I am debating between those Western Digital portable drives that go up to 5tb that function with USB only (WD my passport) and the bigger ones (eg my book) that are bigger and need power outlet besides the USB connection.

Is there any difference in quality or durability to store media?

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[–] CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I havent seen inside a MyPassport but the MyBook is just a standard 3.5" SATA drive with a USB controller attached. For the smaller form factor, I'd imagine they're more integrated and not able to be shucked which means it could, in theory, be less reliable if the control board broke, but this is just speculation and the odds of that happening are probably pretty low.

[–] ui3bg4r@lemmy.org 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

That makes sense. And do you know between Mybook and Elements what is the primary difference? Besides the looks of the outer casing.

[–] LoafedBurrito@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I have bought 7 Elements and they have all lasted at least 9 years. The Mybook series have been known to fail more often and i think they use a different drive than in the elements. I only buy Elements externals and Best buys Easystore since it's the same as elements. I have several 14-18TB drives and they work great for torrenting and data hoarding.

[–] ui3bg4r@lemmy.org 1 points 23 hours ago

Hey thanks for the feedback. When you say elements, are you referring to the Desktop variant that needs external power or the portable?

[–] CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

There may have been a difference at one point before WD realized what people were commonly using these for, but I was previously using 5 shucked Elements and one MyBook (all 8TB) bought between 2018 and 2024 and they were all the same white label drives.