Western Digital 500GB Elements External USB 2.0 7200 Rpm 3.5IN 8.9MS

List Price: $186.76 Discount Price: $87.99

Features:

• Form Factor - 3.5"-External
• Dimensions WxDxH - 124.68 x 36.14 x 203.82 mm
• Weight - 1.02 kg
• Physical Dimensions (W x L x H):
• -- 4.90 (+/- 0.010 inch) x 1.42 (Max) x 8.02 (Max) Inches/ 124.68 x 36.14 (Max) x 203.82 (Max) mm

Accessories:
Aluratek High-Speed USB 2.0 External 500GB Hard Drive - Silver (ACBS350500F)	Apricorn EZ-UP-UNIVERSAL EZ Upgrade Universal Hard Drive Upgrade Kit

Customer Reviews:

You Get What You Pay For ... [Posted on 2008-01-16]
One thing you have to remember when purchasing an item, and subsequently reviewing it, is that you get what you pay for. I bought this drive for $100 in an online auction and it is also relatively cheap elsewhere, which it was designed to be.

This hard drive has its positive and negative aspects, but all-in-all you get what you pay for. I'll start with what I like about it.

The rubber grips on each end are terrific, and provide a firm placement on whatever surface you put it on. The on/off switch is also a big plus, and as odd as that may seem, I have other external hard drives that do not have that simple luxury. On a far less important note, it looks good and sure beats the bright pink lights on one of my other** WD drives.

As for the downsides, the drive is probably my slowest - and I own more than 10. It also gives me I/O errors every now and then, sometimes randomly without cause, other times because (apparently) the data being transferred is just too much for it to handle. To solve these, I simply hit the on/off switch and reset it. Nonetheless, this can be inconvenient if you are in the middle of something, especially if the computer is unattended at the time of the error.

With all that being said, this is a great economical solution to your storage needs. I would not depend on it as a primary drive and would rather depend on it more for backing-up data and just for some extra space. If you can get it for the price I did, you really can't go wrong.

** http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-FireWire-Combo-Drive/dp/B0000DK69V

NOT the product pictured here. [Posted on 2008-04-16]
The product shown above has an on/off switch, but the unit I received did not. Nor did the replacement item that Amazon quickly sent. I kept it, though, because the price was low and it's basically silent. I'm docking it one star for not matching up with the product photos.

Easy to use [Posted on 2008-06-30]
The external hard drive was smaller than I had expected and it was easier to hook up as well. Following the instructions on the screen made the whole process of downloading quick and easy. I found it a good value and I am glad to have my computer backed up at last.

Great Piece of Equiptment [Posted on 2008-07-18]
This is the first external hard drive I have ever owned but i've used countless differant ones because I wanted to be absolutely sure it was right for me.

This puppy is pretty impressive, not only is it a great amount of storage for such a low price but it's so dam rugged I feel like I could run over it with a car and it would do more damage to the tires then to itself.

It does get a little hot but nothing to extreme and I REALLY put it through it's paces when I first got it (alot of backing up and such).

I would recommend this to ANYONE looking for really any amount of storage because for the price it is fantastic.

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