Maximum Surface Temperature

We monitored the surface temperature of the external hard disk drives during their benchmarks. The following chart shows their operating temperature range, from idle to maximum load. Please note that instead of giving you the absolute numbers, we are showing the temperature delta, which is the difference between the actual temperature and the ambient room temperature.

The 500 GB My Passport Essential was the coolest-running external hard disk drive when it was operating in the USB 2.0 mode. When we switched to USB 3.0, its operating temperature shot up. However, it was significantly cooler than the 500 GB FreeAgent GoFlex in both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 modes.

Transfer Rate Profile

When it ran in USB 2.0 mode, the WD My Passport Essential 500 GB external drive was limited to a flat transfer rate of 34 MB/s throughout the entire storage capacity. That said, this is one of the fastest USB 2.0 transfer rates we have seen. Its direct competitor, the 500 GB Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex drive, for example, could only deliver a truly pathetic 20 MB/s in its USB 2.0 mode.

When we switched WD My Passport Essential to USB 3.0, it was instantly able to achieve its full potential. The 500 GB Western Digital Scorpio Blue hard disk drive inside delivered a maximum throughput of about 69 MB/s at the outermost tracks. Even at the innermost (slowest) tracks, it still managed a transfer rate of about 34 MB/s, which is coincidentally the upper limit of its USB 2.0 performance.

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