Western Digital External Hard Drives

Mister · 27th Apr 2009, 05:56 AM

I want to buy a new 1TB external hard drive. I'm considering the 'Western Digital My Book Home' and the 'Western Digital Elements.' I don't know exactly the big differences regarding performance (because I'm far from an expert), so has someone a suggestion? The latter is far cheaper than the former, but I'm affraid that it also is a minor drive...

P.S.: Sorry if my english isn't that great, because I'm also not an expert in the english language...

Chai · 27th Apr 2009, 08:05 AM

If you are only using USB, then it's not going to matter much in terms of performance.

eSATA is faster than USB, so make sure you have eSATA if you want My Book Home.

starboykb · 27th Apr 2009, 10:10 AM

I never get my eSATA work on the external drive. Any idea what's wrong since it wont automatically detect like USB does.

Mister · 27th Apr 2009, 04:13 PM

I don't have a eSATA gate on my laptop, so I will only use the USB. So the extra money for the Western Digital My Book home, is for the most part just for the eSATA stuff, and the better design?

Chai · 28th Apr 2009, 12:25 AM

In terms of performance, I don't think so.

Desktop Overview

This is the feature chart.

Adrian Wong · 30th Apr 2009, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister

I don't have a eSATA gate on my laptop, so I will only use the USB. So the extra money for the Western Digital My Book home, is for the most part just for the eSATA stuff, and the better design?

If you only use USB, then it will be the bottleneck, not the hard disk drive. In that case, get the cheapest option - the WD Elements.

Adrian Wong · 30th Apr 2009, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starboykb

I never get my eSATA work on the external drive. Any idea what's wrong since it wont automatically detect like USB does.

They should be automatically detected like regular SATA drives. You will need special eSATA cables though. Also, check if the eSATA controller driver has been properly installed for your OS.

Chai · 1st May 2009, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrian Wong

They should be automatically detected like regular SATA drives. You will need special eSATA cables though. Also, check if the eSATA controller driver has been properly installed for your OS.

If you are using the motherboard SATA port, there's no need to install any drivers.

Adrian Wong · 1st May 2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chai

If you are using the motherboard SATA port, there's no need to install any drivers.

SATA port? The eSATA cable and connector is different from the SATA cable and connector

Chai · 1st May 2009, 10:34 PM

It's basically the same thing. Connectors are different, but do you know many external drives comes with SATA to eSATA bracket, I don't even bother using the 'onboard' eSATA ports, and I rather use the Intel SATA ports.

It's like USB and mini-USB. It's the same thing, just different port.

27th Apr 2009, 05:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mister Newbie Join Date: 27 Apr 2009 Posts: 2 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	Western Digital External Hard Drives I want to buy a new 1TB external hard drive. I'm considering the 'Western Digital My Book Home' and the 'Western Digital Elements.' I don't know exactly the big differences regarding performance (because I'm far from an expert), so has someone a suggestion? The latter is far cheaper than the former, but I'm affraid that it also is a minor drive... P.S.: Sorry if my english isn't that great, because I'm also not an expert in the english language...

27th Apr 2009, 08:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 28,116 Reputation: 4649 Rep Power: 82	If you are only using USB, then it's not going to matter much in terms of performance. eSATA is faster than USB, so make sure you have eSATA if you want My Book Home. __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

28th Apr 2009, 12:25 AM	#5 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 28,116 Reputation: 4649 Rep Power: 82	In terms of performance, I don't think so. Desktop Overview This is the feature chart. __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

1st May 2009, 10:34 PM	#10 (permalink)
Chai Administrator Join Date: 6 Oct 2002 Location: Maranello Posts: 28,116 Reputation: 4649 Rep Power: 82	It's basically the same thing. Connectors are different, but do you know many external drives comes with SATA to eSATA bracket, I don't even bother using the 'onboard' eSATA ports, and I rather use the Intel SATA ports. It's like USB and mini-USB. It's the same thing, just different port. __________________ Chai (Contributor & Forum Admin) http://www.techarp.com/

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27th Apr 2009, 10:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
starboykb Getting there Join Date: 6 Oct 2008 Location: Brunei earth Posts: 158 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 2	I never get my eSATA work on the external drive. Any idea what's wrong since it wont automatically detect like USB does.

27th Apr 2009, 04:13 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mister Newbie Join Date: 27 Apr 2009 Posts: 2 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	I don't have a eSATA gate on my laptop, so I will only use the USB. So the extra money for the Western Digital My Book home, is for the most part just for the eSATA stuff, and the better design?