Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Fast fast fast, good looking, quiet |
| Disadvantages: |
none so far |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
BACKGROUND
**********************
I use a laptop PC which has 60GB hard drive. When you download videos, backup your music or your pictures, all these files start taking loads of space on a hard drive, and the poor things gets clogged up very quickly.
I first got an external hard drive off Ebay a few years ago, but now, the 160GB start growing thin considering the amount of stuff I put on.
I started looking for a new, bigger external hard drive, after seeing a cheap one on a Tesco l;eaflet (not the one I actually got)
GETTING THE PUPPY
********************************
I went on Amazon, and searched for "320GB hard drive", and the Western Digital came first. It had about 25 reviews, and 98% of them were very positive (you can't please everybody). I then was told by a mate that he's been using this one for a while, and that it was working great.
I then pressed the "purchase" magic button, and the rest is history.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
*************************************
Funnily enough, it wears its name quite well, as the hard drive looks like a book. A thick one, but still. It has a circular on / off button, surrounded by a green cirle that flashes when the hard drive is in use. You can use it standing up or lying down (more protective pads provided if you wanna use it like that).
WHAT DO YOU GET FOR WHAT PRICE?
************************************************
When you open the box, you get the actual hard drive (HD), the USB cable, the main supply (with an English plug and a European main land plug), a few Google programs (with a backup program) and the manual.
I paid £69.99 on the 25/03/07 on Amazon for the HD. Fair price for the storage and the performance. So let's talk about the
PERFORMANCE
***********************
I was VERY impressed by the performance of this HD. It is very fast. VERY VERY fast (7200rpm).
I backed up my 150GB of data in just above 1h. This morning I extracted some mp3s off a CD, and backed it up on the HD, and the 10 songs (roughly 50MB) were on the HD in 2 seconds. I first thought that I transferred only 1 song, but all of them were there! I could not believe it. It took at least 5 - 10 seconds for my old one to get them on it!
The HD is fairly quiet. You can slightly hear the fan in the background, but it is a lot more silent than my old one, especially when writing. Also, if not in use for 5 minutes, the HD will turn itself off, and if you wanna access it, it will turn itself back on as soon as you open "my computer" (it is very quick). Nice feature (energy / planet saving feature no waste of energy, and no more forgetting to turn off the unit!). Also, the HD turn itself off with the computer, and start along with it. So no need to think again about it! Just plug, and that's it!
THE GEEKY BIT: THE SPECIFICATIONS
****************************************************
* roduct Description: My Book Essential Edition WDG1U3200 - hard drive - 320 GB - Hi-Speed USB
* Type: Hard drive - external
* Dimensions (WxDxH): 14.1 cm x 17.1 cm x 5.7 cm
* Weight: 1.3 kg
* Localisation: Middle East, Africa, Europe
* Capacity: 320 GB
* Interface Type: Hi-Speed USB
* Connector: 4 pin USB
* Data Transfer Rate: 480 Mbps
* Average Seek Time: 8.9 ms
* Spindle Speed: 7200 rpm
* Buffer Size: 8 MB
* OS Required: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows XP, Apple MacOS X 10.2.8 or later
* Power Source: Included AC adapter
* Power: AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Extended Specifications
General
* Compatibility: PC, Mac
* Depth: 17.1 cm
* Device Type: Hard drive - external
* Height: 5.7 cm
* Localisation: Middle East, Africa, Europe
* Weight: 1.3 kg
* Width: 14.1 cm
Environmental Parameters
* Max Operating Temperature: 35 °C
* Min Operating Temperature: 5 °C
Expansion / Connectivity
* Interfaces: 1 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type B
Hard Drive
* Buffer Size: 8 MB
* Capacity: 320 GB
* Connector: 4 pin USB
* Interface Type: Hi-Speed USB
Performance
* Average Latency: 4.2 ms
* Interface Transfer Rate: 480 Mbps
* Seek Time: 8.9 ms (average)
* Spindle Speed: 7200 rpm
* Track-to-Track Seek Time: 2 ms
Power
* Power Device: Power adapter
* Voltage Required: AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Software / System Requirements
* OS Required: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows XP, Apple MacOS X 10.2.8 or later
* Software Included: Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, Google Picasa
Miscellaneous
* Cables Included: 1 x USB cable - USB Type A to B - 1.8 m
MANUAL
************
Not very thick, and does not have much in it. As this HD is plug and play, there is not many things to say... There is a link to the wesbsite where more info are available such as how to partition your HD, and other few things.
CUSTOMER SERVICES
******************************
I did not have the occasion to deal with them. To benefit from the 2 years garantee, you need to register your unit online (following one of the links already included on your HD after installing it.
The registration takes less than 5 minutes.
MY OPINION
******************
As you could guess by now, I love this thing. It is great, fast, nice to look at (even if it is something I do not care about, performance being first), and surprisingly small for its capacity.
I would definitely recommend it if you need extra storage, without going through the pain of installing, plugging in / out etc etc. You plug it once, and that is it. You switch on your PC, it is here. You turn it off, the HD turns itself off. You do not have to worry about a thing again.
No surprise it got 5/5 stars on Amazon.
I don't see anything more to add. If you have suggestions, comments or questions, please do not hesitate to ask, I will be happy to update my review.
Thnaks for reading!!
J
| More Reviews |
 My little black book
Review of Western Digital My Book Essential Edition WDG1U3200 320 GB by
matties_bitch
Advantages: Holds tonnes of files!
Disadvantages: It is quite heavy.
...models came up - the Western Digital My Book external harddrive came up a few times with different storage sizes - 160GB, 320GB, 500GB etc.
The Western Digital My Book external harddrive stood out next to the others as it looked to be a nice size, it was better looking than most of the others available with its smart black casing and it had more variety of what storage size you can get.
Space
The 320GB harddrive holds up to 90,000 photos or 80,000 ...
...can pick up a 320GB Western Digital My Book external harddrive for £85.10 (Amazon's price). For the 160GB alternative Amazon charge £62.00 and £99.99 for the 500GB drive.
There are other sites selling the harddrive for between £70 and £80 including misco.co.uk , tecno.co.uk and pixmania.co.uk - I got mine from pixmania.co.uk in October 2006 for £90.00.
Conclusion
The Western Digital My Book external harddrive has proven to be worth every penny ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
|
very helpful
11.03.2007
|
 MASSIVE capacity, stylish external hard drive.
Review of Western Digital My Book Essential Edition WDG1U3200 320 GB by
hellofatime
Advantages: Stylish, large capacity and a good match for a (black) Dell computer
Disadvantages: No firewire, and USB cable is a bit short, no disclosure of cache
...I settled for the 320GB Western Digital My Book.
SPECIFICATION
320GB
7200RPM
USB only (cable included)
AC Adapter
Comes with Back up Software
Black with an green illuminated power button on the front
powers on and off with the computer
2 year warranty
USE
Its literally plug and play. I took it out of the box, plugged the USB into it and a spare port on the computer, plugged the adapter in and turned it on.
You get a number of backup software ...
...additional storage only.
One of the first things you notice is that it looks very cool. I have a dell computer, which of course is black, and this fits in really well with it. If you have a dell, and you're image conscious then this is the puppy.
For warranty purposes you have to register the serial number online which took about 3 minutes. Very quick registration process and easy to follow.
As for its speed use etc. Well, I use it to store a ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful |
|
helpful
25.06.2006
|
Awesome
Review of Western Digital My Book Essential Edition WDG1U3200 320 GB by
suar
Advantages: Easy to use, easy to install, no complications, very very stable
Disadvantages: None
Existing as the cheapest external HDD in the market, WD has really sweeped the market.. A perferct combination of performance, quality and good price..
It comes in 250, 320, 500 GB and just came out with 1 TB...
The prices are incomparable.. This HDD is the most stable that I have ever used.. It has curbed the most irritating problems with HDD - that is stability issues.. No complications, just plug and play.. No installation of drivers, nothing ...
...photo management (Picasa).. The best thing is that it comes as FAT32 formatted, so it can be used in all (windows, mac and linux ubuntu)..
As far as speed of file transfer goes, its good as per to USB 2.0 speeds... For better speeds, go for the firewire versions.. WD has also come up with data backup versions of the same..
I havent had a single problem with the HDD.. I would suggest this to everyone.. Take my word for it, it is the best available ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful |
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somewhat helpful
03.06.2007
|
320 Gb External Hard Drive
Review of Western Digital My Book Essential Edition WDG1U3200 320 GB by
barnardo64
Advantages: Stylish, Very Quiet, Ease of Use
Disadvantages: None
This stylish hard drive from Western Digital is one of the simplest electronic things I have bought in years. Just plug it into your USB port, and it does every thing for you, no installing drives off CD's, which on some things I have experienced, can be very time consuming. It is also surprisingly quiet and very stylish and with 320 Gb of space theres enough room for thousands of your pictures and music files. This also comes with a Fire Wire cable ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful |
|
somewhat helpful
04.03.2007
|
