In my experience, shucking an 8TB WD Elements from its USB 3.0 (5gbps) shell and putting it in an enclosure that’s USB 3.1 gen 2 (10gbps) greatly improved the drive’s performance. In its stock enclosure it would constantly drop connection and freeze during large transfers, but now it is very stable and responsive. The drive certainly does not exceed speeds of 5gbps, being only 5400rpm, so i believe that the factory USB enclosures just suck unfortunately.

I’ve only bought one so far, but i’m a fan of manufacturer re-certified drives from serverpartdeals. Prices seem to go up and down however, as the 18TB i bought for $180 is now $270 (seagate exos 2x18)