I've always been a fan of Western Digital hard drives both internal and external, however, I am really cheesed off with their decision to change their WD Elements 1TB external drive casing from metal to plastic.
Why?
Well, the original casing was a sturdy metal case with front and back rubber bumpers & had all standard connectors.
In an effort to save dollars and force users to have to purchase special WD only leads they changed the casing and connectors too.
No big deal really is it?
Well for this guy it's a very big deal for sure. So much so that I haven't and will never buy one again if Western Digital decide to leave things as they stand.
So what's the big deal with the newer versions?
The new plastic casing is of a very poor quality especially compared to the original metal one.
Not only does it look & feel cheap but it is cheap, very very shoddy and cheap indeed.
Looks pretty OK to me, what's the problem?
Well, look a little closer my friends!
A high quantity of the drives shipped have had misalignment issues (see Pic, apologies for poor quality) whereby it was extremely difficult if not impossible to connect both the power and USB connectors at the rear.
And to cap it all off, Western Digital have changed the connector for the drive end on the USB cable to a non standard fitting. Any old USB cable won't do so you have to purchase replacement cables directly from WD.
As a ten year customer of Western Digital Elements external drives, I will never purchase another one while this design remains in place.
End of rant!
-
Why?
Well, the original casing was a sturdy metal case with front and back rubber bumpers & had all standard connectors.
In an effort to save dollars and force users to have to purchase special WD only leads they changed the casing and connectors too.
No big deal really is it?
Well for this guy it's a very big deal for sure. So much so that I haven't and will never buy one again if Western Digital decide to leave things as they stand.
So what's the big deal with the newer versions?
The new plastic casing is of a very poor quality especially compared to the original metal one.
Not only does it look & feel cheap but it is cheap, very very shoddy and cheap indeed.
Looks pretty OK to me, what's the problem?
Well, look a little closer my friends!
A high quantity of the drives shipped have had misalignment issues (see Pic, apologies for poor quality) whereby it was extremely difficult if not impossible to connect both the power and USB connectors at the rear.
And to cap it all off, Western Digital have changed the connector for the drive end on the USB cable to a non standard fitting. Any old USB cable won't do so you have to purchase replacement cables directly from WD.
As a ten year customer of Western Digital Elements external drives, I will never purchase another one while this design remains in place.
End of rant!
-
