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Comparison of Zip and EZ-135 drives
This is the second (and hopefully the last!) revision of my comparison of the Zip and EZ drives. I corrected a very confusing typo (thanks to Dan Hoefferth for pointing it out) and I removed the rumour about Zips causing problems with internal CD-ROM drives. (I've had many messages from people working with such configurations telling me they had encountered no problems whatsoever.)
Zip vs. EZ-135: A Comparison
version 1.1
This is a comparison of two low-capacity low-cost mass storage devices,
Iomega's Zip drive and SyQuest's EZ-135 drive. The comparison is based on
opionions of users of both drives sent to me by e-mail, and also on some
information pulled from www pages. It was compiled by Florin Neumann.
This file is formatted as setext. It can be read with any text editor, but a setext-compatible browser, such as Akif Eyler's EasyView, is required for full benefits of the setext format.
Summary
If ease of use, portability, cross-platform communication, and availability are important, then Zip would be the better choice.
If speed, cartridge capacity, and flexibility in integration with other SCSI devices are important, and if you're willing to put up with waiting for back-ordered cartridges, and if megabyte/$ is important to you, then the EZ would be the better choice.
Putting it in another way, if I had a PowerBook or a low-end system, and/or I wanted the user-friendliest drive, and/or I wanted to make sure that I could exchange data with more people, then I'd get a Zip. But if I had a higher-end system, with several devices on the SCSI bus and I wanted to keep all my options open as to how to id them, and if I really cared about speed and capacity, but I didn't mind having to go through a convoluted ritual each time I swapped a disk, then I'd get the EZ.
Personal Opinion
After reading all the opinions sent to me, and after trying out both drives at a local dealer, I decided on the Zip drive. The main reasons were:
(a) price (the drive is cca. US$20 cheaper; the cartridges cca. US$5 cheaper);
(b) availability (no dealer I contacted had EZ cartridges in stock; I had no real trouble finding Zip cartridges);
(c) convenience (mounting/dismounting a disk on the EZ is a real hassle compared to the Zip, which behaves just like a floppy).
(d) better software driver (not only it uses less memory, but it is also present as an application, which allows for mounting the disks even when the Mac is booted with extensions off).
As to the Zip's shortcomings, this is what I think:
(1) Capacity (96M vs 126 of the EZ). Sure, larger disks would be nice, but one can't have everything.
(2) Speed. Doesn't bother me; I intend to use it mainly as a back-up device, but it can be used as boot device or to run applications.
(3) SCSI ID. No problem. All my other external SCSI devices can by set to any SCSI ID, so it doesn't matter (SCSI ID numbers have no connection to physical position on the SCSI bus).
(4) No ON/OFF switch. Couldn't care less. I use a power centre for my Mac and external drives anyway.
Comparison
Technology
- EZ - Hard disk technology. Re-engineered Winchester-type SyQuest mechanism.
- ZIP - Combination of flexible and hard disk technology. Does not use Iomega's proprietary Bernoulli technology.
Compatibility with Other Formats
Both the EZ and the Zip read/write only their own formats. They are not compatible with anything else. The EZ cartridge looks like a SyQuest 270 cartridge, but it can't be read in a SyQuest 270, and the EZ can't read SyQuest 270 cartridges.
One respondent mentioned that Compaq is poised to come out with a drive that will read 1.44M floppies, as well as a new 100M format, but he doubted that this new drive would become available for the Macintosh.
Reliability
Both drives seem to be very reliable. I haven't had a single bad report on either of them; but it's early days yet...
- EZ - Based on the SyQuest technology, which has a known track-record; in general it is fairly reliable as a back-up and temporary storage device, but not as a primary storage device.
- ZIP - Based on new mechanism, without a known track-record. However, Iomega is known as a reputable company, and its Bernoulli drives are considered to be technically excellent (but use different technology).
Availability
- EZ - Drive available by mail order and from dealers. Cartridges more difficult to come by, only by mail order or from selected dealers. Back-ordered at every dealer I checked with.
- ZIP - Drive available by mail order, from dealers, and from computer superstores. Cartridges readily available from the same sources.
Comparative Cost
- DRIVES - EZ is $20-$50 more expensive than the Zip, depending on source.
- CARTRIDGES - EZ cartridges are $4-$8 more expensive than Zip cartridges, again depending on source. In megabyte/$, EZ cartridges are about 120% more cost-effective than the Zips.
Speed and Capacity
- CARTRIDGES - EZs format to 126M; Zips format to 96M.
- DRIVE - EZ av. access time is 13ms; Zip av. access time is 30ms; in practice the EZ is 50% to 80% faster.
Size
- DRIVE - EZ is bulkier and heavier than the Zip, and can only be used in horizontal position. Both use external power sources, which are pretty heavy themselves.
- CARTRIDGES - Both are 3.5 diameter cartridges. EZs are about 4 times thicker and somewhat heavier.
On/Off Switching
- EZ - Has on/off switch.
- ZIP - Doesn't have on/off switch; is on as soon as the power source is plugged in.
SCSI Cable
- EZ - Has standard 50-pin SCSI connector. Can be connected to the Mac with the usual 25-to-50-pin SCSI cable, or to other SCSI devices via 50-to-50-pin SCSI cable.
- ZIP - Has non-standard 25-pin SCSI connector. Can be connected to the Mac with a 25-to-25-pin SCSI cable (supplied). Requires 25-to-50-pin SCSI cable (like the one used to connect the Mac to the SCSI chain) to connect to other SCSI devices.
SCSI ID
- EZ - Can choose any legal SCSI ID number, but ID button is flimsy and hard to reach.
- ZIP - Can only choose between IDs 5 and 6, but ID button is easy to use.
Swapping Cartridges
- EZ - Inconvenient. Behaves like a standard SyQuest drive. Have to dismount, spin down, and manually eject the cartridge.
- ZIP - Convenient. Behaves like a floppy. Drag to trash and it ejects automatically; likewise upon shutting down the Mac.
Software Driver
- EZ - Rather poorly designed.
- ZIP - Well designed. "Guest" option allows installation of driver in RAM for temporary use on other Macs than the owner's. It also allows for the mounting of ther disk even if the Mac was booted with extensions off. (Something Apple should imitate for their CD-ROM drives, which can't be mounted whent the Mac is booted with extensions off.)
Bundled software
- EZ - Not good, except Silverlining Lite, included on EZs ordered from La Cie.
- ZIP - Mediocre.
Use as a Boot Device
Both can be used as start-up disks.
Customer base
Zip has wider customer base than the EZ, but it has been out half a year earlier. It has caused more of an impact in the Mac market than the PC market, but I've seen some local PC dealers offering Zips; I have seen none offering EZs.
Also PowerComputing is offering as an option internal Zip drives with their PowerMac clones.
Cross-platform communication
- EZ - ?
- ZIP - Can read PC-formatted Zip cartridges with PC Exchange, although Access PC may be more reliable.
Rumours
(I had no way to check these, so I put them in as I received them.)
- EZ - "EZ 135 platters are Syquest 270 platters that failed the quality checks on one side of the platter"
WWW Information Sources
- MacWeek Zip Review www.zdnet.com/~macweek/mw_041795/rev1.html
- MacWeek EZ Review www.zdnet.com/~macweek/mw_09-04-95/rev2.html
- Zip Technical Specifications www.iomega.com/zspecs.htm
- EZ Technical Specifications www.syquest.com/syquest/ezspecs.htm
- Zip Propaganda www.iomega.com/zipdrv.htm
- EZ Propaganda www.syquest.com/syquest/corp3.htm
- Unofficial Zip Drive FAQ cnct.com/home/steveg/zipfaq16.html
- Unofficial SyQuest FAQ www2.csn.net/~kassj/SyQuest.html
- Unofficial Iomega Page www.stern.nyu.edu/~jwu/iomega.html
Acknowledgment
The comparison is based on information received from the following Info-Mac subscribers (many thanks, folks!).
- Chris Eliot
- David Croze
- David J. Swift
- Dean Johnson
- Fred J. Berg
- George McClelland
- Greg Delisle
- Greg Vaughn
- Hugh Vidos
- Jim Hill
- Jimmy Wu
- Larry Pickett
- Michael B. Dixon
- Michael Peirce
- Moshe Sadofsky
- Pat Ullmann
- Patrick Atherton
- Sanjay Mathur
- Shih-Tung Ngiam
- Stephen Bennett
- Tim Lewallen
- Dan Hoefferth
--
Florin Neumann