The 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive from Western Digital is a high-capacity desktop hard drive with a no-frills design. The disk is housed in a compact metal enclosure, and boasts the ubiquitous USB 2.0 interface.
The drive is preformatted for use in Windows, and can be reformatted for use with Mac OS X using Apple's Disk Utility application. The drive is ready to use right out of the box -- you won't have to load any software from a CD to get the drive to work. It is an excellent option for users who would like to add storage capacity to their system.
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 3TB |
| Interface | 1x USB 2.0 (mini B) |
| Drive Speed | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| Buffer | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| Average Seek Time | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| Sustained Data Transfer Rate | Not Specified by Manufacturer |
| System Requirements |
Windows XP, Vista, 7; Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5, 10.6 USB 2.0 port Note: In order to use a drive larger than 2 TB, you will need an operating system that can partition and format that drive. Windows 7, Vista, Windows XP (64-bit), Mac OSX 10.4.x (Tiger), Mac OSX 10.5.x (Leopard), Mac OSX 10.6.x (Snow Leopard), and Mac OSX 10.7.x (Lion) all have this capability through the GUID Partitioning Table (GPT). The GUID partitioning scheme has the ability to partition both internal and external drives far beyond 2 TB's in size. |
| General | |
|---|---|
| Mounting | Desktop |
| Power Requirements | AC: 100-240VAC, 50-60Hz |
| Environmental Requirements |
Operating Temperature: 41-95°F (5-35°C) Storage Temperature: -4-149°F (-20-65°C) |
| Dimensions | 4.59 x 7.01 x 1.42" (11.65 x 17.80 x 3.6 cm) |
| Weight | 2.2 lb (1kg) |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviewsPros
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Most Liked Positive Review
3TB Elements Desktop WD Hard Drive
I use this with a Macbook Pro 2010. I formatted it with disk utility, to Mac OSX journaled. I have other ext hard drives formatted to FAT32 so I can transfer files between windows...Read complete review
I use this with a Macbook Pro 2010. I formatted it with disk utility, to Mac OSX journaled. I have other ext hard drives formatted to FAT32 so I can transfer files between windows machines and macs. This hard drive, for 3 TB is the best deal out there, at $ including shipping. It has USB 2 connectivity. It is still working after one week too! This hard drive is best for periodic backups. It has no on off switch, so if you need to use it often I think you might best buy a more expensive one with a switch, lately I have been unplugging and plugging the power as a switch, which is not convenient if you think you might want to do that often. I am not sure if leaving it on all the time will wear it out faster, but I always fear hard drive crashes so I turn them off when I don't need them. Turing them off also keeps prying eyes out.
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Most Liked Negative Review
inexpensive, but slow
Its hard to rate a hard drive, as it either works or it doesn't and if it fails its not likely to be in the first week. This drive seems to be working fine....Read complete review
Its hard to rate a hard drive, as it either works or it doesn't and if it fails its not likely to be in the first week. This drive seems to be working fine.
The price on this 3TB drive is great, no doubt, but being limited to
USB 2 speeds really undermines the value. I can imagine that if you were to copy 3TB of data in one sitting it would take several days to complete.
Not sure what else to say. The case is attractive enough. It's a 3.5" mechanism so it requires an external power source.
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Reviewed by 63 customers
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
Works great - reliable so far. I saw people complaining about speed, but it's USB 2.0, so speed seems to be exactly as advertised. Among the better cost per TB I've found.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
great price, easy to set up and operate
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
Love the WD brand! No issues..
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
I needed a major backup drive for my old time radio files and this seems to be the prefect size to handle all of them (so far)...
The only thing I didn't like was that I wished it was a wee bit cheaper...not that it wasn;t a good price already...it could have been better...
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
External drive for video files. Accesses fast and has been reliable. Easy to configure for mac use.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
Easy to use and well compatible with my system
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
I use it to store video while I work with it, so its important that the usb port is fast.
What I liked about it was the capacity, the size, the casing and the price was more than reasonable.
Great hard drive.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
I use it to store images in my studio, from tethered photo sessions,
It has a large 3 tb drive perfect to accommodate my raw images, no cons for me, I'm a happy camper!
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
May have been our older MAC but took a while to format for Apple files. After that it works great. Great price but probably will consider faster USB3 or 1394b interface device in future.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
I've bought a smaller elements drive and had it fail on me recently after 2 years of use. Just keep that in mind, and keep a backup. Otherwise, enjoy the good price.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
I own a few of the Western Digital Hard Drives and decided to purchase this 3TB Hard Drive. It works just as well as the 2TB. A great value for the product.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
Although I didn't really need 3TB, the price differential between this unit and, say 2TB made the purchasing decision a no-brainer. This drive is VERY quiet, very compact and so far has been a terrific way to backup my primary RAID 5 server and for transferring files from two work computers about to be retired. The real evaluation will come three years from now as to the drive's reliability.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
Bought 3 of these, 1 failed 4 days after using it. Data transfers are slow.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
I work on computers for a living. After I clean & optimize a system, I clone an image of the hard drive on an external drive. If my client gets reinfected or has a drive failure, I can have them up & running again in about an hour.
Ths WD 3TB drive works perfectly for my purpose. It's not fancy, just your basic black external drive. But like I said, it's everything I need it to be.
Took it out of the box, plugged it in and it worked.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
i use it to save my files, photos and muc more, is a soo good product and the price is perfect
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
This external hard drive works fine. Just be patient if you have a lot to back up.
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
Use the product to store pictures and a few documents. Product has worked perfectly. So far no issues. Would definitely buy again
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
Downloaded everything on my computer, and had ample space left for future files. I had hundredes of pictures. It was so easy to set up on my Mac.I am so impressed. The shipping was very fast. I would definately buy from you again!!
Thanks,Sarah
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
Good performance and great quality/price
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Comments about Western Digital 3TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive:
This is the 10th WD hard drive I've purchased. Wouldn't buy any other brand...