The Cobra's mongoose
It's hard to beat the Cobra+ 120's combination of capacity, speed, and rugged construction. While its weight makes it best for short, desk-to-desk hops, for us, the Cobra+ 120's mongoose was EZQuest's lack of weekend or evening phone support. But if that doesn't faze you, this drive is otherwise a good buy.
HD Tach 2.70 tests Measured in MB per second (longer bars indicate better performance)
Maximum write speed
Maximum read speed
Read-burst speed
EZQuest Cobra+ (120GB; 7,200rpm; IEEE 1394)
20.8
31.6
37.0
WiebeTech MicroGB (4,200rpm; IEEE 1394)
16.0
24.7
37.3
SmartDisk FireLite (40GB; 4,200rpm; IEEE 1394)
15.6
24.6
36.8
Write tests Measured in MB per second (longer bars indicate better performance)
Small files
Large files
EZQuest Cobra+ (120GB; 7,200rpm; IEEE 1394)
3.96
18.42
SmartDisk FireLite (40GB; 4,200rpm; IEEE 1394)
3.39
14.84
WiebeTech MicroGB (4,200rpm; IEEE 1394)
3.2
15.05
Read tests Measured in MB per second (longer bars indicate better performance)
Small files
Large files
EZQuest Cobra+ (120GB; 7,200rpm; IEEE 1394)
2.93
20.3
SmartDisk FireLite (40GB; 4,200rpm; IEEE 1394)
3.18
19.73
WiebeTech MicroGB (4,200rpm; IEEE 1394)
2.71
17.68
CNET Labs' tests evaluate the range of performance you may expect from a hard drive. The HD Tach test measure a drive's maximum sustained write and read speeds. In addition, it measures read-burst speed, which evaluates the performance of the drive's read-ahead memory and the drive controller.
The EZQuest Cobra+ 120 turned in excellent times for an external FireWire drive, and its scores even matched those of the average internal drive.
