ORAC
quite - I have seen those babies around. Very sweet equipment, but at what point does it make more sense buying a smallish desktop with the config and OS you want?
The comparison can be rendered metaphorically by my having said that they are selling Golfs at competitive prices today, and your chiming in to say that they are rubbish - get a Porsche.
The only reason I drew attention to the Maxtor was that its price was now in double digits, and it's not confined to Windows. If you are blowing more than 200 quid on this sort of solution, you need to be chained up if you don't get a cheap desktop and appropriate storage.
BOFH