Final Score: 88 of 100
Dual bay Direct Attach Storage devices live in that small slice of a Venn diagram where performance meets flexibility. While it is indeed true a single bay DAS, let alone a small 2.5-inch HDD based USB storage solution, are easier to carry… a dual bay DAS is easier than a 4 bay DAS to tote around. While it is true that the four (and six and twelve) bay DAS models will provide greater performance than a dual bay… a dual bay smokes single bays and gives external single drive SATA SSD models a run for their money. While it is indeed true a 4 or large bay DAS will offer more RAID options than a dual, these duallies actually offer the most likely used options… and actually offer RAID’ing where a single bay cannot. Lastly, while it is indeed true you can pick up (almost) literally any single drive USB storage solution for less than a dual bay D.A.S… these duallies are a hell alot cheaper than four bay units.
Yes, a dual bay DAS can indeed be a great compromise between usability and portability… and the LaCie 2Big RAID is a good example of what can be done with just a bit of outside the box thinking . On the aesthetics front it will (nearly) seamlessly blend into everything from Apple to IBM based work environments. On the portability front, yes, it is going to weigh about as much as a smaller laptop but you know it is going to arrive safe and sound thanks to that armored chassis. For home users it will offer excellent boost in capacity, and can even offer darn near SATA SSD sequential performance levels. For professionals, the flexibility in RAID options makes it tailor made for everything from cold storage backup of important data, to hot storage backup, to even a pretty decent and yet massive ‘scratch disk’ and/or camera storage dump device. This all goes double when you consider the fact that they ‘just work’ when paired with everything from Seagate’s inexpensive (yet rather fast) FireCuda Gaming Dock to the more elegant LaCie 1Big Dock SSD Pro models… and when you do fashion such a combination, the end result is greater than the sum of the parts.
Now is the LaCie 2Big RAID going to be right for every customer and every possible scenario? Of course not. Not everyone needs the flexibility a dual bay D.A.S has to offer. Not everyone will be able to get over toting around this much added weight. Not everyone will like the lack of daisy chaining abilities. Others still will prefer to spend the same amount of money on 1Big Dock and get more features at the expense of RAID abilities. For security conscious professionals, the lack of a lock on the drive caddies will be a major turn off. As such not everyone will be able to justify the asking price. Those that do will however love what it this model can do. It really can offer desktop levels of capacity without the weight of the typical tower PC, and can even offer decent data redundancy/protection with only a moderate performance hit.
As such, as long as you understand what a dual bay DAS can offer, and those abilities match your needs, the LaCie 2Big RAID is a good choice. One that will be an excellent introduction to what the Direct Attach Storage corner of the market truly has to offer. Just be warned. Once you do own a dual lie, you will start thinking about even bigger models… and how to justify buying them. So while you may end up with a new addiction we strongly recommend that everyone take a long hard look at the LaCie 2Big RAID series. It may just be your next purchase, $900+ asking price or not.
The Review
LaCie 2Big RAID
Not everyone will be able to justify the asking price. Those that do will however love what it this model can do. It really can offer desktop levels of capacity without the weight of the typical tower PC, and can even offer decent data redundancy/protection with only a moderate performance hit.
