LaCie 4big: The Enthusiast Data Jukebox

Inside The 4big Quadra

Lacie teamed up with the Austrian company Noctua, which provides a 120 mm fan called the NF-P12. It is installed in the top of the device and rotates at up to 1,300 RPM. Fresh air is sucked into the 4big Quadra on one side of the bottom plate. According to the manufacturer, the noise level of the fan is an impressively low 19.8 dBA. Hot air leaves the product through the opening vents located at the top of the rear panel. We had the 4big Quadra sitting on top of one of our desks, and we never even noticed its activity, which is perfect proof of its quiet operation.

The drive bays and trays are properly numbered. The system doesn’t like when drives are interchanged.

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Each bay is mechanically locked. Before a drive can be removed, it must be unlocked using the included plastic tool, a screwdriver, or a coin. In the case of an emergency you will not be depending on a proprietary tool. All drive bays are numbered, from 1 to 4, as are their trays, so hopefully no one will ever remove the wrong drive. The trays are made of steel, using a metal front panel. LaCie put a lot of emphasis on mechanical precision—the finish and clearance are very good.

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LaCie installed Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.B drives, which we consider a great choice right now.