The title could also be odd, however the capability is something however. The WD My Passport, Works with USB-C (begins at $84.99 for 2TB; $189.99 for 6TB as examined) is the second WD mannequin we have reviewed to sport the brand new 6TB most capability for moveable USB-powered onerous drives. It is similar to the primary one we reviewed, the WD My Passport Extremely, whereas coming in at a barely cheaper price. The large distinction between the 2 fashions is that the Works with USB-C model has a USB Micro-B port on the drive finish and might hook up with a pc’s USB-C or USB-A ports with an included cable and adapter, whereas the Extremely (in a unusual twist, given the title of the drive we’re reviewing right here) is USB-C all the way in which. With backup software program and AES hardware-based encryption, it is a sensible choice for a travel-friendly onerous drive if that you must retailer quite a lot of knowledge, and it is our new Editors’ Selection winner for moveable onerous drives.
Design: Acquainted Styling, With a Retro PortThe 6TB My Passport, Works with USB-C has the identical primary styling as earlier My Passport onerous drives such because the WD My Passport (5TB), in addition to My Passport Extremely fashions. The drive’s prime is a slate grey (formally, Silicon Grey), the one colour accessible for this specific mannequin at this capability, affixed to a matte-black base. The enclosure, which measures 0.8 by 3 by 4.2 inches (HWD), is marginally smaller than the My Passport Extremely’s body. The drive feels sturdy and solidly constructed. The largest surfaces of the drive enclosure have two textures, with a clean half and a rippled half bisected by a diagonal middle line, whereas a WD emblem occupies the upper-right nook of the highest.On one of many brief ends of the case is a USB Micro-B port. The My Passport features a foot-long USB-Micro-B-to-USB-A cable and a USB-A-to-USB-C adapter, which permit it to connect with both a pc’s USB-A or USB-C port. (In benchmarking the drive, we linked it to a USB-C port on our testbed.) One caveat: do not lose the cable. USB Micro-B ports and cables have been commonplace within the golden age of spinning onerous drives, however not a lot anymore. If want be you’ll be able to order a USB Micro-B-to-USB-C cable and remove the necessity for the adapter, but it surely’s nonetheless a trouble.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
A standing mild to the left of the port glows when the drive is linked.
Capability: Pushing Moveable Platters to the MaxThe WD My Passport, Works with USB-C reviewed right here and the aforementioned WD My Passport Extremely are a part of a bunch of 6TB onerous drives that the corporate launched in Might. They characterize the primary of the brand new highest-capacity moveable onerous drives available on the market. In 2016, most capability plateaued at 5TB, and there was hypothesis that these peripherals, which incorporate a 2.5-inch spinning onerous drive and are powered from a pc over a USB connection, had reached their capability restrict—till WD broke by it. Up to now, no different firm has both launched or introduced comparable merchandise.Along with the 6TB model I examined, WD presents three different capacities for the My Passport, Works with USB-C. The checklist costs are detailed beneath. Concerning price per gigabyte, the candy spot is the 5TB mannequin, with the 6TB drive having a slightly larger price per gigabyte that should not deter customers from choosing the best capability.
WD says that it sometimes doesn’t present throughput (sequential learn and write) pace scores for the My Passport onerous drives, as they aren’t high-performance drives.The My Passport consists of Acronis True Picture backup software program, plus 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption and password safety. AES is the gold customary in drive encryption, thought-about basically unbreakable within the case of a brute-force assault. To make the most of the encryption, you merely set up and launch the WD Safety app that comes on the drive, enter a password, and optionally add a password trace. By default, everytime you join the drive to a pc or reboot, you may be prompted for the password earlier than you’ll be able to entry your knowledge.WD backs the My Passport with a three-year guarantee, which is customary for moveable onerous drives from main producers.Testing the My Passport USB-C: Stable Platter-Primarily based NumbersWe check exterior onerous drives utilizing PC Labs’ Home windows 10 storage testbed, a desktop PC constructed on an Asus Prime X299 Deluxe motherboard, an Intel Core i9-10980XE Excessive Version CPU, and an Nvidia GeForce graphics card.The My Passport comes formatted in exFAT file format, which is suitable with each Macs and Home windows PCs. (The My Passport Extremely’s native format is the Home windows-only NTFS.) We first ran our two Mac-based assessments—the Blackmagic Disk Pace benchmark and our personal file copy check—from an Apple MacBook Professional utilizing the laptop computer’s Thunderbolt port. Then, we reformatted the drive in NTFS and ran the Crystal DiskMark, PCMark 10 Knowledge Drive, and 3DMark Storage assessments on the Home windows testbed.
General, the My Passport, Works with USB-C’s scores have been according to these of different spinning onerous drives now we have examined, together with our comparability drives. (Keep in mind that all these scores are poky in contrast with even probably the most primary exterior SSDs.) On Crystal DiskMark, Blackmagic, and PCMark 10, its scores have been larger than these of the 6TB My Passport Extremely; the truth is, its PCMark 10 rating was the best of the group, besting the Extremely’s rating by 9%, and it additionally had the best Blackmagic write throughput rating. The Blackmagic Disk Pace benchmark measures a drive’s throughput for studying and writing numerous video codecs, whereas PCMark 10 measures a drive’s pace by aggregating its scores on numerous on a regular basis storage duties. The USB-C-friendly My Passport additionally did nicely on the 3DMark Storage gaming-centric benchmark, although its rating lagged the Extremely by about 8%. When you would not need to load or run video games from these onerous drives—exterior SSDs have much better 3DMark Storage outcomes—it is an excellent medium on which to archive them. Assuming a median file dimension of 100GB per AAA recreation, you possibly can retailer about 60.Verdict: An Wonderful Jumbo Onerous DriveThe WD My Passport, Works with USB-C’s major promoting level is that it has the identical best-in-class 6TB capability that we noticed on the not too long ago reviewed Editors’ Selection-winning My Passport Extremely. However it has different interesting options. Just like the Extremely, it consists of Acronis True Picture backup software program, plus 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption and password safety by the WD Safety app, and WD backs it with a three-year guarantee. The common My Passport reviewed here’s a tad smaller than the Extremely, and its sole port is USB Micro-B relatively than USB-C. (It does embody a cable and an adapter; between the 2, you’ll be able to join both with a pc’s USB-C or USB-A port.)
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)
The WD My Passport, Works with USB-C earns bragging rights by besting the Extremely in Crystal DiskMark testing and scoring the best of all our comparability onerous drives in PCMark 10. However though its scores have been largely higher than the Extremely’s, the variations have been comparatively minor, and spinning onerous drives cannot hope to compete performance-wise with even primary exterior SSDs.When you require a drive with a USB-C port, the My Passport Extremely is the higher selection, however the My Passport, Works with USB-C serves the identical function. Its included cable plus adapter allows you to join from the drive’s USB Micro-B port to a pc’s USB-C port. This does not damage efficiency, and it even saves you a bit cash. Thus, the WD My Passport, Works with USB-C earns its personal Editors’ Selection award for moveable onerous drives.
WD My Passport, Works with USB-C (6TB)
Professionals
6TB is present peak capability for a transportable onerous drive
Consists of Acronis True Picture backup software program
256-bit AES encryption
Good benchmark outcomes for a transportable platter-based drive
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The Backside Line
The title could also be quirky, however the WD My Passport, Works with USB-C is a capability champ amongst moveable exterior onerous drives, accessible in variations as much as 6TB.
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