An older hard drive I had slapped in a cheap external USB housing (for MP3 storage) was getting increasingly loud (it's all ball bearings these days, you know), so I had my eye out for a replacement. Not willing to spend $1/GB typical of many pre-packaged USB external drives, I finally found a deal I could live with: a 120GB Western Digital Dual-Option External USB Hard Drive for $80 after rebates at Circuit City.
I have no idea what the "Dual-Option" nomenclature refers to since this is USB 2.0 only (no Firewire/IEEE1394). Perhaps the two options available are that you can lay it down on its side or stand it up on its edge with the included feet. ;-)
This sits in our family room where we watch most of our TV and movies, so noise was a real concern. After reading several reviews suggesting it to be quiet, I bought it with some confidence. Boy, they weren't kidding. Even with my ear next to the unit, I can barely tell it's on.
Setup was easy, although I didn't use the included automated backup software (we're using it just as a media storage drive). The casing looks nice and the entire package seems to be of high quality. If you need more room, then opt for one of their larger drives (up to 250GB at the moment, I believe). And yes, the little buttons in front are dimly lit with blue LEDs (this ain't no disco).
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the purchase. Now I just hope CC processes my rebates.
Specs:
- Model number: WDXUB1200BBNN
- Spindle Speed: 7200RPM
- Cache: 2MB
- Hi-Speed USB 2.0
- Read seek time: 8.9 ms
- Contents: External drive, USB 2.0 cable, A/C adapter (2-part cord), software CD, plastic feet fixtures
- Physical dimensions: Do you really care? It's a freaking external hard drive.
I got one of these. Actually, mine is 320gb, and I paid a teeny bit (ok, a shipload) more at Costco. Then again, I can fit four full copies of my 80gb hard drive on it. hehe. The Dual Option thing is the automated and manual backups. That's what the extra button on the front is. In the software that it comes with, you can set up what happens when either of these buttons are on or pressed. Anyway, yeah, I'm loving mine so far. I feel much more secure than I did before (with no backup, hehe)
Can you post the model numbr and output specs on the power adapter for your drive? I have one of these external USB drives, but have misplaced the power adapter. I have a box full of power adapters for various devices I've accumulated over the years. I don't think I put the power adapter for this drive in that box, but I thought I might be able to find a compatible one or with the model number of the power adapter and/or specs purchase a replacement online.
I'll check when I can get a minute...the weekend at the latest.