Western Digital WD Elements SE Portable 500 GB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive – WDBPCK5000ABK-NESN
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- USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity
- Maximum data transfer rates
- Massive capacity in a compact design
- Plug-and-play ready for Windows PCs
WD Elements SE portable hard drive with USB 3.0 offers maximum data transfer rates, universal connectivity, and massive capacity for value-conscious consumers who are looking for reliable, high-capacity storage to go.
Computer Hard Drive
Western Digital WD Elements SE Portable 500 GB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive – WDBPCK5000ABK-NESN
List Price: $ 109.99
Price:
Peace of mind with minor quibbles,
****Update: Sept 2012****
In the 18 months I’ve owned this, I’ve really unintentionally abused the heck out of it and it keeps on ticking. It’s been dropped too many times to count, to the point where I had to practically put it back together. No problems. I don’t recommend humming it to the floor, but under normal wear and tear it’s been perfect.
****Original Review****
Having 1TB of portable memory is worth the investment just for the peace of mind it brings me. Two minor misses keep me from giving it 5 stars:
1. USB cable. When I purchased the unit, I assumed it would be either a USB-to-USB or USB-to-MiniUSB connection. It is neither. The cable is a “USB-to-Micro B”. Just keep that in mind before buying, as this type of cable is less common than others. WD’s website sells the cable (Part#: WDCA042RNN) for $14.99 plus $2.99 shipping. I’m sure there are after-markets out there for less. The cable itself feels substantial and well built, but the Micro B connection on the unit requires an uncomfortable amount of force to plug in and out and appears to be the only weak link. But I’ve been less than careful with it on several occasions and so far it’s all good.(Purchased Jan 2011) Also keep in mind the cable is relatively short. (About 18 inches)
2. There is some lag time when you first access the drive to retrieve or upload data. It’s by no means slow. Once it fires-up it does a good job and data transfer speeds are excellent. It just takes some getting used to if you’re someone like me with no patience and expects instant access as if it were a solid state drive.
Overall, it’s an excellent little drive. I would recommend it to anyone if they asked my opinion.
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|Great drive,
Great drive for its price point. However, two days after receiving the drive, the drive went down $30.00 in price. I tried to get the refund for the full $30 but Amazon only gave back $20. A little disappointed in that sense but the drive itself is great. It looks so big in the pictures and I could not find a review where it showed the drive itself next to something like say a dollar. But the drive is very compact. It’s a little taller than most 2.5″ hard drives but the length and width is the same as most if not all 2.5″ external hard drives.
I have yet to test it with USB 3.0 so I’m only writing this review based on using it with my 2009 MacBook and USB 2.0.
I have backed up a bunch of stuff to it, no problems so far. I notice with regular 2.5″ hard drives, they get extremely hot. It looks like this drive spins down when not in use to keep it from heating up and for it to conserve power.
I will be buying more of these for use around our lab and also for recommendations to our clients.
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|Quick. Compact. No complaints,
I have to say, this drive has surpassed my expectations. It is well made, compact and doesnt come with any bloatware preinstalled on it trying to get me to use their backup solution or anything else.
The drive is just that. A drive. A quick drive with a lot of space.
First and foremost I was shocked at how small it was. It is the first portable hard drive I’ve owned, and I was pleased with the fact that it can fit in the small zip top pocket on my computer backpack that was designed to hold a mouse, and still have room for that mouse. On top of that, if I really needed to, I could stick it in my pocket. It really is that slim.
The build quality is top notch, the case doesnt creak or rattle, its smooth to the touch without being so slick that you’d drop it, and it has nice rubber feet to prevent rattling during drive access when it is sitting on your desk.
The drive itself is very quick, I managed to transfer a 2 gigabyte ISO file to it in under 20 seconds, the drive averaged around 80 MB/s (peaking at about 100MB/s) on a USB3 interface.
If I really *HAD* to nitpick, I’d say that the USB 3.0 cable is a little too rigid, but honestly it doesnt bother me and I like the size of it, despite being only about 1ft long, as it is a perfect size to travel with the drive no matter where I put it.
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