Rank #3 in Best 2TB External Hard Drive: 8 Ranked, and the Speeds That Don't Add Up
WD My Passport 2TB Portable External Hard Drive
Price and rating as shown on Amazon when we collected them. Both change.
The WD My Passport 2TB takes third place in this guide. It is a 2.5-inch portable external hard drive with a 5400 RPM platter, a USB cable in the box, 256-bit AES hardware encryption with password protection, a 3-year limited warranty and a black aluminium-and-plastic enclosure. The listing carries a 4.6 rating from 104,670 reviews at £104.99.
What the listing does not do is agree with itself about speed. The bullet text promises "SuperSpeed USB (5Gbps)". The data transfer rate field underneath it says 1 Megabits Per Second, and a separate field, Media Speed, says 0.125 MB/s — which is the same figure as 1 Mbps, so two of the drive's own specifications back each other up while sitting 5,000 times below the bullet above them. A third field lists the cache memory installed size as 2 TB, which is the drive's total capacity, not its cache. Everything on this page is taken from the Amazon listing for this drive, not from any test we ran.
How those 104,670 ratings break down
An average hides its own shape. This is the spread behind the 4.6 stars.
Specification
Exactly as published on the Amazon listing, field for field.
| Price | £104.99 |
|---|---|
| Customer rating | 4.6 out of 5, from 104,670 reviews |
| Capacity | 2 TB |
| Form factor and spin speed | 2.5-inch, 5400 RPM |
| Bullet claim | SuperSpeed USB (5Gbps) |
| Data transfer rate (as listed) | 1 Megabits Per Second |
| Media speed (as listed) | 0.125 MB/s |
| Cache memory installed size (as listed) | 2 TB |
What buyers actually say
Quoted from customer reviews on Amazon
Verified purchase“The previous 4TB hard disk I purchased (not a WD) proved very slow. On investigating I discovered that there are two types of drive SMR and CMR (worth checking this online as at the moment Amazon do not show this info).To date this Hard Disk has proved fast enough and reliable. Very happy.”
Verified purchase“Order a Amazon Resale and came with 18 hours use and 5 power on cycle. So berly used and in original packaging as described. Very quiet operation and quick read write speed not grate for lots of random read write operations but is perfect for file storage or backup.”
What it is up against
The rivals it was ranked against in Best 2TB External Hard Drive: 8 Ranked, and the Speeds That Don't Add Up.
Questions people ask
How fast is the WD My Passport 2TB?
The listing gives two answers. The bullet text says SuperSpeed USB (5Gbps). The data transfer rate field says 1 Megabits Per Second, and the media speed field says 0.125 MB/s, which is the same number expressed another way.
What is the cache size?
The cache memory installed size field says 2 TB, which is also the drive's stated storage capacity.
Does the WD My Passport 2TB work with games consoles?
The compatible devices field lists Computer, Xbox and PS4, while the compatible video game console models field names only Microsoft Xbox 360.
Is the data encrypted?
Yes. The drive has built-in 256-bit AES hardware encryption with password protection, which you activate and set a password for using the manufacturer's downloadable software.
What is in the box?
The listing says the drive is ready right out of the box with the necessary cable.
How long is the warranty?
Three-year limited warranty, as stated in the listing.
Comments
Reader comments are not checked against the manufacturer's claims above.
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