Experiences with Fantom Green Drives?

[USBnoGood]

Me and my wife are planning on buying an external drive for us to share between her Avid edits and my Pro Tools stuff (and I might as well buy one more of these for me, if they're good and cheap):

http://macmall.com/ttsvr/p/Fantom-Dr...75~pdp.fejdjga

Is anyone using this drive?
Does anyone know what firewire chipset is it using?

I'd love to know, so post your experiences if any. These were recommended by her Avid editing instructor. They seem well built (and a lot cheaper than OWC Mercury Elite Pro Classics)...

.

[Craig F]

Green drives by there are probably not good for audio (self RMP control)
I think someone tried a green drive in there computer w/o much luck but I could be remembering it wrong

[USBnoGood]

Ok thanks for that tip! Cool. Glad I didn't order the Green.
And what about other Fantom drives (G-Force, Titanium II)?

http://macmall.com/ttsvr/p/Fantom-Dr...81~pdp.fddhcja

http://macmall.com/ttsvr/p/Fantom-Dr...74~pdp.eahacbf

[docbop]

Do you have a express card slot on your MBP if you do you ought to think about getting a SATA card and forget FW. If your wife is doing video it has higher I/O requirements than audio so be better for both of you.

[USBnoGood]

Originally Posted by docbop

Do you have a express card slot on your MBP if you do you ought to think about getting a SATA card and forget FW. If your wife is doing video it has higher I/O requirements than audio so be better for both of you.

Well yeah but obviously not on the same computer :) That's why we're getting an external, more for her than for me. She has her own 24' iMac that's been working swell with Avid and Final Cut. A LOT better than my MacBook Pro with Pro Tools, to be honest... It's frustrating that nowadays, video seems more trouble-free than audio, even though it (should) theoretically be more demanding and complex.

[audiogeekzine]

remember you want an Oxford chip in whatever drive enclosure you get.
The OWC ones look almost the same as the Fantom and have Oxford chips for sure.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firew...W800_FW400_USB

[USBnoGood]

Originally Posted by audiogeekzine

remember you want an Oxford chip in whatever drive enclosure you get.
The OWC ones look almost the same as the Fantom and have Oxford chips for sure.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firew...W800_FW400_USB

Correct. I was asking because the Fantoms are cheaper, and they were recommended as a good cheap external drive for AVID students / professionals, according to my wife.

So I got curious about them. If they're tried-and-true for Avid, can they be that bad for Pro Tools? They should have oxford chipset too... :/ But there's no way to know, for now

[albee1952]

+1 for OWC drives. When you break down the cost over the life of the drive, the price difference is actually next to nothing. eSATA is also an excellent alternative that SHOULD out-perform any firewire set.