Definitive Western Digital My Passport Review
The Western Digital My Passport 2TB is the latest entry of the widely popular and recommended Western Digital My Passport series.
As their name suggest, they are all the size of a typical passport, and they are well known for excellent speeds, reliability and unbeatable prices - How does this new entry in the series stack up against this? Let's find out.
Design and Build Anyone who has ever bought or seen a Western Digital My Passport portable hard drive is well aware of the sleek designs and finishes they possess.
Western Digital have been quite conservative with their design of this series over the years, as the saying goes, if it isn't broke, why fix it? Well Western Digital decided to radically change the finish of the casing this year, why you ask? To mark the start of a new era of super fast external hard drives that use the increasingly popular USB 3.
0.
Exciting stuff.
The main visual difference with previous iterations of the series is the finish of the top face.
Western Digital opted to go for a contemporary design which consists of a series of glossy shaped dot-matrix that is applied on top of a matte finish.
The effect is a big hit as you will no longer have to reach for a cloth to remove fingerprints every time you stroke your hard drive.
The rounded corners are very smooth and well designed and make putting this 2TB external hard drive in your pocket very easy.
(Yes, you can finally fit a whopping 2TB external hard drive in your pocket now, how cool is that?) Size and Weight The size of the Western Digital My Passport 2TB has hardly changed from its predecessors; It is still a 2.
5-inches and the new finish has added only a couple of millimetres to the height, which makes it a grand total of 21 mm/0.
8 in.
The length and width are equally as easy on the eyes, at a mere - Width: 82 mm /3.
2 in & Length: 111 mm /4.
3in.
The weight is similarly impressive, weighing at a measly 0.
23 kg / 0.
5 pounds, you can effortlessly slot this hard drive into your jeans pocket.
Connectivity The highlight of the new features of this drive is by far the combination of the tiny size and the USB 3.
0 capabilities, but there is another feature that people often overlook, and it is that the Western Digital My Passport 2TB does not require a separate power supply - All you need is a single USB cable and off you go, seeing it all in action blew our minds.
The hard drive comes formatted as NTFS, which makes it ready to plug-and-play for Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, however it requires reformatting for Mac OS X Leopard, Snow Leopard, or Lion, which is quite straightforward.
Also, an important thing to mention is that for USB 3.
0 speeds to work you must have a motherboard that has USB 3.
0 ports and you must make sure that you use a USB 3.
0 lead - which is slightly thicker than a standard USB 2.
0 cable.
If you do not have a USB 3.
0 compatible motherboard, do not worry, this hard drive is backwards compatible so will on any machine, new or old, except that it will be at USB 2.
0 speeds.
Storage Space Two terabytes a few years ago seemed like a distant dream, but that day has finally arrived and with this 2TB external hard drive you will be able to store up to 400,000 photos, 150 hours of movies and 500,000 songs.
Speed/Benchmarks Ah, the moment you have been waiting for.
We will try to keep this to the point and with numbers: Using USB 3.
0: Read speed average: 126,5 MBps Write speed average: 112,2 MBps That makes it over three times the speed of USB 2.
0.
Nice.
What comes inside the box? The Western Digital My Passport 2TB is extremely well packaged and inside the box you will find the standard items; 1x Western Digital My Passport 2TB 1x USB cable 1x Quick install guide 1x Automatic backup software 1x WD Security software 1x WD Drive Utilities software Price Western Digital is well-known throughout the computing world as one of the, if not the, cheapest external hard drive makers in the world.
But what has always made them special is that despite the ridiculously affordable prices, is the quality of their hard drives.
And this drive is no exception to the rule they have created, this drive recommended retail price is USA -349.
99 / UK - 257 / Canada - $299.
But as always, major online retailers are here to save the day and give us the prices we deserve.
At the time of writing this review one of the biggest online retailers is selling the drive with a massive 43% discount, we cannot recommend enough for you to take advantage of this before they put it up again, as we can't see this being a permanent offer.
Specifications The official specs are as follow: Serial Transfer Speed
0 and USB 2.
0 Physical Dimensions
Fortunately the Western Digital My Passport 2TB has all of that covered, even the one thing that every other hard drive manufacturer has failed to address -Protecting the fragile from falls and other damage - We highly recommend getting the official case for the drive designed by WD - the Western Digital WD Nomad Rugged Case.
The Western Digital WD Nomad Rugged Case is truly magnificent and will keep your drive safe from any possible damage forever, and is so light and snug on the hard drive, you will forget it is even there.
It can even survive in the desert or under a storm, can any other hard drives claim that? Oh and it's very well priced, as all Western Digital products are.
Conclusion Pros - Excellent slick and modern small design - USB 3.
0 = Everything is SUPER fast - No need for external power, you only need a USB cable to use it - Plug-and-play at its very best - Excellent pre-installed software with advanced security features - Very easy to create back ups of your important files - Light as a feather and fits in your jeans pocket - Surprisingly silent Cons - Recommended retail price is slightly high, but problem solved thanks to major online retailers As you have probably gathered by now, we are madly, truly and deeply in love with the Western Digital My Passport 2TB.
We can not fault the hard drive in any way.
The only possible thing we can think of is that the price could be slightly cheaper, however, this is already possible through major online retailers.
Maybe the next Western Digital hard drive is the size of a credit card? (Yes, it is a struggle to come up with negatives for this drive!)
As their name suggest, they are all the size of a typical passport, and they are well known for excellent speeds, reliability and unbeatable prices - How does this new entry in the series stack up against this? Let's find out.
Design and Build Anyone who has ever bought or seen a Western Digital My Passport portable hard drive is well aware of the sleek designs and finishes they possess.
Western Digital have been quite conservative with their design of this series over the years, as the saying goes, if it isn't broke, why fix it? Well Western Digital decided to radically change the finish of the casing this year, why you ask? To mark the start of a new era of super fast external hard drives that use the increasingly popular USB 3.
0.
Exciting stuff.
The main visual difference with previous iterations of the series is the finish of the top face.
Western Digital opted to go for a contemporary design which consists of a series of glossy shaped dot-matrix that is applied on top of a matte finish.
The effect is a big hit as you will no longer have to reach for a cloth to remove fingerprints every time you stroke your hard drive.
The rounded corners are very smooth and well designed and make putting this 2TB external hard drive in your pocket very easy.
(Yes, you can finally fit a whopping 2TB external hard drive in your pocket now, how cool is that?) Size and Weight The size of the Western Digital My Passport 2TB has hardly changed from its predecessors; It is still a 2.
5-inches and the new finish has added only a couple of millimetres to the height, which makes it a grand total of 21 mm/0.
8 in.
The length and width are equally as easy on the eyes, at a mere - Width: 82 mm /3.
2 in & Length: 111 mm /4.
3in.
The weight is similarly impressive, weighing at a measly 0.
23 kg / 0.
5 pounds, you can effortlessly slot this hard drive into your jeans pocket.
Connectivity The highlight of the new features of this drive is by far the combination of the tiny size and the USB 3.
0 capabilities, but there is another feature that people often overlook, and it is that the Western Digital My Passport 2TB does not require a separate power supply - All you need is a single USB cable and off you go, seeing it all in action blew our minds.
The hard drive comes formatted as NTFS, which makes it ready to plug-and-play for Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, however it requires reformatting for Mac OS X Leopard, Snow Leopard, or Lion, which is quite straightforward.
Also, an important thing to mention is that for USB 3.
0 speeds to work you must have a motherboard that has USB 3.
0 ports and you must make sure that you use a USB 3.
0 lead - which is slightly thicker than a standard USB 2.
0 cable.
If you do not have a USB 3.
0 compatible motherboard, do not worry, this hard drive is backwards compatible so will on any machine, new or old, except that it will be at USB 2.
0 speeds.
Storage Space Two terabytes a few years ago seemed like a distant dream, but that day has finally arrived and with this 2TB external hard drive you will be able to store up to 400,000 photos, 150 hours of movies and 500,000 songs.
Speed/Benchmarks Ah, the moment you have been waiting for.
We will try to keep this to the point and with numbers: Using USB 3.
0: Read speed average: 126,5 MBps Write speed average: 112,2 MBps That makes it over three times the speed of USB 2.
0.
Nice.
What comes inside the box? The Western Digital My Passport 2TB is extremely well packaged and inside the box you will find the standard items; 1x Western Digital My Passport 2TB 1x USB cable 1x Quick install guide 1x Automatic backup software 1x WD Security software 1x WD Drive Utilities software Price Western Digital is well-known throughout the computing world as one of the, if not the, cheapest external hard drive makers in the world.
But what has always made them special is that despite the ridiculously affordable prices, is the quality of their hard drives.
And this drive is no exception to the rule they have created, this drive recommended retail price is USA -349.
99 / UK - 257 / Canada - $299.
But as always, major online retailers are here to save the day and give us the prices we deserve.
At the time of writing this review one of the biggest online retailers is selling the drive with a massive 43% discount, we cannot recommend enough for you to take advantage of this before they put it up again, as we can't see this being a permanent offer.
Specifications The official specs are as follow: Serial Transfer Speed
- Serial Bus Transfer Rate (USB 3.
0) - 5 Gb/s (Max)
- Capacity: 2 TB (two terabytes)
0 and USB 2.
0 Physical Dimensions
- Height: 0.
820 Inches / 21 mm - Depth: 4.
4 Inches / 111 mm - Width: 3.
2 Inches / 82 mm - Weight: 0.
51 Pounds / 0.
23 kg
- Operating: 41° F to 104° F
- Non-operating: -4° F to 149° F
- Operating: 5° C to 40° C
- Non-operating: -20° C to 65° C
Fortunately the Western Digital My Passport 2TB has all of that covered, even the one thing that every other hard drive manufacturer has failed to address -Protecting the fragile from falls and other damage - We highly recommend getting the official case for the drive designed by WD - the Western Digital WD Nomad Rugged Case.
The Western Digital WD Nomad Rugged Case is truly magnificent and will keep your drive safe from any possible damage forever, and is so light and snug on the hard drive, you will forget it is even there.
It can even survive in the desert or under a storm, can any other hard drives claim that? Oh and it's very well priced, as all Western Digital products are.
Conclusion Pros - Excellent slick and modern small design - USB 3.
0 = Everything is SUPER fast - No need for external power, you only need a USB cable to use it - Plug-and-play at its very best - Excellent pre-installed software with advanced security features - Very easy to create back ups of your important files - Light as a feather and fits in your jeans pocket - Surprisingly silent Cons - Recommended retail price is slightly high, but problem solved thanks to major online retailers As you have probably gathered by now, we are madly, truly and deeply in love with the Western Digital My Passport 2TB.
We can not fault the hard drive in any way.
The only possible thing we can think of is that the price could be slightly cheaper, however, this is already possible through major online retailers.
Maybe the next Western Digital hard drive is the size of a credit card? (Yes, it is a struggle to come up with negatives for this drive!)
