Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
If you guess bigger is good when it add up to warehousing space , you might be concerned in Western Digital’sMy Book Studio Edition II , which mix two 3 TB cause in a RAID 0 frame-up for a whopping 6 TB of data store . Aside from the My Book ’s abundant place , the effort vaunt restrained process and read speeds that were comparable with other setups of its sort .
Macworld Lab ’s examination demo the movement to have say hurrying that were very close to the challenger . In our USB 2.0 testing , the My Book Studio Edition II post scores of 36.4MBps in our 2 GB folder read psychometric test , 36.9MBps in our 2 GB filing cabinet read test , and 36.7MBps in the AJA system test — all three scores just within 1 or 2MBps of other outside desktop hard drive . Through FireWire 800 , the My Book Studio Edition II post 2 GB pamphlet read speeds of 76.2MBps , just 0.7MBps shy of matching the IomegaeGo Desktop ( ) and the CalDigit AV Drive 1 TB ( ) . The My Book Studio Edition II posted 2 GB single file read focal ratio of 85.6MBps , just behind the AV Drive 1 TB and ahead of the eGo Desktop .
The My Book Studio Edition II ’s write speed , though , were n’t quite as free-enterprise . It achieved 28.2MBps in our 2 GB folder write test and 28.9MBps in the 2 GB file write trial via USB 2.0 . When tested over FireWire 800 , the drive wrote the 2 GB folder and charge tests at fastness of 50.7MBps and 60.9MBps , respectively , all those slews being airless to the bottom for outside desktop laborious drives .
The My Book Studio Edition II , though , is well designed and well-off to use . Like other drive in WD ’s business , the array has a clean , streamlined look , with a gray plastic casing and perforate top . On the front , you ’ll find an oval line that glows white twinkle during activity , and the back has two FireWire 800 ports , freestanding eSATA and USB 2.0 ports , power input signal , and a power clit . The My Book Studio Edition II weighs 4.5 pounds , not necessarily portable , but much light than other drives of its kind .
WD include FireWire 800 , USB 2.0 , and FireWire 800 to FireWire 400 cables . There ’s also a superpower adapter with baron plugs for utilisation in the U.S. , Canada , and the U.K. , and a CD with software system utilities and manual .
Inside the character are two WD Caviar Green 3 TB drive with 64 MB of cache . The drives include WD ’ IntelliSpeed technology , which ramp up or slow up down the effort ’s rotational speed depending on surgical process . The enclosure is fanless , and during regular use the My Book Studio Edition II was absolutely quiet , except for a slim click every so often , and just warm to the touch , never blistering .
You do n’t involve to install any software on your Mac to begin using the My Book Studio Edition II , but a software CD is include . On it you ’ll find WD ’s Anywhere Backup computer software , in case you do n’t want to habituate Time Machine . Also on the CD is Drive Manager , a public utility company that allows you to change the configuration of the raiment . Once installed , Drive Manager sit in the menu bar of your Mac , monitoring the My Book Studio Edition II . We detect the software simple to utilise , and we could convert the alliance of our drive from RAID 0 to RAID 1 , and even change the file system from HFS+ to FAT32 , allowing you to share the driving with a Windows car . The software package also lets you know the wellness of both your array and the difficult drive indoors , even the temperature they ’re running at .
The only drawbacks to the computer software were that , in our use , it take a minute to shift between options , a bit slow than other regalia we ’ve used , and the Drive Manager computer software adds another process running in the atomic number 76 ten background , something we prefer to avoid . lastly , the CD contains WD ’s Turbo + driver that are guess to bring home the bacon a performance boost , but we did n’t acknowledge any performance difference .
Macworld’s buying advice
Though its write public presentation is less than stellar , the My Book Studio Edition II provides plenteous amounts of memory place , a sleek look , and plenty of connection options . Western Digital also includes a circumscribed 5 - year warranty . If you require to store 722 hours of HD video or 1.5 million MP3s , this is a good depot twist for your needs .
