• expired

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 640GB - $129 at Officeworks

330

Long time lurker, first time poster!

Went to Officeworks today to grab a Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB for $129 (as per http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/19131) and it appears they have now discontinued the 500GB model and replaced it with the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 640GB for the same price.

Decent price for any 640GB 2.5" portable hard drive, but an exceptional price for this model in my opinion.

Also for those who don't need a 640GB and interested for a smaller capacity 2.5" portable hard drive, I noticed that Harvey Norman have on clearance the Western Digital Elements 320GB for $78.

Related Stores

Officeworks
Officeworks

closed Comments

  • Being fussy I know, but the shape isn't as nice as the older version

    • I think it's because they don't use normal SATA drives anymore?

      Is this right?

    • I prefer the new design. I did like the older version too, but i'm over it. Bored with the hard edged sides, and curved off corner. This new design looks classier, like a smooth pebble or gem. :)

      Great prices.

  • went to get this today. i think there's only 3 left in brisbane city :)

    ps. this is their normal price btw (not discounted)

  • +1

    The new 1TB and 640GB are a few mm thicker than standard laptop drives. I've been waiting for a 1TB that doesn't break the bank.

    Also I wish the 3.5 2TB would drop to about $150.

  • Bought one for $ 129 few days back from officeworks in Alexandria, Sydney. 320GB for $78 and 500GB $99. They had few hundreds 640GB's in there when i last saw.

  • Just after the hdd, anyone know if this case can be dismantled and HDD taken out?

  • they also got a Segate 1TB for $129 …this one is desktop not a 2.5" portable.

  • Does this need a ac power adaptor? I thought 500gb was the max in the external drive which is powered by usb

    • -3

      No, this drive is powered by the USB cable.

      Beware though - the USB connector on the drive is proprietary - so don't lose the supplied USB cable!

      • +2

        It's not proprietary, its a Mini A connector. It is uncommon though and most people wouldn't have one. Bit annoying really.

      • -2

        Why did they have to go proprietary?!

        • -1

          Money Spinner for them…
          Selling portable HDD doesn't make them enough.

        • @ajd4096: Why the neg vote for my comment (based on info from an earlier poster before they were corrected - look at the timestamp)?

          • -1

            @daydream: It's easier to click on "-" than to post explaining why you haven't done your homework.

            • @ajd4096: Neg the original commenter if you want. I was asking a -neutral- question based on the comment! If you want to be righteous perhaps you shouldn't have + voted the subsequent poster who incorrectly said it was mini-A! Lead by example re: homework and be consistent with your votes perhaps?

    • There are 1TB portable USB powered external drives now

  • can't be used in a PS3 guys

    I bought one last week

    • You probably need to format it to FAT32

      • He means using it internally.

        It's not a normal SATA drive and won't work inside the PS3 as the SATA to USB connector is built into the actual drive.

        Using it externally, yes, just have it formatted in FAT32.

  • is this hard drive the same as this one?
    http://store.9289.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cP…

  • It's a bit confusing, My Passport Essential SE only comes in 750GB or 1TB

    Is this an OW exclusive model?

    • I agree. According to WD specs it shouldn't be a SE. The dimensions on the OW site (although wrongly labeled "83 (L) x 15 (W) x 110 (H) mm" - Height is 15mm!) would indicate a non-SE drive. Being a taller/fatter drive is all that seems to earn the higher capacity drives an "SE" label from WD.

  • +1

    I can confirm, bought one of these Tuesday to put the drive in my laptop when I opened it I found that the USB to SATA connection looks like it is built into the drive hence the short length. Bugger…

  • Great price. I picked myself up a 320GB WD elements from office works North Sydney on Tuesday for $79 but the WD 640GB drives were $219 :) so i guess this price change only came in in the last few days.

    Looks like you can buy it online at that price also http://www.officeworks.com.au/retail/products/Technology/Dat…

  • There are reports saying the micro USB connector is very loose, is that still the case? I guess OW would gladly exchange or refund if there's any problem, so no big deal.

    It seems the drive is pre-installed with SmartWare, some people don't like it but you can turned it off.

  • Just picked up two of these drives from OW North Syd they had 120 of them in stock! Thats allot wow.
    Anyways the Micro USB connector is not lose at all :) on either drive. I was a little shocked at how small these things are! 2cm less then a standard 2.5" usb Drive.

  • Damn, talk about bad timing, I just scored the Western Digital Elements 320GB for $78 from Harvey Norman. A 640GB would have been sweet.

  • +1

    Just a reminder for ppl that don't plan on using the backup software provided. The included software is not removable, its firmware thing, and it will mount a virtual drive. But WD has released an patch that will prevent the virtual drive from loading, but it only works on pcs with the patch applied.

    Anyways I am avoiding the new line of WD Passports for now as I don't want the bloatware.

    A side note, Toshiba and Samsung have released 640gb 2.5" as well, while seagate has 880 and 1tg 2.5"

    • Nice warning there Garratt.

      I'm the same. Hate all the extra rubbish. Didn't know it's was in the firmware.

      I have a couple of sandisk usb sticks which have bundled U3 software, but it can be removed, after a little research.

    • ive actually used the utility and it works on every computer.

  • this stupid thing asks you to install drivers each and every time you plug it in. That's after turning off the silly smartware crap.

  • all sold out officeworks city store

  • I can confirm this drive works great with a Wii.

  • Will this work with the xbox 360? Worried about all this crappy bloatware.

    • Yep I can confirm it works with the xbox 360 . Or at least it does on my jtag modded 360 . Had to use a program called fat32formatterEN.exe to format it to fat32 in windows 7 as nothing else seemed to work , Some sort of widows limitation I believe .

  • How long does it take to arrive if u buy it online?

Login or Join to leave a comment