Here we see an average transfer rate of 24.3 MB/s (higher is better) with an access time of 14.0ms (lower is better). HD Tune reports the CPU Usage at 6.6% during the test. Next we switch to the FireWire cable.
As expected, scores across the board are much better using the faster FireWire interface. We see an increase of almost 10 MB/s on average. Access time dropped slightly also, and the CPU Usage is now only 1.5%.
For our next test, we will be using SiSoft Sandra's Physical Disks benchmark. Again, the My Book will be tested with the USB cable first, then the FireWire cable.
Sandra reports a "drive index" of 30 MB/s and an access time of 14ms for the My Book using the USB cable. Now let's see how much things improve when we switch to FireWire.
The FireWire cable was able to net an additional 10 MB/s, very similar to what we saw in HD Tune. The access time remained the same at 14ms.
For the final test, I conducted a real-world test where I timed how long it would take to write files from my computer to the My Book and then restore them back onto the computer. For the test, I backed up my photography folder from last year. The folder contains 13,141 files at a size of 32.2 GB. As with the synthetic benchmarks, I will be testing with both sets of cables and will format the drive between the USB and FireWire tests. The data will be read from my 800 GB RAID 0 array (two Seagate 400 GB drives). Test results are shown below.
The real-world test shows that the FireWire cable is about five minutes faster at writing to the My Book and about three minutes faster at writing back to the computer.
Western Digital has a lot of great things going for the My Book. The overall style of the drive is simple and innovative. The small design means that you can take the My Book with you nearly anywhere you go, always having access to those important files. The My Book is fairly quiet during operation, but did produce a slight humming noise when used on my desk. Cooling vents are located on three of the four sides. I never noticed the casing of the My Book being more than slightly warm to the touch. The My Book is extremely easy to use and requires no external software. You can choose to use the built-in WD Backup software or simply copy files over to the My Book manually. The WD Backup software works great, and allows you to customize backup categories and even schedule backups on a daily, weekly or monthly interval. The dual interface is nice, allowing you to use either USB or FireWire connections. FireWire is of course faster, but not all computers have a FireWire port. Just remember that it will take some time to write large files / large amounts of files to and from the drive. Users in a "high risk" area will appreciate the Kensington lock connection, but will have to purchase the actual locking mechanism separately. As of writing the Western Digital 320GB USB/FireWire My Book Premium Edition sells for $129.99 at Geeks.com
OCIA.net has awarded the Western Digital 320GB USB/FireWire My Book Premium Edition our seal of approval.
Thanks to Geeks.com for supplying us with this review sample.
