See All External Hard Drives

Western Digital My Book Studio II

*Est. $180 (2 TB)

Reviewed

October 2011

by ConsumerSearch

Pros

Fast transfer times for USB 2.0
Attractive case
Five-year warranty
Compatible with Macs and PCs
Price

Cons

No USB 3.0 support
May run hot
Firmware can be buggy

Where to Buy

See All Stores

Our Analysis
Specs
375 Amazon Reviews

Reviewers praise the Western Digital My Book Studio II's whopping capacity -- it's available in versions up to 6 TB on its two drives -- and Mac friendliness. Its speed is good for a USB 2.0 external hard drive, and it offers one of the better warranties on the market at five years. It's also affordable, reviewers say, given the size options. Reviewers and users note some bugginess, however, but say that things should be more stable if you use the device's Safe Shutoff feature instead of letting it auto-shutoff.

Older versions of Windows and MacOS can't use drives larger than 2 TB, so the 4 TB version of the Western Digital My Book II is the max for them. Because this product comes formatted for a Mac, it's probably not too surprising that it doesn't support USB 3.0 (which is not yet natively available on Mac products, though you can add it).

We found detailed reviews at CNET and at a pair of British sites -- TechRadar.com and ITReviews.com. Other good reviews are found at AnandTech.com, Macworld and the U.K.'s PC Advisor. More than 240 contributors to Amazon.com give the drive series an average of 4 out of 5 stars.

Where To Buy

WD My Book Studio II - 2 TB (2 x 1 TB) USB 2.0/FireWire 800/400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive
(375 reviews) Buy new: $249.99 8 Used & new from $74.03

Store Rating	Notes	Total Price
9,130 store reviews	In Stock. New Low Price Guarantee	$349.99	See It
4,241 store reviews	In Stock. Limited quantity available...while supplies last	$379.00	See It
2,066 store reviews	In Stock. Free Shipping on all Orders!	$369.99	See It
		See All Stores

Our Sources

1. TechRadar.com

This review on U.K.'s TechRadar.com puts the Western Digital My Book Studio II external hard drive through a series of tests in its 6 TB version, giving it 4 out of 5 stars. (An earlier review of a smaller-sized Studio Edition gives 4.5 out of 5 stars.) Its two drives come in a striped array for speed, but can be reconfigured to mirror each other to provide a truly redundant backup. They call it fast and a good value, but note that it's big and doesn't support USB 3.0.

Review: Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II 6 TB Review, Simon Crisp, May 2011

2. ITReviews.com

ITReviews.com, another British site, gives the Western Digital My Book Studio II external hard drive 4 out of 5 stars for its high capacity, though it marks down the drive for failing to support USB 3.0 for PC users or Thunderbolt connections for Mac owners.

Review: Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II (WDH2Q60000) Review, Editors of ITReviews.com, May 2011

3. CNET

CNET's review of the Western Digital My Book Studio II (2 TB version) external storage drive is complimentary, and they award 3.5 out of 5 stars. Pros include the speed (for a USB 2.0/eSATA/FireWire drive), price and expandable size. Cons include the lack of USB 3.0 support and the fact that it doesn't run with non-Western Digital drives. It can run hot, and sometimes seems buggy. An earlier review of a smaller-capacity version places it in CNET's list of Best External Storage Drives and Hard Drives.

Review: Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II, Dong Ngo, April 2011

4. Macworld

Mauricio Grijalva of Macworld gives the Western Digital My book Studio II external hard drive 3.5 out of 5 mice, praising its design, drive size and warranty, and marking it down for unimpressive write speeds on the 6 TB version.

Review: Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II (6 TB), Mauricio Grijalva, June 2011

5. Anandtech.com

Anand Lai Shimpi tests the Western Digital My Book Studio II external hard drive in the 6 TB version. The provided software works on both PCs and Macs, though the drive has to be reformatted (automatically) the first time before being used on a PC. Access to the drives themselves is extremely simple, and while only Western Digital drives will fit, they are easily replaceable/upgradeable. He finds the drive a good value.

Review: Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II 6 TB Review, Anand Lai Shimpi, Sept. 2011

6. PC Advisor

This review of the high-capacity 6 TB version of the Western Digital My Book Studio II external hard drive praises its size and flexibility, but ranks it down a bit (to 3.5 out of 5 stars) in part on the basis of value -- the price has dropped even more since this review was published.

Review: WD My Book Studio II 6 TB Review, Andrew Harrison, June 2011

7. Amazon.com

Various capacities of the Western Digital My Book Studio II external hard drive are reviewed by more than 250 users on Amazon.com, who give it an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. More than half give it a perfect 5-star rating, but a substantial number also give it the lowest rating. Users like the automatic mirroring or striping of data between the two drives, the price tag, the warranty and the fact that it's quiet. The drive should be shut down using its Safe Shutdown procedure rather than allowing auto-shutoff to avoid buggy operation, users note. It can run hot.

Review: Western Digital My Book Studio II -- 2 TB (2 x 1 TB) USB 2.0/FireWire 800/400/eSATA Desktop External Hard Drive, Contributors to Amazon.com

Iomega eGo Desktop USB 3.0 *Est. $110 for 1TB

6 picks by top review sites.

Western Digital My Book Studio II *Est. $180 (2 TB)

4 picks including: Amazon.com, Anandtech.com…

Seagate GoFlex Slim *Est. $80 for 320GB

4 picks by top review sites.

Clickfree C2 *Est. $95 for 1 TB

4 picks by top review sites.

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk *Est. $70 for 1TB

3 picks by top review sites.