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A portable storage device comes with a unique design and a durable body to prevent damage after a fall. It is light-weighted and can be moved easily from one place to another. The portable storage comes with desirable speed and storage capacities. It comes with USB connectivity and can work on all OS and PCs. This portable storage device can act as a backup device for your work and personal needs. The backup storage device can also keep files in case your computer refuses to come on. So, let’s take a look at the WD Elements and the WD My Book, and choose which is better.
The WD Elements is a portable device with great storage capacities. It comes with a unique data transfer rate and it is affordable. They can store large files of music, videos, photos, and documents. The WD My Book desktop storage comes with great transfer speed. It comes with software that protects your data from theft. This WD My Book desktop storage can store massive files of music, videos, documents, and more.
In Feb, 2023 WD has announced new 22 TB and dual 44 TB version of my book external hard drives .
WD Elements vs WD My Book – Similarities
Quick Glance
[amazon table=”2352″]So, let’s take a look at their similarities.
Connectivity
The WD Elements and the WD My Book both support USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 connectivity. With this, they can transfer files at a speed of 60MB/s for USB 2.0 and 625MB/s for USB 3.0. Transferring your file becomes quick and easy when these devices are connected to your computer USB port.
Compatibility
These portable devices are compatible with Window 7, 8, and 10. Both devices are also compatible with Mac OS and other operating systems but would require reformatting for these operating systems.
WD Software
The WD Elements and the WD My Book both come with WD Backup and WD Recovery software for backing up your files and storing them on the cloud. The WD Backup allows you to back up your file automatically. You can schedule the backup daily, weekly, or yearly. You can back up your data by downloading the WD Backup software, connect the drive, and select the best time option schedule. By using WD Discovery you can share your file to a popular cloud platform or on social media services like Dropbox, one drive, Google, and Facebook.
Power Supply
They support a USB power supply and also deliver sufficient power during transfer.
Differences Between WD Elements and WD My Book
In this section, we will take a look at the difference between the WD Elements and the WD My Book.
Appearance
The WD Elements and the WD My Book come in different designs.
WD Elements
This storage drive comes with a slim form factor and unique style. It is reliable, durable, portable, and they come with a black color design. The WD Elements has convenient features, effective shock tolerance, and long-term reliability. It also comes with a smooth surface and curved edges. The WD Elements portable drives come with a maximum weight of 0.5 pounds and comes with a dimension of 4.35″ x 3.23″ x 0.59″. Its desktop external drives weigh 3.25 pounds and comes with a dimension 5.31″ x 1.89″ x 6.53″.
WD My Book
The WD My Book looks like a desktop storage device. It is bulky and not easy to move around. The device is compact and durable. The device can be placed on a flat surface for use and it needs a separate power adapter to operate. The WD My Book has a maximum weight of 2.88 pounds. It comes with a dimension 5.5″ x 1.9″ x 6.7″.
Read next – WD My Passport vs Easystore: Which Hard Drives are Better?
Connectivity
The WD Elements and the WD My Book both uses USB connection which can be plugged in with your source/computer .let’s look at each in details .
WD Elements
All WD Elements hard drives are backward compatible with USB 2.0 and Max Compatible with USB 3.0 allowing it faster data transfer .
WD My Book
WD MY Books on other side allows USB 3.0 Connection , On Top the newer 22TB and 44 Duo Stack hard drive allows USB 3.1 and USB 3.2 Connection . For Duo hardware RAID 0 by default but can be changed to support RAID 1.
Capacity
They also have different storage capacities.
WD Elements
The WD Elements portable drives come with storage capacities of 1TB, 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, and 5TB. The WD Elements desktop drive comes with storage capacity such as 3TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, 14TB, 16TB, and 18TB.
WD My Book
This WD My Book desktop drive comes with capacities such as 3TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, 14TB, 16TB, 18TB , 22TB , 44TB ( Duo version )
Read next – WD Easystore vs WD Elements: Which Hard Drive is Better?
Password Protection
WD Elements
The WD Elements doesn’t support hardware encryption or password protection for older models, newer models have it.
WD My Book
This hard drive allows you to set up a password with the password protection feature. Also, it comes with a +256 AES hardware encryption that protects your data from theft.
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Reformatting
Both devices require reformatting for them to work on other operating systems.
WD Element
The WD Element will require NTFS formatting to work on Windows and other operating systems.
WD My Book
The WD My Book storage drive will require an exFAT formatting to work efficiently on Windows and other operating systems.
Warranty
WD Elements
The WD Elements has a 2-year limited warranty.
WD My Book
The WD My Book has a 3-year limited warranty.
Read next – Seagate Backup Plus vs WD My Passport: Which Hard Drive is Better?
Pros and Cons
Before our final verdict, we will go over a few pros and cons of the WD Elements and the WD My Book.
WD Elements
Pros
- It is durable and shock tolerance.
- It delivers a great performance.
- It has a fast data transfer speed.
Cons
- Only its recent model comes with hardware encryption.
WD My Book
Pros
- It has reliable connectivity.
- It comes with a variety of large capacities.
- The limited warranty period is excellent.
Cons
- It requires an external power adapter.
The Final Verdict
The WD Element and the WD My Book are great storage devices with good connectivity and transfer speed. They come with a durable design and a longer life span. The WD Element and the WD My Book is compatible with both Windows and Mac operating system although they require reformatting before they are used. They can store and share large files with cloud and social media platforms using the WD Discovery feature.
After considering their features, we decided to choose WD Element as the better option. No doubt, WD My Book is a great storage device with more storage capacities. But the drawback of this is the design. WD My Book is bulky compared to WD Element which is portable and easy to move around. Aside from the design, both hard drives are great to use.