Which WD Portable Backup?

[Resist]

Been thinking getting a WD MY Passport portable backup disk but I'm not sure which version. Any suggestions? I have a 2010 13" Macbook Pro.

 

[Dhelsdon]

I just bought the WD My Passport SE 1TB, I use the Time Machine backup and it works great. I haven't used the WD Backup software though.

It also supports USB 3.0 so it's fast, but currently bottle-necked by the speed of the standard sun ports.

You might want to fork out the extra cash for the Go-Flex though, because when it's out you'll be able to use the thunderbolt port adapter. I'll end up re-buying the Go-Flex once it supports thunderbolt for sure.

 

[Resist]

My Macbook Pro doesn't support USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt.

 

[gooch3265]

I've got a WD Passport Studio. Supports USB 2.0, but more importantly FW400/800.

Works seamlessly with Time Machine. Can be partitioned for Windows (so you can run Windows 7 Ultimate's backup software for your Windows partition).

Seems to be the best WD solution until some Thunderbolt support comes along...

 

[Resist]

I took a look at the WD Passport Studio and it seems to be just what I want, except that it doesn't come in a 1TB version. That's very disappointing.

 

[gooch3265]

Depends upon your needs I guess. The 640GB does the trick for me. I keep a MyBook World Edition II at home and use the Studio on the road. The World Edition II is the weak link because it is so slow (100MBit ethernet is the speediest connection method).

A MyBook Studio (desktop) would supplement a Passport if both combined are within your budget.

 

[Resist]

The thing is I would like to have at least 1TB of storage and faster speeds than USB 2.0 can provide. My Macbook Pro doesn't support USB 3.0 but does have Firewire 800. And I like the idea of a portable drive that doesn't require an external power source.

 

[stevenpa]

The WD passports do not have Firewire support anymore.

Look at the table on the Amazon page for the WD drives (about midway down).

The Seagate ones do have Firewire support, although you need to buy an additional cable . Not worth it IMO. USB 2.0 isn't unreasonably slow.

 

[DewGuy1999]

Been thinking getting a WD MY Passport portable backup disk but I'm not sure which version. Any suggestions? I have a 2010 13" Macbook Pro.

I've got one of these for Time Machine on my MacBook Pro:

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0/2.0 Ultra Portable External Hard Drive (Silver)

The WD passports do not have Firewire support anymore.

Look at the table on the Amazon page for the WD drives (about midway down).

The Seagate ones do have Firewire support, although you need to buy an additional cable . Not worth it IMO. USB 2.0 isn't unreasonably slow.

That's not completely true, Western Digital's My Book/My Passport external hard drives made for Mac's that are under the Studio name have Firewire.

 

[Resist]

So now I see that Western Digital just released a newer version of the portable MY Passport Studio line. And apparently they got rid of the display. To bad because I kind of liked the idea of having that.

 

[heisenberg123]

What's the difference in portable external and desktop external does portable not need ac power?

 

[stevenpa]

What's the difference in portable external and desktop external does portable not need ac power?

Yes. Portables run off USB and are normally smaller.

 

[henry72]

So now I see that Western Digital just released a newer version of the portable MY Passport Studio line. And apparently they got rid of the display. To bad because I kind of liked the idea of having that.

I'd go for the new one. It has a FireWire port which is much faster than USB. The new one is so sexy as well

 

[Resist]

I'd go for the new one. It has a FireWire port which is much faster than USB.

The old version of the Studio also had firewire.