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| Model | Capacity | Est. street price | Cost per GB |
| SimpleTech Signature Mini Black Cherry | 320GB | $160 | 56 cents |
| Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini | 160GB | $90 | 56 cents |
| WD My Passport Studio | 320GB | $185 | 58 cents |
| Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive | 160GB | $100 | 63 cents |
| OWC Mercury On-The-Go | 500GB | $350 | 70 cents |
| Toshiba USB 2.0 Portable External HDD | 160GB | $140 | 88 cents |
| G-Tech G-Drive mini Triple (7200RPM) | 200GB | $270 | $1.35 |
Performance
The WD My Passport Studio performed well in CNET Labs testing. We tested the drive using both USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 connections.
In USB 2.0 testing, the drive topped our charts on our write test scoring 149.12Mbps, narrowly edging the rest of the compact 2.5-inch drives we've tested. Its read score finished in the middle of the tightly grouped pack.
The My Passport Studio's FireWire 400 performance couldn't equal that of the OWC Mercury On-the-Go but far better than the G-Tech G-Drive mini Triple's FireWire 400 throughput. The My Passport Studio's FireWire 400 write speed was 19 percent faster than writing via USB 2.0.
The drive was quiet and stayed very cool during our tests.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Write | |
Read |
Service and support
Western Digital has a lot of love for the My Passport Studio and backs it up with a generous five-year warranty. This is the longest we've seen for a pocket-size external hard drive. As there's generally not much support needed for external hard drives, the warranty duration is the most valuable support and Western Digital delivers. Nonetheless, the company's technical toll-free phone support is available from 8 a.m. till 7 p.m. CST, Monday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday. At its Web site, you will find a comprehensive set of Web-based support including downloads, product RMA, a sizable knowledge base, and an online installation guide.
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