Is the Samsung 2tb 990 Pro NVMe & Acasis enclosure for use with Macbook M2 a good idea?

[straightryder]

I have to be portable a lot and was wondering if this a good combination for working off the Macbook M2 externally for editing videos?

I read that the Samsung 2TB 990 Pro NVMe PCIe Ge 4x4 ssd m.2 with the Acasis usb4.0 m.2 nvme ssd enclosure (40gbps) to nvme pci-e m-key solid state drive external enclosure aluminum shell compatible with thunderbolt 3/4 usb3.2/3.1/3.0/2.0/type-c are a good match for mobility and portability when working externally.

Anyone have any advice regarding this - much appreciated 🙏

 

[satcomer]

That SSD works well as long as you put a heat pad on NVME like 2 pack Aluminum Heatsinks with Nano Thermal pad and sound stay cool!

 

[straightryder]

That SSD works well as long as you put a heat pad on NVME like 2 pack Aluminum Heatsinks with Nano Thermal pad and sound stay cool!

thanks for the tip. ill be sure to look into that.

 

[orpheus1120]

That SSD works well as long as you put a heat pad on NVME like 2 pack Aluminum Heatsinks with Nano Thermal pad and sound stay cool!

Do you have an acasis enclosure with the said heatsink installed on an ssd? Or are you offering a general usage advise for the ssd installed internally in a system?

If you have used it in an Acasis enclosure, may I ask how are you transferring the heat from the heatsinks to outside of the enclosure?

 

[straightryder]

Do you have an acasis enclosure with the said heatsink installed on an ssd? Or are you offering a general usage advise for the ssd installed internally in a system?

If you have used it in an Acasis enclosure, may I ask how are you transferring the heat from the heatsinks to outside of the enclosure?

Hey.. yea I'm in the same position as you scouting for advice if this setup is any good. I keep reading on like its beneficial but then some say it makes zero difference unless you are just trying to preserve the life of your mac's internal ssd.

 

[orpheus1120]

Well I already found a solution. You should check out the nvme enclosure thread.

Here.

 

[ovbacon]

I have a Acasis (TBU401E) 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure with a Samsung 980 Pro 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen 4 M.2 SSD (Tests in Blackmagic: steady at W:2800+ MB/s, R:2700+/- MB/s) run it on a mini M2, 16GB/512GB

 

[NeonNights]

I have a Acasis (TBU401E) 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure with a Samsung 980 Pro 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen 4 M.2 SSD (Tests in Blackmagic: steady at W:2800+ MB/s, R:2700+/- MB/s) run it on a mini M2, 16GB/512GB

I was planning to get the same combo for my Mac Studio, but it seems Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps) is limiting the 980 Pro (rated up to 7000/5000 MB R/W. So, for external attached storage, is it better to save money and get a Gen 3 instead of the latest Gen 4 NVMe?

 

[ekwipt]

I was planning to get the same combo for my Mac Studio, but it seems Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps) is limiting the 980 Pro (rated up to 7000/5000 MB R/W. So, for external attached storage, is it better to save money and get a Gen 3 instead of the latest Gen 4 NVMe?

Yes Thunderbolt 3 is the limiting factor and you’re better off saving your money.

I haven’t read much information about any benefits with using a PCIE Gen 4 NVME, such as faster random / writes

 

[ekwipt]

Yes Thunderbolt 3 is the limiting factor and you’re better off saving your money.

I haven’t read much information about any benefits with using a PCIE Gen 4 NVME, such as faster random / writes

980 Pro in Gen 3 and 4 modes have the best Random read writes from what i read over the weekend, so i'm going to recommend that

 

[Feek]

I've now got the combo as described in the first post by @straightryder and even using both of the supplied heat transfer things to ensure I've got a good contact, it don't half get hot, even when it's just sitting there idle.

 

[rjalex]

What is the difference performance wise between Samsung's 980 Pro and 990 Pro ? Thanks

 

[Mac Hammer Fan]

I only know based on my own experience that Samsung SSDs should be avoided in the Acasis TBU401 if you want to use them as bootable drive, especially with Sonoma. Slow boot (three minutes) and a lot of spinning beachballs when opening applications.

 

[rjalex]

Would a 980 or 990 with their own heatsink fit in that enclosure or only the naked module would?
If it does fit, would the samsung heatsink equipped SSD still need adhesive thermal pads?

 

[Mac Hammer Fan]

You need the Samsung SSD without the heatsink because there is not enough space, but don't use it as a bootable drive. And keep in mind the enclosure becomes hot.

 

[rjalex]

Thanks a lot. Would you have an idea on the best thickness for a thermal pad? 1mm ? more ? I seem to understand 0.5mm is NOT enough for good contact with the case.

 

[Mac Hammer Fan]

I use 1,5 mm, both thermal pads. (1 + 0,5)

 

[mattspace]

Do any of you using Samsung 990 Pro m.2 drives in external cases happen to know if Samsung Magician can do firmware updates on them from macOS? The support page says "internal" drives aren't supported, but "external" are. I was wondering if putting the m.2 in a case makes it qualiy as an "external" for Magician.

 

[chrfr]

Do any of you using Samsung 990 Pro m.2 drives in external cases happen to know if Samsung Magician can do firmware updates on them from macOS? The support page says "internal" drives aren't supported, but "external" are. I was wondering if putting the m.2 in a case makes it qualiy as an "external" for Magician.

View attachment 2350879

Samsung uses the term "portable SSD" for its specific products like the T5/T7/T9. Samsung would always consider the 990 an internal SSD regardless of how it's connected to the computer.
You can update the firmware of an NVMe Samsung drive in a Thunderbolt enclosure using the Windows version of Magician, if you have a PC that has Thunderbolt.

 

[mattspace]

Samsung uses the term "portable SSD" for its specific products like the T5/T7/T9. Samsung would always consider the 990 an internal SSD regardless of how it's connected to the computer.
You can update the firmware of an NVMe Samsung drive in a Thunderbolt enclosure using the Windows version of Magician, if you have a PC that has Thunderbolt.

so it has to be specifically a TB external enclosure to do the firmware update, not usb?

 

[chrfr]

so it has to be specifically a TB external enclosure to do the firmware update, not usb?

Correct. The computer/Samsung software needs to see it as a native NVMe disk, and USB doesn't provide that.

 

[mattspace]

Correct. The computer/Samsung software needs to see it as a native NVMe disk, and USB doesn't provide that.

ergh, so really there's no good solution if you don't have a windows box with a PCI slot & nvme adapter. I would imagine it's not particularly healthy to be plugging your mac's boot disk (if using this blade for that) into a windows machine... or does the firmware updated leave the disk contents alone?

 

[chrfr]

ergh, so really there's no good solution if you don't have a windows box with a PCI slot & nvme adapter. I would imagine it's not particularly healthy to be plugging your mac's boot disk (if using this blade for that) into a windows machine... or does the firmware updated leave the disk contents alone?

Normally, disk firmware updates don't touch the data on the disk, but things can always go wrong when doing any firmware update on any device.