- home
- reviews
- news
- downloads
- cnet tv
On GameSpot: Thinking about buying a Wii?
- log in
- join CNET
- welcome,
- my profile
- log out

Drop, charge, and lose the cords

Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive (500GB)

Reviewed by

Felisa Yang

on 06/15/2006

Add to my list
Print
E-mail
Share

Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive (500GB)

Average user rating:
2.0
stars out of 62 reviews
See all user reviews

Price range:

$135.00 - $295.99

Compare prices:

Amazon.com Marketplace	$295.99
Server Supply.com Inc	$135.00

Compare prices from 2 stores

Quick specs
Hard drive size: 500 GB
Interface type: Hi-Speed USB
Buffer size: 16 MB
See full specifications

See all products in the My Book Essential Edition series
See all Western Digital Corp. products

Add to my list Product summary

The Western Digital MyBook Essential Edition external hard drive is a slightly pared-down version of the MyBook Premium Edition. It's a good option if you need additional storage without backup software.

Read full review

See all prices

Compare this external hard drive to:

Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive Starting at $135.00

My Book Essential Edition 2.0 WDH1U10000 - hard drive - 1 TB - Hi-Speed USB Starting at $109.99

Western Digital MyBook Premium Edition 500GB External Hard Drive Starting at $279.99

Western Digital My Book Mirror Edition Starting at $134.95

Seagate FreeAgent Xtreme Starting at $89.99

Compare selected

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by:
Felisa Yang
Edited by:
Matthew Elliott
Reviewed on: 06/15/2006

The Western Digital MyBook Essential Edition is a pared-down version of the MyBook Premium Edition that we reviewed. Available in sizes from 80GB to 500GB, this external hard drive features the same exterior design as the Premium Edition. It also uses the same 7,200rpm hard disk drive, so we expect the performance to be on a par with that of the Premium Edition. The Essential Edition drive has only a USB 2.0 connection (the Premium Edition can also connect via FireWire) and doesn't come with the EMC Dantz Retrospect software that ships on the Premium Edition. Also, the capacity meter on the "spine" of the drive glows green instead of blue.

Most helpful user reviews

Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 62 reviews
My rating: 0 stars Write review

Showing 3 of 62 user reviews
1.0 stars

15 out of 17 people found this helpful

"DOA - This Product Does Not Work"

by Pleonexia on April 6, 2006
5.0 stars

6 out of 6 people found this helpful

"Owning 10 of these drives can't be a bad thing!"

by groink_hi on August 15, 2007
4.5 stars

6 out of 6 people found this helpful

"Perfect for what it is"

by MonocularJack on June 16, 2006
See all 62 user reviews Write review

Submit your review

Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive (500GB)

ORLog in with your Facebook account

1. Rate this product:: (Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.): 0 of 5000 characters; Submit

Where to buy

Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive (500GB): $135.00 - $295.99

store	price	in stock?	rating
Amazon.com Marketplace	$295.99	See Site
	$135.00	Yes

see prices from 2 stores

Compare prices for Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive

Price range: $135.00 - $295.99

	Amazon.com Marketplace	$295.99
	Server Supply.com Inc	$135.00

Compare prices from 2 stores

Recent user reviews

Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 62 reviews
My rating: 0 stars Write review

Showing 3 of 62 user reviews
5.0 stars

"You Get What You Pay For, no Lemo frills for VW prices."

by Bohunkus1957 on November 6, 2009
1.5 stars

"Died in less than a year - recertified disk inside"

by mls09 on October 13, 2009
4.5 stars

"Fulfills its stated purpose excellently."

by tomnite on September 25, 2009
See all 62 user reviews Write review

Submit your review

Western Digital My Book Essential Edition external hard drive (500GB)

ORLog in with your Facebook account

1. Rate this product:: (Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.): 0 of 5000 characters; Submit

Special sponsor stores

Dell Shop

Reviews from around the WebPowered by alaTest

alaTest.com

Summary: alaTest collected and analyzed 1429 reviews of WD5000AAKS Caviar Blue Set 1 from international magazines and websites and compared these to 89393 reviews for other Hard Drives. Experts rate this product 79/100 and users 82/100. The amount of rated reviews for this product is too low to calculate a reliable alaScore™.

Read full review
techgage.com

Editors' rating: 90

Read full review
tweaktown.com

Editors' rating: 90

Summary: It is clear that HDD technology has taken a turn for the better

Read full review
techtree.com

Editors' rating: 90

Read full review
pcmag.com

Editors' rating: 90

Summary: Western Digital finally moves to PMR with its Caviar SE16 line of drives. Western Digital's Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS offers a good performance in a 7200RPM drive, the price is also right.

Read full review
goodgearguide.com.au

Editors' rating: 90

Summary: This drive represents Western Digitals move to higher-density platters, and with its two-platter 640GB capacity and $169 price tag, it's a perfect example of how affordable modern mass-storage devices are.

Read full review