LaCie is out today with the new d2 Thunderbolt 2 drive featuring a new design with a smaller footprint and an optional SSD upgrade for adding faster storage to the mix. The new LaCie d2 is an up-to-6TB hard drive spec’d at 7200 RPM with speeds up to 220 MB/s and two Thunderbolt 2 ports alongside a USB 3 port. Aside from the new design, part of the LaCie d2’s story is the option to add a solid state drive to the package with a user-upgradable solid state drive panel from LaCie to make the d2 even faster and more capable. LaCie says the optional SSD upgrade offers a theoretical speed boost from 220 MB/s to 1150 MB/s for data transfer:
To multiply speeds by a factor of five, users can install the LaCie d2 SSD Upgrade (sold separately). The upgrade increases speeds up to 1150 MB/s*** and adds 128 GB of PCIe SSD storage. This speed exceeds the performance of even the internal SSD on a late-model PC or Mac® computer. Simply remove the LaCie d2’s rear panel and install the upgrade^. Two separate drives mount on the computer – one for the SSD and one for the hard disk. Use the SSD for bandwidth-intensive tasks, such as fast file transfers, audio mixing, video editing, or OS booting, and the hard disk for file archiving. No other solution offers this level of performance and capacity in such a compact footprint.
Because LaCie’s SSD panel is optional and sold separately, d2 Thunderbolt 2 owners have the option to opt for the upgrade ayntime after buying the professional hard drive, but it does come at the cost of losing the USB 3 port. Dual Thunderbolt 2 ports
The d2 Thunderbolt 2 drive includes LaCie’s secure backup and encryption software with Time Machine compatibility.
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Price wise, the LaCie d2 Thunderbolt 2 offers a few different configurations. Apple will LaCie will carry the 3 TB config for $299, 4 TB config for $399, and massive 6TB for $499. Oh, and that optional SSD panel will run $299 adding 128GB of SSD to the package.
USB-only versions of the LaCie d2 in 3TB, 4TB, and 5TB configurations will be available next month, the company says, but will not support the SSD upgrade panel and pricing is not yet available.
