The WD My Book 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 cheaper Elements Desktop drives have a more basic design and negate the bundled backup software; however, they feature the same drives and performance. The 3 year warranty is better than the 1 year of the Seagate Expansion Desktop or the 2 years of the Seagate Backup Hub Plus.
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Summary
The My Book are very similar to the Elements Desktop drives, only adding hardware encryption and bundled backup software. If you can do without these, the Elements Desktop is slightly cheaper. A 3 year warranty is longer than equivalent Seagate drives.
Criteria
- Hardware encryption is handy for those looking for increased security.
- We prefer the design over the Elements Desktop.
- 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.
- Includes 3 year warranty.
- Retail pricing is typically cheaper than RRP so shop around.
- WD Elements Desktop drives are cheaper and include the same physical hard disk drive.
- Whilst the included backup software is okay for basic use cases.
- there are better backup options available.
Specifications
Drive Specifications | |
Drive Capacity ? | 12 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 319.99 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 ? | Yes |
Backup Software ? | Yes |
SD Card Reader ? | No |
Warranty ? | 3 Years min: 1 average: 3.2 max: 5 |
Physical Specifications | |
Length ? | 6.72 Inches min: 4.72 average: 7.65 max: 11.93 |
Width ? | 1.93 Inches min: 1.39 average: 3.36 max: 8.9 |
Height ? | 5.48 Inches min: 4.65 average: 5.79 max: 7.56 |
Enclosure Color ? | Black |
Enclosure Material ? | Plastic |