WD Launches USB 3.0-Enabled External Hard Drives
Western Digital today announced the My Book 3.0, their first USB 3.0-enabled external hard drive. The My Book 3.0 contains a 1TB WD hard drive in the same black shell as other My Book products, though without a capacity meter or e-ink display, a la the My Book Elite.
With USB 3.0, Western Digital claims theoretical transfer speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second are possible (or around 640MB/s). However, given the inherent transfer speed limits of mechanical hard drives, you won't see more than around 100MB/s - still three times as fast as USB 2.0.
The 1TB WD My Book 3.0 is available now at http://www.shopwd.com for $180, or $200 with an included USB 3.0 PCIe adapter card. Look for a full review on Maximumpc.com later this week.