Custom PC - UK (2021-05)

As such, 125MB/sec is the maximum you’ll see in

perfect conditions, and the AJA Video Systems benchmark

returned read and write speeds of 102MB/sec and 103MB/

sec respectively, with our video file copy test peaking at

112MB/sec. Dealing with folders filled with small image files

saw these speeds fall to between 50-60MB/sec.

Conclusion

The WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra costs around £30 less than the

Synology equivalent, but despite it offering fewer features

and apps, is still an attractive proposition. It’s simple, does

its job very well and WD’s documentation is easy to follow

when it comes to delving into apps and networks shares.

Despite its lowly specifications, it coped well when

dealing with our benchmarks, hitting near Gigabit-speeds

with large files and still managing to maintain around

50MB/sec with folders of smaller

ones. If you have the extra money,

it’s worth opting for a Synology or

QNAP NAS for the added features and

performance, but if you’re strapped

for cash and just need the basics,

the My Cloud EX2 Ultra is definitely

worth considering.

ANTONY LEATHER

W

hile having a countless choice of apps and

features is useful on smartphones and tablets,

when it comes to NAS enclosures, many of us

just want the basics, such as shared folder access, media

servers and cloud storage. Thankfully, there's plenty of

basic units out there that don’t bump up the price with

needless bells and whistles running in the background, and

WD’s offerings are great examples, with the WD My Cloud

EX2 Ultra even having the option of coming with hard

disks pre-installed.

However, despite WD being the manufacturer of both

the NAS and the hard drives themselves, you pay a lot more

for pre-installation than the cost of buying them separately.

It’s much cheaper to buy your own drives and opt for the

empty enclosure, which costs just £135 inc VAT. With a pair

of 4TB WD Red hard disks, the whole setup will set you

back around £320, but WD wants nearly £400 to sell you

the same hardware, albeit preconfigured.

We know which option we’d pick, especially as setting

it up is quick and painless, just requiring you to select the

RAID option you want to use and leaving it for ten minutes

while the NAS box sets itself up. The My Cloud EX2 Ultra

has two pull-out trays that support either 3.5in or 2.5in

drives, and under the hood sits 1GB of DDR3 memory and a

dual-core 1.3GHz Marvell Armada 385 CPU – that’s quite a

modest spec compared with the competition from the likes

of Synology.

Thankfully, the My Cloud EX2 Ultra has most of the

features you need from a basic NAS. Its interface is

simple and clear to use, and while there are apps you

can download, it’s a far smaller pool compared with the

large catalogues offered by the likes of Synology and

QNAP offer.

Importantly, though, you get a download manager that

can handle BitTorrent, support for cloud storage services,

including a Dropbox app, plus various media servers,

including Plex, Twonky and iTunes. You can easily create

shared network folders and file shares via its cloud service

too. Meanwhile, there are two USB 3 ports on the rear,

allowing you to easily add a backup drive or copy files onto

the NAS without going over a network connection.

There’s an interesting cooling configuration as well, with

a notable lack of a cooling fan but plenty of ventilation. As

such, the My Cloud EX2 remained quiet during testing,

just exhibiting the usual hard disk grunts, but was free

from rattles and clicks. Unlike the QNAP TS-231P3 (see

opposite), the My Cloud EX2 is limited to Gigabit speeds,

although that’s not surprising for the price.

REVIEWS / STORAGE

VERDICT

Simple, but fast enough and easy to set

up. However, you’ll want to buy your

hard disks separately.

OVERALL SCORE

85 %

SPARE RIBS

• 
  

  Good transfer
  speeds

  
  


• 
  

  Easy setup

  
  


• 
  

  Reasonable price

  
  

BROKEN RIBS

• Pre-configured
  units too expensive


• Limited apps
  and features


• No coo li n g fa n

SUPPLIER shop.westerndigital.com

WD MY CLOUD

EX2 ULTRA /£135 inc VAT

NAS ENCLOSURE

PERFORMANCE

29 / 35

FEATURES

28 / 35

VALUE

28 / 30

As such, 12 5MB/sec is the maximum you’ll see in

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