It is still necessary to allow more time for the change to see more in everyday life, but little by littlethe external storage is passed to the SSD.Storage units such asthe Samsung T3or the newMyPassport SSDfrom Western Digital demonstrate this trend, along with gradually changing the USB-C as the default connector.
But even with that change, can traditional external drives still succeed?Western Digital believes so, and that’s why it has renewed its range of 2.5-inch external MyPassport with the best advantage they still have: the capacity.With all of you,4 TB fit in the palm of your hand.
The WD MyPassport 4 TB is somewhat larger than 2.5-inch disks, but that does not make it lose portability.
WD MyPassport: Technical features
| DIMENSIONS | 11 x 8.2 x 2.2 centimeters |
|---|---|
| WEIGHT | 245 grams |
| CAPABILITIES | 1, 2 or 4 TB |
| DATA READ SPEED | Approximately 200 MB / s according to Black Magic Disk Speed Test |
| DATA WRITING SPEED | Approximately 100 MB / s according to Black Magic Disk Speed Test |
| SOFTWARE | WD Security for 256-bit AES encryption and WD Drie Utilities to check disk integrity |
| COMPATIBILITY | Windows, Mac, Linux (formatted in NTFS but can be reformatted without problems).Some software is only compatible with Windows |
| PRICE | From69.90 to 147 dollars on Amazondepending on the amount of storage |
The disks measure11 x 8.2 x 2.2 centimeters.Which equates to the 2.5-inch disk size we are used to but slightly thicker (but that does not detract from any portability, it is very well balanced).The weight is also slightly higher than normal: 245 grams.Nothing that does not prevent you to use this disk like any other, these small increases are a ridiculous price to pay for the advantage of being able to have those 4 TB.The 1TB models, though, are somewhat smaller.
The material is the usual in this type of discs with price range oriented to the general consumer: plastic.But the discdoes not look fragile, and the design makes it look robust and durable.We thank the four small gummies of the base, which make when the disc is placed on the table does not slip too much.
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These MyPassPort still have the tendency tohave no buttons: they feed directly from the USB connection and a blue LED on the front of the disk indicates whether it is working or not.The USB speed is 3.0 and only offers this option.It could have brought at least one adapter to USB-C, although it is not something that comes to consider a lack when the vast majority of computers still have conventional USB ports.
Performance: The mechanical disks still give
This is the result that has given us the test of speed of BlackMagic with the MyPassport of 4 TB. For anyone who wants more rudimentary tests, MyPassport has been able tocopy me 7GB of files in two minutes.But those 7 GB were scattered in just 4 video files, so I’ve also tried copying a 7.65 GB Mac Photo library (which is actually tens of thousands of small files).In that case the copy lasted for more than 4 minutes.
Western Digital does not specify the speed we can expect from the disk inits specificationsorin its manual, simply indicates that the capacity of the USB 3.0 connection is up to 5 Gigabits per second (about 625 MB per second).The actual speed is much lower than that but not by the cable itself, but by the very nature of hard disks that do not give as much of themselves as USB 3.0.
Other websites like StorageReviewgive you a lower scorewith the same BlackMagic test, but seeing the speed at which you have copied the 7 GB in less than two minutes we can say thatwe are facing remarkable performancefor what is a portable mechanical hard disk.Wanting higher speeds than this already involves opting for SSD drives, more expensive but with a high performance.
Software included: Thank you but no, Western Digital
MyPassport includes two applications that we can find directly saved on the hard disk, compatible with Windows and with macOS.Caution:The disk is formatted in NTFS, so if you want to use it in macOS you must format it to ExFAT before starting to work with it.And if you do, first copy the installers of the applications to the Mac so you do not lose them (although you can download the software fromthe official Western Digital website without problems)
The applications areWD Security and WD Drive Utilities.The first one offers us to encrypt the data of the disk with a 256-bit AES encryption key, and the second one offers us tools to check for disk damage.Bad news: On the one hand, the encryption of Western Digital software has already been thetarget of criticismin the past.
And more importantly, we are dealing with software thatthe operating systems we have today make them unnecessary.Both Windows and MacOS already have their own encryption tools, and in the same way both systems can analyze the integrity of a disk to diagnose whether it needs to be repaired or replaced.It is not a bad idea that Western Digital brings its software to add more value to its products, but the problem is that it is completely expendable software.
The good news is that like any other software that comes with a peripheral, we can do without it and enjoy the MyPassport without any lack.Not installing it does not imply losing any advantage.
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