Western Digital Element 1TB 3.5" Black External Hard Drive

Pros: -High Capacity. Makes an excellent drive for file storage/backup as a result. -Sturdy. Metal case and low center of gravity. Built like a rock. -Cool. It doesn't have a fan, and it doesn't need one. Drive stays reasonably cool even after hours of use.

Cons: -Slightly audible scratching sound is sometimes heard when the disk is working. -Power switch would have been a nice touch.

Overall Review: I suspect that many of the negative reviews are the result of users who have no idea what they're doing. 1. It comes formatted as FAT32. I'm guessing this was done because FAT32 is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux. But the first thing you should do, especially if you are a windows user, is to reformat the drive to NTFS. Some people either aren't doing this or are doing this in the wrong way and breaking their drive. In both cases, it's not the drives fault... 2. This drive is good for file storage/file backup. If you are installing/running applications from an external drive, you're doing it wrong. 3. 1TB drives have not been out on the market for long. The biggest concern that remains: how will this drive hold up under prolonged use over many months/years? No one is in a position to answer that question yet...

Pros: Stores large amounts of data. Easy to use. Sexy black design.

Cons: Doesn't do windows. Refuses to wash my car. Relentlessly hits on my DVD ROM drive.

Overall Review: I took it out of the box, plugged it in, connected the USB, formatted to NTFS and copied information to the drive. It performed admirably and quickly.

Pros: No light in the front that distracts me while I slam nerds on the internet while I download the 18th Rambo movie in HD. You might be saying to yourself, "But there are only 3 movies!" to which I say, "Who cares? I have room for the versions too extreme for the average person...in HD" No eSata you say? Who cares most of you won't use it; I don't. No firewire you say? Only condescending hipsters use a IEEE 1394 interface. This thing is as stable as a tank and as rugged as one too sporting tactical features as a aluminum case reinforced with rubber siding. As quiet as a Marine sniper and as fast as the enemies running away in sheer terror after their latte sipping leader got dropped.

Cons: When moving a bunch of small files the hard drive is only as fast as a enemy crawling away in fear after their latte sipping leader got dropped and...*ahem* there is no on/off switch.

Pros: 931gb out of the box. Very durable looking. Hasn't been warm to the touch and has good ventilation and cooling. Metal box= good for heat loss.

Cons: Cable to Power is medium size, as is the USB cable. (3ft approx.) Reformat from Fat32 to NTFS took a while...but definitely worth it.

Overall Review: Definitely reformat drive from Fat 32 to NTFS. Have simpletech 250 and bought this as an upgrade. WELL WORTH IT, especially since they are coming down in price. $110 for 1TB is worth it in my opinion.

Pros: This product is exactly what it is advertised. An external 1 TB Hard Drive. Its perfect. It has 931 GB of space (like its suppose to) and its more than enough for any average user. The rubber padding is not only a great way to quite the already noiseless Hard Drive, but it just looks so cool with its black metal finish. The blue light is in the back, which I like and it's blindingly bright either. The drive itself is tiny compared to other TB drives. And the transfer rates are amazing! They never dip below 25MB/s and reached a maximum of 31MB/s! I planned on copying over my 120GB internal Hard Drive overnight, but it took just a few hours. I love this Drive and for $119.99, this is absolutely perfect!

Cons: I actually really tried to think of a con for this Hard Drive, and could only think that it came as a FAT32 file system, but that's not even a real con, all drive's come like this and it takes seconds to convert it to NTFS. Just search for "FAT32 to NTFS" in google and you'll find that its easy. That's honestly the best I could think of.

Pros: I have had this drive for nearly a year now, and I have not had any problems with it whatsoever. It is very energy efficient as it goes into a stand-by mode after about 5 minutes of non-use; even in minor usage it is practically in the stand-by mode (I have all my music on the hard drive, so it is in constant use as it plays the songs and remains in this near-stand-by mode). It is relatively very quite, unless being heavily used. Even without a cooling fan, this device stays about room temperature even after several hours of use.

Cons: No cooling fan, though it still works wonderfully and keeps around room temperature regardless. Sometimes I worry if the USB connection is securely connected to the drive as it is pretty loose. This doesn't provide any negative affects toward the drive itself, rather it only makes me a bit uncomfortable.

Overall Review: NOTE: I mentioned that it stays room temperature, but that is because I keep it on a level and solid surface (i.e. a desk). It does get very hot if put on a couch or bed or other molding surface. Overall, this is a very good drive and definitely worth the purchase! I strongly recommend this drive to anyone looking to for a drive of any kind.

Pros: Quiet, Spins down when not in use, good capacity for the price, I use this drive for backup purposes and it has worked flawlessly so far. Would recommend

Cons: As typical, the drive price dropped two weeks after purchasing

Pros: Easy to use, plug it in an go, works great with Windows and Mac.

Cons: I wish it had a firewire port. Lack of a firewire port probably keeps the cost down.

Overall Review: I've ordered 3 of these so far and have been impressed with their performance. Honestly I think it performs faster on the Mac, but that might be due to the formatting. I have one formatted for the Mac and two formatted FAT32 that I can connect to both Windows and Mac. The Time Machine application on the Mac works perfect too but there is a special trick to formatting the drive. Western Digital is a name that I've trusted for years and I will continue to buy more drives from them.