I was impressed how quick this kicked out the ice. After filling up the water tray, it took about 6 minutes before the first pieces of ice were ready. I'd say it holds enough ice for about 4 or 5 good sized glasses, as I use lots of ice. So, if you prefer minimal ice, yours will last much longer. The noise level can be somewhat distracting at first, but you get used to it and it becomes background noise over time. For my preferences, I'm using the filtered water from my fridge to fill it up rather than tap. It's not required, but just my preference. As far as taste went, there was no difference between my refrigerator generated ice cube and the counter top ice maker.Update: After using this for several weeks, I’ve noticed that the stored ice tends to melt, causing the machine to constantly cycle. This can be very annoying as the noise gets on your nerves after a while when this is constantly working!Update: after giving this more thought, I understand why this happens. The ice holding tray is directly above the water storage. Neither is in a separate compartment. If the holding tray was cold enough to keep the ice frozen, it would also freeze the water in the holding tray. Therefore, the ice is slowly melting back into the water storage.So, it will constantly be making ice, and the good news is that it makes it quite quick. There won't be enough for a party of 20, but for normal home use, it'll be fine. And it's constantly replacing whatever is used or melted.