WD's portable 4TB Elements hard drive is on sale for $95

Backing up data is not exactly fun or glamorous, but it can sure save you a headache down the line. It's also relatively cheap, in the grand scheme of things. Case in point, WD's external 4TB Elements drive is on sale for $100 at Newegg and Amazon, though Newegg is also offering a $5 discount with promo code EMCSBCBC3, knocking the price down to $95.

As an interesting side note, the 4TB WD Blue that's used in the Elements goes for $110 on its own right now. So the price is $15 lower and you get an external USB enclosure as a bonus.

The Elements drive is bulkier (physically) than the WD Passport, our top choice among high-capacity portable HDDs. It measures 165.8mm (H) x 135mm (D) x 48mm (W), versus 21.5mm (H) x 81.5mm (D) x 110mm (W). That's because it uses a 3.5-inch HDD instead of a 2.5-inch model.

The other difference is that it doesn't come with WD's automatic backup software, whereas the Passport does. Otherwise, both the Elements and Passport have a USB 3.0 interface and are plug-and-play. If you prefer the 4TB Passport over the 4TB Elements, that one is also on sale, marked down to $109 from $130. It comes in various color options, though not all of them are discounted.

Yet another option that is on sale is WD's 2TB EasyStore. Best Buy has it listed for $60, down from $130. This one also has a USB 3.0 interface, and like the Passport, it comes with automatic backup software. It's also sleeker than the other two, measuring 20.3mm (H) x 109.22mm (D) x 81.28mm (W).

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Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

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