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Saw this at local DSE today. It may not be better than the Toshiba deal from 2.5'' but hey it's still a good deal ;)
WD Elements SE 750GB 2.5'' Portable Hard Drive @ DSE $99
650
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Not a bad deal if you could extract the insides to put in a laptop.
i was going to do that but got lazy all of the sudden :)
spontaneous laziness. i like.
Indeed. Was just considering returning the one I bought from Officeworks and buying this instead, when I remembered that my laptop can't take 12.5mm laptop hdds. Sucks.
(I assume that it IS 12.5mm? Please correct me if I'm wrong)
all laptops take 2.5'' HDD, some can take SSD. ur laptop should be able to fit a 2.5'' ;)
no not all laptops can take all 2.5" HDD
there are at least two 2.5" HDD sizes the smaller 9mm and the new 12.5mm that's starting to appear in the form of 640gb+ HDDs. The problem is most laptops can't fit the newer and larger 12.5mm 2.5" HDDs.@ HD 2 hours 12 min ago
all laptops take 2.5” HDD, some can take SSD. ur laptop should be able to fit a 2.5” ;)
I think you are confusing FORM FACTOR with HEIGHT !!!
The "portable" or "laptop" FORM FACTOR is 2.5" or 63.5mm, but the HEIGHT is usually somewhere between 7mm-15mm, with 9.5mm and 12.5mm being common HEIGHTS.
As mentioned, many laptops and similar devices don't fit the drive if the HEIGHT is too great.Thanks a lot :D
I just re-read my post and I am glad you didn't take it the wrong way because I wasn't trying to be rude, just offer a friendly warning :)
It's just that I have seen MANY people buy a HD enclosure intending to put the HD in their laptop, PS3, etc and then realise AFTER they have cracked it open and voided the warranty that it won't fit :(
+1 to the question of the height of the internal disk. Are we sure it's 12mm?
It would be awesome if anyone can confirm that :(
WD Scorpio 2.5" 750Gb is 9mm. No idea if that's what is in this though.
Would most likely be a normal scorpio blue, there's no point in putting a more expensive drive in something they sell cheap.
That's interesting. Might get one after all
Was looking a cheap <$100 640GB drive to backup my laptop.
This would do nicely.
:D
Pricematch?
http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Dat…It says Online Only though. :\
Can't be pricematched as this is the elements version not the My Passport Essential Se
Are you telling me OW don't carry both versions?
never seen a 750 element at OW, only the 500 element or 750 passport
Would it not be worth paying more for Passport so that you get a smaller and more compact enclosure?
That really depends on how you choose to use the drive. According to the WD website, the Passport is 16mm shorter than the Elements, but is 3mm thicker. The Passport comes with Smartware that could get annoying, though it can be easily disabled if you know how to.
Although I haven't found hard evidence that the usb controller is built into the rest of the board, I have read rumours that it is indeed the case with the newer editions of the passport, which would explain its shorter length. This means it cannot be removed from the case and popped inside a laptop.
Another difference is the glossy case of the Passport. I personally don't like fingerprints, though the casing does look nice.
This is the new element which is about the same size as passport.
sounds good, i'll have a look around tomorrow for one :) thanks dude
Can anyone confirm this drive has a normal detachable usb controller board and not wd's soldered one piece controller board? ie you can detach the usb adapter/board from the sata connection and use it as a normal 2.5" drive?
The following videos suggest that the Elements line use detachable USB controller boards. I would assume it's the same unless WD has recently changed its manufacturing processes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd4rG8_8YOk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5apTRMH1T8o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHxCts6H7qoThese video show the previous generation of elements, the new elements have the same width but almost 10mm shorter. It also comes with MicroSD, as opposed to the Mini SD on previous generation.
BTW guys, for those looking for taking apart this drive, don't try, they designed the new portable series so that is is near impossible to without damaging the case or hard drive. Its not just a few screws, they use some magnetic mechanism
bought 1 just now.
Just bought one Samsung 2.5" 640Gb from HVN for A$77
Not sure it is a bargain or not.iomega 500gb is $76
so what do u think? lol
that's cheap.
But I had bad experience with samsung hdd.
I prefer WD
But 3-year warranty
but do they recover your data?
The harddrive is worthless, warranties are worthless, your data is not.
Is it possible to extract the drive without damaging the case?
yes but the drive is useless without the case, or rather, the drive can't be used with anything else except a (micro or mini, I forget which) usb cable
I was thinking if I can use it as a notebook drive :)
Actually, I'm not sure if you can open it without damaging the case. But yeah, I too was looking for a drive that could be taken apart. This drive doesn't use sata or ide - the entire thing is on one board and cannot be separated.
If you're looking to use it inside a notebook, you're better off looking at the Seagate Freeagent drives. Possibly the WD Elements? But one of the comments here say that the new version cannot be taken apart. The WD Passports supposedly have the controller attached, so avoid those. The new GoFlex work, but Seagate is charging a premium for their "adaptability." A bit ridiculous if you ask me. The Iomega drives are a possibility - I remember they source their drives from one of the larger players and chuck it inside their own case.
http://www.devincollier.com/2010/01/04/how-to-open-a-western…
"Inigo says:
July 17, 2010 at 3:37 pmNOTE FOR 750GB / 1TB: The latest 750TB / 1TB SE Elements drive no longer has a standard SATA interface. I took apart a drive today and found that the USB port is now integrated to the drive itself and instead of a SATA interface there are 12 ATA-style pins that are covered by the LED. So if you want 750GB / 1TB internally in your laptop, look elsewhere. Besides, the integrated USB port is a micro USB (new standart for chargint mobiles), not mini USB, so if you expected to use your old mini USB – USB cables just forget about that. I decided to give it back to store since I just wanted it to insert in a USB 3.0 case and since it is not SATA interface I couldn’t use it as I was looking for. By the way, it is 12.5mm high and it has a WD Scorpio Blue in it."
Thanks, great find :)
You're allowed to return after taking it apart?
lol I assume that was sarcasm?
Pretty decent deal, though there are a few places selling the Samsung S2 640GB which may work out to be slightly better value per GB.