease
EZ-Backup	SyQuest's trusted back-up utility, includes compression and is compatible with all removable media and hard drives (PC only)
Control	Advanced drive utilities to access things like sleep, software protection and safeguard programs
Mount	Use to mount individual cartridges
Visit 95	This important program allows users to quickly attach to other computers without loading the setup software. (PC only)

Overall Rating (Out of a maximum of 5 Star)
Installation	********
Performance	********
Price	*****
Software Bundle	********
Build Quality	***1/2
Overall Rating	********

Recommended Media

The Tests

Conclusion