External SSD options

[analogarsonist]

Hi everyone,

First off I acknowledge that there are a ton of threads on this topic, and I’ve spent many hours digging through posts and review sites and still confused. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I just bought a new M1 Mac Mini with 8gb memory and 256mb internal ssd storage, with the plan to purchase external ssd storage.

I want to buy a 2tb ssd, and I’m planning to use external storage for my 500mb photo library and video editing.

it doesn’t need to be lightweight or portable, it won’t move from my desk. I have young kids so it would be nice for it to be somewhat sturdy. I’m thinking I’d like to get the fastest speed available in the hopes that this solution will last for years. I’d also prefer a cooler quieter option, since space or portability is not an issue.

thinking that the Samsung x5 may not make sense since I don’t need portability. I’m leaning towards buying an NVME S.2 internal SSD (like Samsung evo pro) with a thunderbolt 3 enclosure, but I’m starting to get a bit lost as I read through reviews (fledgling, orico, sabrent, etc) and most of those still seem to cater towards portability, and it seems like they’re slower than the x5 option?

Any advice from others in a similar situation?

thanks in advance!!
Alan

 

[Honza1]

I was solving similar issue few months ago and settled down on generic enclosure with SATA NVME drive, one of the old ones which can do only ~500MB/sec. Enclosure and drive were cheaper and drive is running much colder than proper NVME drive which can go ~2.5x faster (1250MB/sec, that one is cooking all the time).
Data storage - photos, movies, large data files - need more space and reliability than speed. There are very few sources/targets which can achieve larger speeds than 100-200MB/sec. NAS with ethernet? Typically 100MB/sec unless you have expensive hardware. Internet via Ethernet or wifi? 100MB/sec max. Hard drive in enclosure? 130MB/sec. With exceptions, no way we can get large amount of data moved much faster, except the main SSD or may be other external SSD. Unless you are going to work with pictures/movies directly on that drive, it is waste of money to get fastest external drive with this purpose. And, realistically, in real life even if you work with pictures on that drive directly, you will not be drive speed limited. The difference between 500 and 1500 MB/sec in real life - for data - is small.

 

[analogarsonist]

Thanks Honza1! I bought an 8TB WD Mybook last year, tried to use it for my photo library with the Mac mini, and it was really noisy 24 hrs a day. Eventually the Mac photos app started crashing. The Mac photos app seems to be really heavy for background read/write image processing. Do you use your drive for the Mac photo library? Any issues?

thanks!
Alan

 

[macjunkie2013]

Going with a TB3 option is the right choice.

As far as I can tell there is no difference in performance between various TB3 NVME enclosures. The difference in performance seems to be only related to the actual NVME drive installed.

I am pretty happy w the Samsung 980 Pro 2TB in a TB3 enclosure. Aside from its top speed it also runs comparatively cool. I have a 16GB/256MB Mini M1, so boot from the TB3 drive. I am getting an average of ~ 2600MB/sec RW

IMHO it seems natural to boot the Mac Mini from a TB3 drive, it needs a plugged keyboard, mouse, and monitor anyway!

 

[Honza1]

Thanks Honza1! I bought an 8TB WD Mybook last year, tried to use it for my photo library with the Mac mini, and it was really noisy 24 hrs a day. Eventually the Mac photos app started crashing. The Mac photos app seems to be really heavy for background read/write image processing. Do you use your drive for the Mac photo library? Any issues?

thanks!
Alan

Yes, but do not have large enough Photos library to care and have issues. In my case I have 150-300GB of movies on my external drive + some large documents.
One observation - not every external enclosure seems to wake up properly, I have some which seem to disconnect once in a while. I was not able to observe any specific pattern. But can be VERY annoying as programs really do not like when their library/document disappears. Reliability is more important then speed for me.

 

[HDFan]

Although you don't want a portable solution, MaxTech recommends the Sabrent Rocket:

SABRENT Rocket XTRM-Q 2TB USB 3.2 / Thunderbolt 3 External SSD | up to 2700 MB/s in Thunderbolt 3 Mode or up to 900 MB/s in USB 3.2 Mode (SB-XTMQ-2TB)

SABRENT Rocket XTRM-Q 2TB USB 3.2 / Thunderbolt 3 External SSD | up to 2700 MB/s in Thunderbolt 3 Mode or up to 900 MB/s in USB 3.2 Mode (SB-XTMQ-2TB)

www.amazon.com

I have had no problems with my OWC 2 TB Envoy Pro EX. OWC has a number of solutions, including just an enclosure (but it is slow).

OWC External Hard Drives for Mac and PC

Need more external storage for your Mac or PC? OWC external hard drives are designed and tested for Macs, and compatible with Thunderbolt, USB-C, eSATA, and FireWire.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[rambo47]

I've always had good luck with LaCie drivers. I particularly like the rugged orange ones.

LaCie Rugged SSD

Rugged 2TB USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C External SSD

www.adorama.com

 

[analogarsonist]

Thanks everyone!

leaning towards a portable tb3 ssd instead of an enclosure + ssd. Seems like you get better quality / performance when it’s designed as a single unit.

HDFan - I’m not familiar with maxtech, are they a pretty authoritative source? I’ve definitely seen the sabrent rocket xtrm-q portable tb3 ssd discussed in forums. I read a Tom’s hardware article that compared it with the x5 - seems like the x5 outperforms the rocket, but sabrent has more competitive pricing?

rambo47 - yeah that LaCie rugged ssd seems like a great option, just feels like a waste to purchase a rugged option when it won’t leave my desk?

 

[TheRealAlex]

Thanks everyone!

leaning towards a portable tb3 ssd instead of an enclosure + ssd. Seems like you get better quality / performance when it’s designed as a single unit.

HDFan - I’m not familiar with maxtech, are they a pretty authoritative source? I’ve definitely seen the sabrent rocket xtrm-q portable tb3 ssd discussed in forums. I read a Tom’s hardware article that compared it with the x5 - seems like the x5 outperforms the rocket, but sabrent has more competitive pricing?

rambo47 - yeah that LaCie rugged ssd seems like a great option, just feels like a waste to purchase a rugged option when it won’t leave my desk?

Good choice prices of 40Gbps enclosures + the actual NVME drive are crazy high.

I grabbed a 1TB for $199 on sale for my M1 Mac Mini

Sabrent Rocket XTRM 1TB Thunderbolt 3 External SSD (Up to 2400MBs/2400MBs R/W) (SB-XTRM-1TB)​

and a new on sale Sandisk Extreme for $159 on sale. It’s the new 1050MB/ sec version

SDSSDE61-1T00-G25​

the Sabret Rocket will stay plugged in always as the main hard drive and the Sandisk is smaller than my car key fob and is for portability

$615 MacMini M1 + $360 in Thunderbolt 3 portable drives.

 

[Fishrrman]

ALL external SSDs are going to be "on the small side" (like the X5).
It is what it is. If you don't want the kids fooling with it, velcro it to the desk.

If you want "the fastest", the X5 is the way to go. They can get pretty warm, however -- as in, "hot". I've heard that the speed can "throttle back" under extended write loads due to overheating.

If you could be satisfied with "a little less", then consider a USB3.1 gen2 drive. Samsung offers one called the t7.
Or, buy a "bare" nvme blade drive, and put it into the USB3.1 gen2 enclosure of your choice.

 

[doboy]

Good choice prices of 40Gbps enclosures + the actual NVME drive are crazy high.

I grabbed a 1TB for $199 on sale for my M1 Mac Mini

Sabrent Rocket XTRM 1TB Thunderbolt 3 External SSD (Up to 2400MBs/2400MBs R/W) (SB-XTRM-1TB)​

FYI, this drive contains a QLC NAND. They also make the one with a TLC, but at a higher cost. Most should be fine with a QLC NAND.

 

[HDFan]

HDFan - I’m not familiar with maxtech, are they a pretty authoritative source?

Max Tech is a YouTube Mac channel. May not have the insider access that Gurman, Kuo and and others have, but is able to make fairly accurate predictions using public sources. Does detailed technical reviews and comparisons. No BS.

Max Tech

Honest informative tech videos for the everyone! Like our unique wallpapers? Download them here ➡ https://bit.ly/2WNc6Qw Check out Max's Filmmaking channel ➡...

www.youtube.com

 

[rambo47]

Thanks everyone!

leaning towards a portable tb3 ssd instead of an enclosure + ssd. Seems like you get better quality / performance when it’s designed as a single unit.

HDFan - I’m not familiar with maxtech, are they a pretty authoritative source? I’ve definitely seen the sabrent rocket xtrm-q portable tb3 ssd discussed in forums. I read a Tom’s hardware article that compared it with the x5 - seems like the x5 outperforms the rocket, but sabrent has more competitive pricing?

rambo47 - yeah that LaCie rugged ssd seems like a great option, just feels like a waste to purchase a rugged option when it won’t leave my desk?

It might not leave your desk *intentionally* but it may indeed leave your desk at some point. Gravity is a b!tch.

 

[Rock Star]

I am pretty happy w the Samsung 980 Pro 2TB in a TB3 enclosure. Aside from its top speed it also runs comparatively cool. I have a 16GB/256MB Mini M1, so boot from the TB3 drive. I am getting an average of ~ 2600MB/sec RW

Would you be willing to post a screenshot of AmorphousDiskMark for your Samsung 980 Pro 2TB in a TB3 enclosure combo ?
I'm especially interested in the RND4K QD1 speeds (MB/s and IOPS) of your combo.

 

[macjunkie2013]

A bit of searching will reveal I already had...

Thunderbolt 3 M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosures

I don't know, we would have to ask @moonwalk who posted this in the thread linked below: “I have a WD SN750 4 TB drive in an Acasis "USB4.0 NXMe M2" enclosure on my M1 mac mini. It tops out at about 1250 MB/s, if I'm lucky. Mostly it gets around 1,000 MB/s, though often it's only pegging in the...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[theunk]

I have an OWC dual drive dock https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-drives/owc-drive-dock which holds two drives. It connects via TB 3. It replaced two OWC FW800/USB 3 docks, which still work very well, just recovering deskspace. I have a Samsung 1 TB SSD and a collection of newer mechanical hard drives. Good price, good performance and flexibility. I went low on my 2018 mini selecting the 128gb ssd main drive. I need the external capacity. You forget about how smooth SSD’s are until the HDD spins up. It is not kid proof but then that is not a hardware issue.? I am relying on the good folks at Apple to keep my photos safe. Too many friends have lost their collections because of local drive failures.

 

[Rock Star]

A bit of searching will reveal I already had...

Thunderbolt 3 M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosures

I don't know, we would have to ask @moonwalk who posted this in the thread linked below: “I have a WD SN750 4 TB drive in an Acasis "USB4.0 NXMe M2" enclosure on my M1 mac mini. It tops out at about 1250 MB/s, if I'm lucky. Mostly it gets around 1,000 MB/s, though often it's only pegging in the...

forums.macrumors.com

True. But no RND4K QD1 IOPS results though. Thanks for linking to that page.
BTW, it's funny that the RND4K QD1 MB/s results of your external enclosure are better than those of Apple's internal drive. Tiny files (for coding, OS) will (theoratically) load faster from the external SSD, than from the internal SSD.

 

[ignatius345]

And, realistically, in real life even if you work with pictures on that drive directly, you will not be drive speed limited. The difference between 500 and 1500 MB/sec in real life - for data - is small.

I was using a plain old cheap USB 3 hard drive for my media until recently and it was totally fine. Fast enough to load up a video or music and play it. The only time it was annoying was when I was first copying 1TB of files onto it, but that's really a one-time thing.

SSD prices have come down a ton since then so I've stepped it up, but like you say that extra speed isn't always actually needed.

 

[Rock Star]

It might not leave your desk *intentionally* but it may indeed leave your desk at some point. Gravity is a b!tch.

Size and Weight​

• .....
• Weight: 2.6 pounds (1.2 kg) 2

.....

2. Weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.

— Source: https://support.apple.com/kb/SP823?locale=en_US

The weight of one full water bottle is too much?

 

[rambo47]

The weight of one full water bottle is too much?

Even a water bottle falling onto the floor can break open. I'm guessing a hard drive is more fragile than a plastic bottle.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Even a water bottle falling onto the floor can break open. I'm guessing a hard drive is more fragile than a plastic bottle.

Just make an aluminum frame and bolt it firmly to your desk. 100% drop-proof.

 

[rambo47]

Or use Velcro.

 

[vel0city]

I was using a plain old cheap USB 3 hard drive for my media until recently and it was totally fine. Fast enough to load up a video or music and play it. The only time it was annoying was when I was first copying 1TB of files onto it, but that's really a one-time thing.

SSD prices have come down a ton since then so I've stepped it up, but like you say that extra speed isn't always actually needed.

It's more about the silent operation than the speed for me. I keep all my assets (stock images, textures, 3D models etc) on external drives and as you said the loading speed from a USB 3 drive is fine, it's just the drive noise that can be annoying. SSDs are a great upgrade in that respect but definitely not a cheap option.

 

[MacorNothing]

Hello I have Samsung X5 SSD connecting TB3. Look this picture, judge for yourself if this small size is better for children ?

 

[ignatius345]

It's more about the silent operation than the speed for me. I keep all my assets (stock images, textures, 3D models etc) on external drives and as you said the loading speed from a USB 3 drive is fine, it's just the drive noise that can be annoying. SSDs are a great upgrade in that respect but definitely not a cheap option.

I know what you mean. I was using a big chonker of a desktop USB drive for Time Machine backups and it was driving me nuts every time it would spin up. I found a 4TB portable USB drive and that took care of the noise problem for me. It's probably slower, but for backup it doesn't much matter. I did switch to 1 TB SSD for my media stuff, but SSDs of that size are more affordable these days.