WD Elements 500GB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive

Pros: 3.0 makes transfers so much faster. Very light weight.

Cons: Wasn't free.

Other Thoughts: Exactly what I was looking for.

Pros: WD hard drive, inexpensive, fast, low power (thru USB).

Cons: Took Newegg a week to get it here.

I think this came from one of Newegg's "partners", but transit time was horrible by Newegg standards.

Pros: Small form factor, large space, about average for speed.

Cons: The USB cable attach point on the housing is pretty flimsy - feels like it will come away from the PCB inside with repeated use. I never got that far though; like my USB2.0 version of this drive, this one also failed in the same way. Eventually it got to the point where it would be detected by the computer, but as soon as I went to access files, I'd get a "usb device failed" error and a blinking white light. 2 for 2 failures with WD. End of the line for me with their brand.

Other Thoughts: I figured the original failure was a fluke which is why I bought this one to replace it. When this one went bad in the exact same way I figured it must be a design flaw. WD not interested in returns and their customer support is offshore with people who can't understand basic English. If I'd picked this up from NewEgg I'm sure they'd have RMA'd it for me.

Manufacturer Response:

We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced with the WD Elements 500 GB, as this is not the typical experience with the product.
We are very sorry to hear that your drive did not function so soon after it was delivered. Western Digital does rigorously test and verify all of our drives, prior to shipping, with burn-in and diagnostic tests. As a troubleshooting step, we recommend running either our WINDLG diagnostics software or Macs built-in Disk Utility to check your drives health.
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/940
We do stand behind our warranty and replacement policy and would appreciate the opportunity to replace your drive for you. Please click the following link for our replacement procedure.
How to get an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) or replace a defective product under warranty
http://wdc.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8
We would appreciate the opportunity to further assist you, and resolve any further concerns you may have with the device and/or your experience. You may contact us at 1 (800) 275-4932, or via our support website at: http://support.wdc.com/rs/. Please indicate within the online case creation or with the first support agent you speak with, that you are responding to a Newegg review, so we route you and your information to the correct team members.

Pros: +Compact
+Good Quality
+Fast

Cons: -None

Other Thoughts: I like this drive. Write speeds are 50-60 MB/s. Nice built quality.

Pros: Quiet and fast

Cons: None so far

Other Thoughts: I wish I had USB 3.0 connectors

Pros: works as intended. easy for a noob to hookup and start using almost immediately

Cons: none yet

Other Thoughts: got this for my girlfriend as a xmas gift for a backup drive for pics, vids, etc.

Pros: Affordable, small footprint, stylish, and easy to use. Very ergonomic black case and good construction for pricepoint.

Cons: WD Software is crippled and doesn't allow full range of back-up options, fairly short USB cable of about 12 inches (18" needed), and invasive msconfig entries without first asking for permission to add to Windows start-up.

Other Thoughts: Good entry level backup that images your hard drive at a fair price. Would be five stars if cons were fixed.

Pros: Fast on USB3.0 (~100mb/s), Pretty good on USB2.0 (~29mb/s). But that was expected. Access times are great compared to an internal Sata2 disk, this drive is sub 10ms.

Cons: The included cable is only 12 inches long. However, it is a very rugged port on the device, and having a longer cable usually just means it gets in the way when using it with a laptop.

Other Thoughts: I've recommended this device to several of my peers and co-workers as a great buy. I've never gone wrong with WD's lasting drive construction and performance.

Pros: *Only slightly larger than a deck of cards
*Very quiet
*Powered via USB (No secondary connection for power supply required)
*Has handled all reading/writing just fine as per its specs
*Was free as a promo bundle from Newegg with my purchase of ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Router (Free is always good, yah?)

Cons: *None so far
*Could list short USB cable as a con, but I have it connected directly to my router for sharing on the LAN and don't want a long cord so for me that's a PRO, approximately 17"

Pros: Great price

Cons: Not so fast has they described it

Manufacturer Response:

We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced with the WD Elements 500 GB, as this is not the typical experience with the product.
Please be sure to connect the external hard drive directly to the computer using the cable that came bundled with it. Avoid using extension USB cables or USB hubs.
Verify that you are connecting the drive to a USB 3.0 port to ensure you are receiving the maximum possible data transfers.
We would appreciate the opportunity to further assist you, and resolve any further concerns you may have with the device and/or your experience. You may contact us at 1 (800) 275-4932, or via our support website at: http://support.wdc.com/rs/. Please indicate within the online case creation or with the first support agent you speak with, that you are responding to a Newegg review, so we route you and your information to the correct team members.