WESTERN DIGITAL MY BOOK USB 3.0 DRIVES AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER

Slackworth · 26 Jan 2010 at 14:44

I know a lot of you have been asking for information on these and WD have finally provided everything we need.

Western Digital My Book 3.0 1TB USB3.0 External Hard Drive (WDBAAK0010HCH-EESN) @ £122.99 inc VAT

The elegant My Book 3.0 features SuperSpeed USB 3.0 with unmatched speed of up to 10x USB 2.0 for the fastest transfer speed available. Resource intensive video editing, animation, graphic design, and large media files can be saved so quickly that you no longer have to wait for the technology to keep up with your ideas.

- SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface
- Sleek, streamlined design
- Compatible with USB 2.0 ports
- Ready to plug-and-play with Windows PCs
- Warranty: 2 Years

Only £122.99 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW

Slackworth · 26 Jan 2010 at 14:44

Western Digital My Book 3.0 1TB USB3.0 External Hard Drive + USB 3.0 PCIe Card (WDBABP0010HCH-EESN) @ £135.99 inc VAT

The elegant My Book 3.0 features SuperSpeed USB 3.0 with unmatched speed of up to 10x USB 2.0 for the fastest transfer speed available. Resource intensive video editing, animation, graphic design, and large media files can be saved so quickly that you no longer have to wait for the technology to keep up with your ideas.

- Includes USB 3.0 PCIe Adapter Card
- SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface
- Sleek, streamlined design
- Compatible with USB 2.0 ports
- Ready to plug-and-play with Windows PCs
- Warranty: 2 Years

Only £135.99 inc VAT.

ORDER NOW

DrMekon · 26 Jan 2010 at 16:06

So what is the real world throughput for these disks, afterall, its only the interface speed that is usb3, so you may get double usb2 at best, due to disk limitation?

Slackworth · 26 Jan 2010 at 17:52

I've got WD in with me tomorrow so I'll see what they say. We haven't had a sample to test yet as they're still in production.

Sumanji · 27 Jan 2010 at 15:04

Yay, OcUK listened to my product request

(or more likely have had these on the way for ages

).

They are a lot pricier than I expected though

and no 2TB version yet? I suspect those will retail on the wrong side of £200...

When the WD rep arrives, could you clarify something with them please. On this page it looks like the new My Book 3.0 does not support some key features of the older drives (SmartWave, Auto-backup, File encryption etc.). Have these just been missed off that chart, or is this new drive a much more stripped-down model?

Cheers,

Su

supra21 · 27 Jan 2010 at 20:14

One thing i dont get is will this be any faster than an esata external drive? If the drive inside the Western Digital My Book 3.0 enclosure is a SATA2 drive then it will be limited to SATA2 speeds (3GBPS) which is the same as esata right?

You can pick up an Iomega Prestige Professional 1TB ESATA/USB 2.0 drive from around £88.

The only advantages i can see with USB 3.0:
1. Full duplex support
2. If you were to put a SSD into a USB 3.0 enclosure then theoretically you would attain a performance boost over a SATA2 connection. (USB 3.0 = 5GBPS, SATA2 = 3GBPS). The downside to this is cost, decent 32GB SSD's cost as much as the Western Digital My Book 3.0 1TB if not more; you would not get much GB for £££ compared to a HDD.

Sumanji · 27 Jan 2010 at 20:20

From a technical point of view, of course eSATA is better. However, I need compatibility with a large range of devices PC, Mac, PS3 etc. and USB is the only true universal connectivity standard. But USB 2.0 is jut too damn slow vs. eSATA and FW800, so USB 3.0 would be a great compromise between speed and compatibility

Su

supra21 · 27 Jan 2010 at 21:20

Humm, i see your point, however if your on a budget then i would still recommend an ESATA drive as nowadays most external ESATA drives also have USB 2.0 ports for things such as PS3's and MAC's. Its cheaper to buy an 1TB ESATA drive (£88) with an Akasa SATA to eSATA Adapter Kit (£3.51!) than the WD USB 3.0 1TB drive with USB 3.0 PCIe Adapter Card. Works out around £44 cheaper actully!
There are loads of cases and motherboards that come ESATA support already out of the box and have been for a while now. Whereas USB 3.0 is only supported by a few of the latest motherbaords out of the box meaning that the majority of users will be forced to buy the Western Digital My Book 3.0 1TB USB3.0 External Hard Drive + USB 3.0 PCIe Card combo for £136.

Slackworth · 23 Feb 2010 at 13:25

IN STOCK NOW

Tiamat21 · 23 Feb 2010 at 14:58

Wow, why are you complaining about the price?!
Its brand new(ish) tech, and £130 for 1tb usb3.0 drive is VERY cheap IMO.
Seing as its usaly ~£80 for 1tb usb2.0.
I'd buy one if I needed one.

Andelusion · 23 Feb 2010 at 15:09

Slackworth said:
IN STOCK NOW

Slackworth said:
I've got WD in with me tomorrow so I'll see what they say. We haven't had a sample to test yet as they're still in production.

Any idea?

Sumanji · 23 Feb 2010 at 15:25

Tiamat21 said:
Wow, why are you complaining about the price?!
Its brand new(ish) tech, and £130 for 1tb usb3.0 drive is VERY cheap IMO.
Seing as its usaly ~£80 for 1tb usb2.0.

Nice self-defeating comment there.

You think a £50 (63%) mark-up is acceptable for essentially the exact same drive with a USB 3.0 controller chip? In fact, if you look at the product page, the My Book 3.0 has less features than the previous USB 2.0 drives.

I would say your idea of value for money is very warped

But hey-ho, feel free to make Spie and Mr. WD even richer