The WD Elements Desktop is a basic no-frills backup drive. The slower 5400 RPM drive and USB 3.0 interface makes it ideal for data backup as transfer speeds are lower than drives that include faster 7200 RPM drives or faster Thunderbolt 3 interfaces. However, if you are not looking at intensive use cases such as editing 4K videos, then the performance should be perfectly acceptable. The design is pretty basic but the plastic case provides enough passive ventilation to keep it cool. The slightly more expensive My Book drives have a better design and bundle a backup software; however, the feature the same drives and performance. The 2 year warranty is better than the 1 year of the comparable Seagate Expansion Desktop drive.
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Summary
The WD Elements Desktop uses the same hard drives as the more expensive WD My Book, but does not include hardware encryption or bundled backup software. If you can do without these, the WD Elements Desktop is better value. A 2 year warranty is longer than equivalent Seagate drives.
Criteria
- Great value desktop drive.
- Passive ventilation works well.
- Even though using only a 5400 RPM drive the USB 3 seemed fast enough for all but the most demanding tasks.
- Retail pricing is typically cheaper than RRP so shop around.
- 5400 RPM drive not as fast as the 7200 RPM drives in the WD G-Drive models.
- Only includes a 2 year warranty where WD My Book has 3.
Specifications
Drive Specifications | |
Drive Capacity ? | 18 TB min: 1 average: 15.72 max: 72 |
Drive Type ? | Hard Disk Drive (HDD) |
Number of Drives ? | 1 Drive |
RAID Support ? | None |
Drive Performance | |
Disk Speed ? | 5400 RPM |
Price | |
Recommended Retail Price ? | USD 529.99 min: 89.99 average: 732.63 max: 2999.99 |
Connectivity | |
USB 3.0 ? | 1 x USB 3.0 min: 0 average: 1.27 max: 5 |
Thunderbolt 3 ? | 0 min: 0 average: 0.51 max: 2 |
Ethernet ? | 0 min: 0 average: 0.52 max: 2 |
DisplayPort ? | 0 min: 0 average: 0.14 max: 1 |
HDMI ? | 0 min: 0 average: 0.04 max: 1 |
Features | |
Hardware Encryption ? | No |
Backup Software ? | No |
SD Card Reader ? | No |
Warranty ? | 2 Years min: 1 average: 3.2 max: 5 |
Physical Specifications | |
Length ? | 6.53 Inches min: 4.72 average: 7.65 max: 11.93 |
Width ? | 1.89 Inches min: 1.39 average: 3.36 max: 8.9 |
Height ? | 5.31 Inches min: 4.65 average: 5.79 max: 7.56 |
Enclosure Color ? | Black |
Enclosure Material ? | Plastic |