(Frankly, with little significant difference between first and last place in many of the tests, a win doesn't mean much.). (Note that if this drive is like other WD My Passports, you’ll likely find a decent discount if you shop around.) Again, the difference is more or less too small to notice. My Passport drives for Windows come formatted in the NTFS file system; the Mac versions come with HFS+. The 5TB My Passport turned in the performance you'd expect from a 5,400rpm drive from a reputable manufacturer, coming in tied for first or a close second in several of the PC Labs benchmarks below. The My Passport addresses that potential problem the same way as the Editors' Choice Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch does, with AES-256 hardware encryption and password protection. Crystal DiskMark, a test of sequential read and write speeds for straight-line transfers of contiguous data, represents a best-case scenario for platter drives. WD touts it as the slimmest 5TB drive in the company's portfolio. The My Passport at least arguably earns WD's description of it as "stylish." If you've backed up sensitive information—say, all your financial data plus documents with your social security number and birthday—that's a nightmare in waiting. Western Digital, Please be … Your subscription has been confirmed. After being born in and spending most of his life in or near New York City, David moved to Pennsylvania several years ago, but still considers himself a New Yorker, and refuses to give up the New York area code on his cell phone. Both versions offer most of the same features. All that said, the 5TB is special in that 5TB is the single highest-capacity portable drive you can get at the moment. Keep in mind that while you can connect the drive to a USB 2.0 port, that will slow data transfer to USB 2.0 speeds. Both the WD My Passport and WD Easystore can be connected via USB 2.0 and high-speed USN 3.0. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant. Step 7. Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning. The My Passport offers a strong argument on both scores. The new My Passport is redesigned with a slimmer build and higher capacity, up to 5TB. They are WD My Passport Ultra 1TB, 2TB and 4 TB. © 1996-2021 Ziff Davis, LLC. All four models are readily available for less at this writing, which gives them lower costs per gigabyte in the real world. The WD My Passport and the WD Easystore come with WD Discovery Software. The drive I have for testing, pictured here, is black, but you can also get versions formatted for Windows in a red or blue case, or one formatted for the Mac in a darker blue case only. However, the LaCie drive was a close second overall, with the ADATA HD710M Pro a close third. Western Digital My Passport Ultra external hard drive 5000 GB Blue (MY PASSPORT ULTRA 5TB BLUE - My Passport Ultra, 5 TB, USB 3.0, 110x81.6x20.96 mm, blau) Learn more about the Western Digital WDBFTM0050BBL-WESN My Passport SSD is a lot more expensive but it has the added advantage of speed, compatible with USB 3.1 Gen 2. That said, even the 5TB drive I had for testing fits comfortably in a shirt pocket. That said, even the 5TB drive I had for testing fits comfortably in a shirt pocket. The LaCie Mobile Drive and Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch posted a photo finish in 11 seconds, with the other three drives, including the WD My Passport… All four versions have the same 4.2 by 3-inch footprint, but where the 4TB and 5TB drives are 0.75 inch thick, the 1TB and 2TB devices are a much slimmer 0.44 inch thick, as well as a good deal lighter (4.3 ounces versus 7.4 ounces). Step 2. The ripples also help keep the drive from slipping out of your hand easily. Again, the difference is more or less too small to notice. A serious issue for small, portable drives is that they're easy to lose and there's always a possibility of their being stolen. My Passport Ultra comes with metal cover innovative style and comparatively slim & small which is easy to handle and keep in handy as compare to My Passport. your My Passport drive fits perfectly into the busy life of anyone with an on-the-go digital life. Buy WD 5TB My Passport Ultra USB 3.0 Type-C External Hard Drive (Blue) featuring 5TB Storage Capacity, USB 3.0 Type-C Interface (USB 3.1 Gen 1), Bus Powered, 256-Bit AES Encryption, Preformatted for Windows 10, 8.1, and 7, Downloadable NTFS Driver for macOS, Mac Compatible with Reformatting, WD Security Tools, WD Backup & WD Discovery Software, Includes USB Type-C to … If you forget the password, there's no way to recover it, and you can't change it without knowing the current password. The 5TB My Passport was a tad faster than the ADATA for writes and little more than a tad slower for reads. (Frankly, with little significant difference between first and last place in many of the tests, a win doesn't mean much.). Terms of use. If you've backed up sensitive information—say, all your financial data plus documents with your social security number and birthday—that's a nightmare in waiting. By default, whenever you connect the drive to a computer or reboot, you'll be prompted for the password before you can access your data. Pick up the drive, and it feels like a solid, well-built product. Another difference is My Passport Ultra is USB-C ready, USB 3.0 compatible and formatted for Windows 10 to with plug-and-play storage out of the box. You won't be surprised to see the results were once again extremely close. That often leaves features like built-in data encryption (or the lack of it) and bundled software as the best reasons to pick one brand over another. The PCMark 7 Secondary Storage test generates a proprietary score based on a mix of simulated workloads, including a Windows Defender scan, video editing tasks, and application launches. But in both tests, four of the five drives are all but even for practical purposes. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The My Passport finished a close second to the ADATA HD710M Pro, with a score of 1,783 versus 1,822. That equals a cost per gigabyte of 6 cents for the 1TB drive, 4 cents for the 2TB model, 2.8 cents for the 4TB unit, and 3 cents for 5TB. You can, of course, reformat either version with the other file system to use the drive with the other OS, or reformat with exFAT if you want to move the drive freely between Windows systems and Macs. You won't be surprised to see the results were once again extremely close. The default setting will help you remember the password by forcing you to enter it on a regular basis. WD Backup, for Windows only, can back up to Dropbox as well as the My Passport drive. Assuming it's implemented properly, AES-256 is currently considered essentially unbreakable. Slightly rounded edges and ripples over part of the surface give the My Passport drive the look and tactile-friendly feel of a consumer gadget. Ships with apps for backup/restore, reformatting and checking drive health, and more. All capacities carry a three-year warranty. Crystal DiskMark, a test of sequential read and write speeds for straight-line transfers of contiguous data, represents a best-case scenario for platter drives. When the drive is connected and working, you can see a status light near the port. Results are in megabytes per second (MBps). Its combination of solid performance, hardware encryption, and useful utilities makes the 5TB WD My Passport a strong contender for everyday backup of sensitive data or storing a massive collection of videos, photos, and documents. The Mac versions of My Passport cost a little more than their Windows equivalents. Best Hosted Endpoint Protection and Security Software, The Best Rugged Hard Drives and SSDs for 2020, The Best External Hard Drives for Mac in 2020, Early World Backup Day Sale: All-Time Low Prices on Storage Devices From WD, SanDisk, How to Combine Multiple Hard Drives With Windows' Storage Spaces, Deals: 4TB WD Elements Hard Drive, Lowest Price on Apple AirPods, Seagate Will Ship 18TB and 20TB Hard Drives in 2020, Kingston 'Ghost Town' NVMe M.2 SSD Promises a Revolution in Speed, The Best PCI Express NVMe Solid State Drives (SSDs) for 2021, The Best Rugged Hard Drives and SSDs for 2021. The My Passport drive is trusted, portable storage that gives you the confidence and freedom to drive forward in life. Format your Western Digital My Passport external hard drive to FAT32 or ex-FAT format so to transfer the data between a Mac and Windows system conveniently. WD touts it as the slimmest 5TB drive in the company's portfolio. WD My Passport Ultra is a kind of external hard drive. The default setting will help you remember the password by forcing you to enter it on a regular basis. Western Digital My Passport Ultra for Mac external hard drive 5000 GB Silver (MY PASSPORT ULTRA 5TB F/MAC, My Passport Ultra for Mac, 5 TB, USB 3.0, 110x 81.6 x 20.96 mm, silber) Learn more about the Western Digital WDBPMV0050BSL-WESN WD 5TB My Passport Ultra for Mac Silver Portable External Hard Drive, USB-C - WDBPMV0050BSL-WESN 4.6 out of 5 stars 3,779. The 5TB My Passport measures 4.22 x 2.95 x 0.75 inches and weighs 0.46 pounds. One of the differences between a generic external hard drive and a top contender like the WD My Passport ($149.99 for the 5TB model tested here) is the manufacturer's added effort to make a simple plastic box look attractive. 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