WD Elements External Hard Drives: Portable vs Desktop Buying Guide (Australia)

WD Elements at a glance: three lines, one job

Every WD Elements drive does the same thing: you plug it in and get more storage for backups, photos, videos and documents. The differences are the connector, the power source, the capacity and the warranty. WD also sells other external drive families (such as My Passport); Elements is its straightforward plug-and-play line, and it is the one this guide covers.

Summarised from Western Digital's Australian product pages and WD Elements datasheets. Capacities are the ones ARC IP Networks lists.

WD Elements specifications compared

Every figure below is from Western Digital for the exact model numbers ARC IP Networks lists (shown on each product card further down).

Swipe the table sideways to compare all models →

Sources: WD Australian product pages and the WD Elements Portable USB-C datasheet, WD Elements Portable product overview and WD Elements Desktop product overview. WD does not publish a MB/s transfer rate for these drives, only the 5Gbps interface speed. As WD notes, 1TB = one trillion bytes and the capacity your computer shows will be a little lower.

WD Elements Portable USB-C: the modern pick

The USB-C line is the newest WD Elements portable. It ships with a USB-C to USB-C cable, so it plugs straight into current laptops, MacBooks and desktops with a USB-C port, with no adapter needed. WD formats it exFAT for out-of-the-box use and lists Windows 10+ and macOS 11+, so a family with a Windows PC and a MacBook can share one drive without reformatting it first.

It is also the only Elements line with a 3-year limited warranty on WD's Australian page, a year longer than the other two. WD says the enclosure is made from more than 50% post-consumer recycled plastic, and the packaging from more than 50% recycled pulp.

Size depends on capacity. The 1TB and 2TB models are 15.0 mm thick and weigh 0.13 kg, light enough for a uni backpack or a camera bag. The 6TB model is 23.7 mm thick and 0.24 kg, in exchange for three times the space of the 2TB.

One thing to check: the cable is USB-C at both ends. If the computer you want to back up only has the older rectangular USB-A ports, the USB 3.0 line below is the simpler fit.

WD Elements Portable USB 3.0: for USB-A computers

The USB 3.0 line has a Micro-B port on the drive and ships with a SuperSpeed USB-A cable, the familiar rectangular plug found on most desktop PCs, older laptops. It runs at the same USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) interface speed as the USB-C model.

WD lists it for Windows 10+, noting that reformatting may be required for other operating systems. Warranty is a 2-year limited warranty. Like the USB-C line, WD says the enclosure is more than 50% post-consumer recycled plastic.

We list it in 2TB, 4TB and 5TB. The 2TB is the slim body (15.0 mm, 0.13 kg); the 4TB and 5TB use the thicker body (23.7 mm, 0.23 kg) pictured below.

WD Elements Desktop: big capacity on mains power

The WD Elements Desktop 14TB is a different kind of drive. It stands upright on a desk (135.0 x 48.0 x 165.8 mm, 0.90 kg) and plugs into a power point through the AC adapter in the box, with a SuperSpeed USB-A cable to the computer. WD makes the Desktop in capacities up to 26TB; ARC IP Networks lists the 14TB model, WD's Australia and New Zealand product number WDBBKG0140HBK-AESN.

WD says it works out of the box with Windows PCs. For a Mac, WD states that reformatting is required for macOS. Warranty is a 2-year limited warranty.

Because it needs a power point, the Desktop is a stay-at-home drive: the backup target for a family PC, a photographer's editing desk or a small office reception computer, rather than something you carry between campus and home.

Bus-powered portable or mains-powered desktop?

The two portable lines have no power adapter in the box: they run from the computer's USB port, so one cable does both data and power. That makes them easy to carry and easy to use anywhere, from a laptop on the train to a PC in a home study.

The Desktop needs its AC adapter plugged into a power point. In return you get a far larger capacity than the portables in this range. If your backup drive will live permanently beside one computer, mains power is no drawback. If it travels, choose a portable.

From WD's published box contents, weights and capacities.

Windows out of the box, and reformatting for a Mac

All WD Elements drives work with Windows 10 and later straight away. Mac compatibility depends on the line, and it is worth getting right before you buy:

• Portable USB-C: formatted exFAT, with Windows 10+ and macOS 11+ both listed by WD. It works on a Mac without reformatting.
• Portable USB 3.0: listed for Windows 10+. WD notes that reformatting may be required for other operating systems, including macOS.
• Desktop: listed for Windows 10+. WD states that reformatting is required for macOS.

Reformatting erases the drive, so do it before you copy anything to it. On a Mac, Disk Utility handles it. If you plan to use Apple's Time Machine, macOS will offer to erase and set up the drive itself the first time you choose it as a backup disk, whichever line you buy.

WD also notes that compatibility may vary depending on your hardware configuration and operating system.

What is in the box, and the warranty for each line

Box contents from WD's Australian product pages and datasheets. WD does not list bundled backup software for these models. WD notes that the warranty term depends on the country where the product was purchased.

Buying from an authorised Australian reseller keeps warranty claims simple, and on top of WD's limited warranty you keep your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.

How to choose capacity for backups

Start with how much data you actually have, then leave room to grow. Check the used space on each computer you want to back up, add the photo and video folders on any other devices, and add an allowance for the next couple of years. A useful rule of thumb is to buy about twice the capacity of the data you need to protect, so the backup software can keep older versions of files as well as the latest copy.

ARC IP Networks suggestions, not WD recommendations. Size to your own data.

One external drive is a copy, not a backup strategy. The 3-2-1 rule says keep three copies of your data, on two different types of storage, with one copy offsite. A practical version for an Australian home or small office: the computer itself, a WD Elements drive on the desk, and a second drive (or a cloud service) kept somewhere else, such as at a relative's place or in the office. Our guide NAS Backup Done Right: The 3-2-1 Rule and RAID 5 vs RAID 6 (Australia) explains the rule in detail, and NAS vs Cloud Storage: What is Right for Australians? covers when cloud storage makes sense as the offsite copy.

Keep drives out of a hot car or a sunny window sill: WD rates every Elements model for operation between 5°C and 35°C, and storage up to 65°C.

When a NAS is the better answer

An external drive backs up the one computer it is plugged into, when someone remembers to plug it in. That is fine for a student or a single home PC. It starts to break down when:

• several computers, laptops and phones all need backing up, every night, without anyone doing anything;
• you want a copy of your photos away from Google or Apple subscriptions;
• staff need to share the same files, or reach them from home;
• a single drive failing would mean losing the only copy.

That is the job of a NAS (network attached storage): a small always-on box with two or more drives that sits on your network, backs up every device automatically and can protect against a single drive failure with RAID. Read What Is a NAS? Network Attached Storage Explained (Australia) for the basics, Back Up Windows, Mac and Linux to an ASUSTOR NAS (with Snapshots) for automatic backups from every computer, and Replace Google Photos with a NAS in Australia if phone photos are the main worry.

A NAS does not replace the external drive, either. A WD Elements drive makes an excellent offsite or second copy of what is on the NAS, which ticks off the "2" and "1" in the 3-2-1 rule. For sizing a NAS, see How Much NAS Storage Do You Need? TB Explained (Australia).

Why buy WD Elements from ARC IP Networks

Related storage guides

• NAS Backup Done Right: The 3-2-1 Rule and RAID 5 vs RAID 6 (Australia)
• NAS vs Cloud Storage: What is Right for Australians?
• What Is a NAS? Network Attached Storage Explained (Australia)
• Back Up Windows, Mac and Linux to an ASUSTOR NAS (with Snapshots)
• Replace Google Photos with a NAS in Australia
• How Much NAS Storage Do You Need? TB Explained (Australia)
• CMR vs SMR Hard Drives Explained: What It Means for NAS and CCTV (Australia)
• How Long Do Hard Drives Last? Workload, MTBF and Warranty Explained