Hard drives are being put into some interesting enclosures these days. Take the fanless Golden Disk from LaCie, for example. Teaming up with designer Ora-Ïto, LaCie continues its practice of trying to rethink the shape of PC peripherals. But is the appearance of a drive important? After all, most external hard drives just look like a brick of metal or plastic. So what do you look for in an external hard drive?

The Golden Disk holds 500 GB worth of data. It also has all the usual LaCie bells and whistles, including high speed, Mac and PC compatibility, and LaCie's "one touch" backup software that makes recovering your lost data easier. But what really makes it stand out is its distinctive chassis, which actually contains a small amount of real gold. A bold design is a risky move in computer accessories, as people tend to love or hate them, but I personally can't imagine paying $200 for a drive that looks like the Golden Disk, even though one of their drives got me all the way through college. It's not for me. How about you? — Kevin Hall

LaCie, via Electronista