My Passport Essential By Western Digital How Well Does It Perform?

The #1 Best Seller: Western Digital My Passport Essential Review

Updated 10/1/13

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Red)What Everybody Ought to Know About My Passport Essential external hard drives.

Now You Can Own a My Passport Essential and Have All These Cool Features:

Click here to buy on Amazon right now.

The Good
  • Small and stylish
  • High storage capacity – 1 TB
  • Fast transfer speeds at USB 2.0 but not 3 times as fast at USB 3.0
  • Highly secure storage
  • Compact and light weight
  • Ease of use and set up
The Bad
  • Software is not intuitive, but this is not a problem
  • No rubber flap over the USB port
  • A more scratch resistant matt finish would be better
  • There are faster USB 3.0 drives on the market
This hard drive is for people who:
  • require regular, fast and secure backup of valuable data
  • don’t have time to spend backing up data manually
  • are travelling for business or pleasure
  • store lots of movies or photos
  • want a future proofed storage solution

Check out this video for more info:


Facts and Features At A Glance for Busy People

External Hard Drive Comparison Tables

Click here to get the full details about WD MyPassport Essential.

Here’s My Full Personal Review On WD My Passport Essential

 

 

Reviewed by Kevin Walker

My Overall Rating:

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Black)

My Passport Essential is made by Western Digital who have been making hard drives for 20 years now so they know how to keep your data safe and fully backed up.

For such a small and yet surprisingly stylish unit my review of the Western Digital My Passport Essential has found it has a high storage capacity and capability which is great for securely storing all your valuable memories, photos, documents and music files.
During my review of Western Digital’s My Passport Essential I connected it to a USB 3.0 port and it allowed me to access and save files up to 3 times faster than USB 2.0. This means that I can now transfer HD movies in just minutes.
For over 16 years I’ve trusted Western Digital’s external hard drives for storing my personal digital data as well as all my business records. Now, after my review of Western Digital’s My Passport Essential, I feel we have available a single drive with universal compatibility both for today and for the next-generation’s speed requirements. In other words you may use it with USB 2.0 now and step up to USB 3.0 speed when you’re ready.
Some of the features of this hard drive are:
• WD SmartWare™ software – You’re in control of your backup
• Automatic, continuous backup – you don’t lift a finger!
• Password protection for privacy
• USB-powered – no need for an aditional mains lead
• Planet friendly – uses recycled material and minimizes waste

Click here to get more information about WD My Passport Essential which is built for a greener planet.

This drive is ideal for:

• Connecting with your USB 2.0 port today and using with USB 3.0 when you’re ready
• Transferring files up to three times faster when connected to a USB 3.0 port
• Protecting your data with automatic, continuous backup
• Adding extra storage space for photos, videos and music
• Securing private or sensitive data with password protection and hardware encryption
Here’s what one current owner has to say:
October 21, 2010 By Strohmian (New York, NY United States)
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars
”One terabyte that fits in your jeans’ pocket. This is a fantastic little device: a full terabyte, compact and future- proof; although you might not want to bother with USB3 for now if you don’t already have it.”
Owner’s review was paraphrased for size – to view the original full review go here and scroll to the bottom of the page. Other reviews are also available via this link.
Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Blue)

Update for 2013

Key Facts About the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive

Facts and Features At A Glance for Busy People

Here I’ve done all the hard work for you by pulling together all the key facts you need to make a buying decision about your new external hard drive so you don’t have to visit loads of websites and read lots of reviews that you don’t have the time to spend doing.

I’ll be doing this for all my other external hard drive reviews in the coming weeks so you can make a more informed decision about which external hard drive is best for you. Also, I’ll be focusing on the top 6 external hard drives for 2013.

Click here to get the best deal I’ve found on WD MyPassport Essential and at a massive discount!!

Key Facts About the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive
• In terms of the basic design the My Passport Essential is unchanged from last year’s update.
• The biggest difference is that the newest versions of the drive feature the new USB 3.0 giving a significant performance boost.
• A compact and portable hard drive: size and shape are impressive, but the glossy finish scratches easily, although it does look fantastic.
• In independent tests it was found that after just five days of back-and-forth travel to and from work the hard drive was covered in fine scratches and showed up finger prints – especially the black version. Either great care or an additional protective cover is needed.

Here’s a video review with more informtion and a speed test (NB My Passport Essential is now available in much higher storage capacities than stated in this video and comes in 1 and 2 TB sizes):

Western Digital My Passport Essential is designed to look just stunning!

• A minimalistic and yet sleek and stylishly designed case with subtle Western Digital “WD” and “My Passport” logos.
• Comes in a range of colors: black, silver, metallic blue or metallic red.
• Unfortunately, My Passport Essential has just a single white LED on the spine of the case which acts as an activity light and not as a capacity gauge as with some of the older My Passports.
• LED indicator modes are:
LED Appearance: Steady – Power-on
LED Appearance: Slow Flashing – System is in standby mode
LED Appearance: Rapid Flashing – Drive is in use

• Capacity: the 1 TB drive will hold approx 300,000 high resolution digital photos (saved as compressed JPEGs) or approximately 440 hours of DVD quality video.
• Speed: when connected to a USB 3.0 port the My Passport Essential is capable of delivering up to 3x faster transfer rates compared to a standard USB 2.0 port.

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Red)

• Independent test information has indicated that the My Passport Essential delivers mixed performance depending on the USB port of your PC and whether it’s a USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 port with the corresponding cable of course.
• The My Passport Essential is noticeably slower than the Iomega eGo Portable hard drive when connected to a USB 3.0, but is quite fast when compared to some of the other hard drives on the market when connected to a USB 2.0 port.
• The drive runs quiet and cool but can get warm after a number of hours of heavy use. The drive never gets hot or very hot and so is ideal for use in a small office with no air conditioning.
• Noise: the drive is only slightly audible when it’s actually transferring files to storage and is completely silent otherwise.
• Provides solid value for money, but is not the fastest drive on the market.
• A good choice for a portable and office based storage solution.
Specifications:
• Capacity: 1TB
• Interface: USB 3.0 and USB 2.0
• Dimensions (H x D x W): 4.3 x 3.3 x 0.7 inches
• Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Operating Temperature: 41° F to 95° F
• Non-operating Temperature: -4° F to 149° F
It’s available from various retailers, or at amazon.com

Click here to see more personal reviews of the WD My Passport Essential and scrole towards the bottom of the page.

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive (Silver)

Other related articles:

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About Kevin Walker

Kevin regularly writes about external hard drives (eg My Passport Essential), all things tech and computer repairs.

Kevin has many years of experience on the Internet and using and fixing computers and is now using that experience and knowledge to help others find the best solutions for their PC needs, reviewing and recommending hardware and software products and giving free advice and support.

This entry was posted in External Hard Drive Reviews and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to My Passport Essential By Western Digital How Well Does It Perform?

  1. Harry Kent says:

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  3. Newton Smyth says:

    This hard drive works well with WD’s media player. If one DVD is 4.5 GB, that’s over 200 DVDs worth of data. I can load all my imeags, music and movies onto this pocket size hard drive and can store just as much or even more movies than higher priced DVD changers. My only concern is the USB cord. The end that plugs into the hard drive is different than my 320 GB WD HD. I wish they’d standardize this so cords are universal, especially when it’s from the same company. It would be a hassle if I’d to loose the USB cord and can’t use an old one.

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