Western Digital MyBook 3 2TB

It’s no surprise that Western Digital’s 2TB MyBook 3 looks just the same as the less capacious model; nor that, once again, it comes with no software or accessories. All that’s changed is the drive inside.
That being the case, the performance is quite unexpected. Not because it’s dramatically better or worse than the 1TB model, but because it’s so very similar. Ordinarily, we’d expect a higher-capacity drive to deliver improved read and write speeds.

Yet in our tests the two models achieved almost identical results. The biggest divergence was in the small-file write test, where the 2TB model recorded a 5% improvement over the 1TB unit. In the large-file write test we measured it as 1% slower, and in the large-file tests both read and write results were within 2% of those achieved by the less capacious drive. It’s fair to say that in general use you won’t see a perceptible difference between the two drives.

This doesn’t reflect poorly on the 2TB MyBook 3, though. Like its brother, it’s easily within sight of this month’s winners. Again, no other manufacturer was able to match its performance in the large-file read test, with the runner-up Buffalo DriveStation around 5% slower.

The larger capacity translates to better value too. At 15.8 cents/GB this is one of the most economical drives here, undercut only by the Freecom and Seagate 2TB drives. If you need a huge, fast drive and happen to fancy its stubby design, there’s no reason not to invest in the 2TB MyBook 3.

• 
  Western Digital MyBook 3 1TB
• - Labs Winner -
  Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 2TB
• 
  Freecom Hard Drive XS 3 2TB
• 
  Freecom Hard Drive XS 3 1TB
• 
  Buffalo Drivestation 1TB
• 
  Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1TB
• 
  Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500GB
• 
  LaCie Rugged USB 3
• - Recommended -
  Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive 500GB