Not Exciting, But Very Functional
Written: Apr 09 '04 (Updated May 03 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Price, good speed on USB 2.0 connection, installs easily
Cons: No power switch, no software
The Bottom Line: Good value for the dollar, but not feature rich.
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| digitaldoc's Full Review: Western Digital (WD1200B05RNN) 120 GB USB 2.0 Hard... |
Introduction
"There are 2 categories of computer users- those that have lost data, and those that will lose data."
The Western Digital 120 GB hard drive usb 2.0 is designed to offer additional hard drive space via a usb port. This will add more storage space to any usb computer without having to open up the case to upgrade. Let's see if it lives up to its expectations.
I use it principally with my Shuttle Small Form Factor PC
"http://www.epinions.com/content_138039561860"
Out of the Box Experience
I hope the company pays its shareholders well, because it certainly doesn't put it into the product. If there was a "white box" version of the drive, it would be the same.
The box contained the drive, a usb 2.0 cable, the power supply cable, and a setup paper. There was only one page of directions in English- the so called quick start up guide. There was no disc of drivers for a Win 98SE computer- you were directed to a website to download them. Win XP and ME have the drivers in their OS.
The box states that there are interchangeable faceplates for free for order from the website; it costs $7.25 to ship each-they're not giving anything away with those overpriced S & H costs.
Installation
The drive is truly plug-and-play for both Windows ME and XP. The drive, when powered up, installs itself without any problem. Windows recognizes it as a mass storage device. It gets recognized in My Computer as "WDC USB2" as the next lettered drive- "F"on my system. It installed without issues on 3 different computers. In addition it is "hot pluggable" which means you can plug it in or out without rebooting the computer which makes it easy to use.
Features
The drive comes formatted with the FAT32 system at 111 GB of usable free space. There is no power switch except to unplug it contributing to the no frills feeling. It is a 7200 rpm drive with a 2 mb buffer.
The drive itself is a thick metallic silver plastic with a gray faceplate. It is 21 x 14 x 4.5 cm in size and weighs about 4.5 pounds. It has a green led for power, and a red led to show drive activity. There is a Kensington lock slot in the rear.
The drive does not have a fan which contributes to its quiet operation. One can stack the drives if you need more than one. The power brick is not built into the plug so it doesn't take up 3 outlets on the surge strip, but only one (other manufacturers should take note).
It has a 1year warranty, and 90 days of tech support.
Benchmarks
While the drive worked much better on a 2.0 connection, it did function on the 1.1 as well.
Using HD Tach, I obtained the following data on a usb 2.0 port
Random access 21.2 msec
Burst speed 25.2 mb/s
Read speed max 15.9 mb/s
min 13.4 mb/s
avg 14.2 mb/s
CPU utitilization 26.7%
These were roughly half as fast as my Western Digital 160 gb ide internal drive which has an average read speed of 27.8 mb/s and is reviewed on epinions.
"http://www.epinions.com/content_131774320260"
I also did some "real world" testing. On 14.1 gb of files, it took 14 min 20 sec which was 16 mb/s or about 1 gb/min across a usb 2.0 connection! However, I was unimpressed with the 0.92 mb/s I clocked across a usb 1.1 connection transferring a 100 mb file.
Conclusion
In use, the drive gets the job done. I was getting data off my Zip 100 disks when I heard the now famous"COD" (click of death) and the 4 year old drive broke. This drive is an ideal digital shoebox for all those files I accumulate and hold on to. Users looking for a fast connection should find a firewire drive. Users looking for a backup solution should look at the Maxtor One Touch line of drives which comes with software to back up a hard drive.
I got a good deal, and this drive will serve my needs, make sure it will serve yours. In the meantime, maybe Western Digital will work on a power switch, and a software package. This drive is as exciting as a dump truck, but it quietly gets the job done.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
digitaldoc
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Location: New York
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 13 members
About Me:
Men don't outgrow their toys, they just get more expensive.
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