Samsung X5 Portable SSD - 2TB - Thunderbolt 3 External SSD for a reasonable price

[Clix Pix]

Well, yes, that goes without saying, but I suppose if people don't realize this that they don't actually accomplish what they think they are doing..... If one doesn't open that dropdown menu and see what the options are it is possible that they aren't going to be actually formatting the drive in the way that they expect. It's always a good idea after the process has been completed to do a "get info" on the drive, too, to be sure that the outcome is what was desired and expected.

 

[treekram]

OH THERE IT IS.

It works here too, on the Leidian case.

edit: why the hell is file system MS DOS FAT32?! (Says that on mine too)

It's the EFI partition (210 MB) that is formatted as FAT32. The screenshot says the rest of the SSD is APFS. The EFI partition is always formatted as FAT32. You can go through steps to remove the EFI partition, but unless you know what you're doing, it may not be worth the time and effort.

Has anyone tried the X5 with a Thunderbolt 3 -> 2 adapter on an older Mac? Curious what speeds it gets if it works!

The Apple Thunderbolt 3->2 adapter is supposed to be bi-directional. This would require a Thunderbolt 1/2 cable connected to the Mac with the Apple adapter connected to the X5. There are people who have been able to connect from a TB2 Mac to a TB3 device when the device has it's own power. However, at least one article says that Apple's adapter doesn't transmit bus power when used this way (TB2 Mac to TB3 device). Other adapters may or may not have this limitation.
https://www.macworld.com/article/32...edly-fast-portable-thunderbolt-3-storage.html

 

[Dr. Stealth]

Didn't you guys immediately reformat your new X5 or the EVO 970 when you received it? That is the first thing I did right out of the box -- reformatted to APFS since this is an all-Mac household and I don't have any Windows anything here. Actually, if I recall correctly the X5 came formatted as ExFat..... No idea about the EVO 970, though. That is weird that the file system would be stated as being FAT 32. ???

Anyway, I'm loving this X5 -- it is fast, fast, FAST!!! Expensive? Yes. Worth it? YES.

Only the 209 MB EFI partition is fat32. Thats standard for EFI partitions.

The main partition is APFS.

 

[Sarpanch]

Has anyone tried the Lacie Bolt 3 Thunderbolt 3 External SSD? Seems like a good price for 2TB PCIE-NVME SSD for 600$.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1294391-REG/lacie_stff2000400_2tb_bolt_3_thunderbolt.html

 

[WilliamG]

Has anyone tried the Lacie Bolt 3 Thunderbolt 3 External SSD? Seems like a good price for 2TB PCIE-NVME SSD for 600$.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1294391-REG/lacie_stff2000400_2tb_bolt_3_thunderbolt.html

FYI it’s not really a 2TB SSD. It’s 2x 1TB in an enclosure.

 

[Sarpanch]

FYI it’s not really a 2TB SSD. It’s 2x 1TB in an enclosure.

True, they are probably using 2 lanes on the Pcie channel per SSD and achieving the speed with RAID 0.

 

[madrag]

@Dr. Stealth does your method work with an NVMe M.2 that is from other brands/models and not the Samsung EVO?

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

There must be cheaper m.2 thunderbolt adapters online by now. Look at this one...

https://thunderbolttechnology.net/product/thunderbolt™-3-usb-c-nvme-ssd-adapter

 

[adamk77]

 

 

[brentsg]

Just posting this for general information in case it may help others in the same situation.

I needed a fast high capacity external SSD for my new 2018 Mini for storing and editing a very large number of digital images. I was looking at the Samsung X5. The Samsung X5 2TB Version is currently selling for around $1,200.00 down from $1,400.00 but still very pricey.

So after doing a little research online I found it possible to upgrade the internal NVMe M.2 SSD. So I bought the 500GB version of the X5 for $300.00 and replaced the SSD with a 970 EVO 2TB ($540.00). I was able to sell the new original 500GB NVMe SSD for $100.00.

So I ended up with a 2TB X5 for a total cost of $740.00. A substantial savings of $460.00.

The SSD swap was very simple and took maybe 15 minutes.

View attachment 812253

Have you had any issues with your drive getting hot? I read that the X5 is using a drive with modified firmware to throttle more aggressively and keep temps down. I'm unclear is this is real.

 

[jeremiah256]

Is the OWC 4-slot M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure for $300, and adding a 2TB card for $300 a viable video editing option? I know it's probably wouldn't be Samsung fast, but it seems more than fast enough and you can add an additional three cards later down the road.

 

[brentsg]

Is the OWC 4-slot M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure for $300, and adding a 2TB card for $300 a viable video editing option? I know it's probably wouldn't be Samsung fast, but it seems more than fast enough and you can add an additional three cards later down the road.

Since it seems each M.2 drive only gets 1 PCIE lane it wouldn’t be ideal for a single drive.

 

[brentsg]

Well I can say that my X5 disassembly didn't go as planned. The end cap that conceals the screws is completely mangled but still in place.

My spudger is too thick and my tiny screwdrivers just tear the plastic because it's so soft. I would not do this again.

Edit: It's all in the technique and tool. Make sure to try for a flat screwdriver that's as close as possible to the width of the USB-C opening so you can insert with the blade pointed toward the outside where the clips are.

My initial screwdriver was too narrow so it put too much force on the small plastic in a smaller area and it started to tear rather than pop loose. Then I decided that I needed to work it loose so I tried to gently pry around the port and it just marred things up. Once I obtained a better tool it was a piece of cake.

Straight 3.0

 

[thera]

does it also work with "plus" version (Samsung SSD 970 EVO PLUS 2000GB M.2)? it is for the same price as "old" model...

 

[Zdigital2015]

Is the OWC 4-slot M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure for $300, and adding a 2TB card for $300 a viable video editing option? I know it's probably wouldn't be Samsung fast, but it seems more than fast enough and you can add an additional three cards later down the road.

It really depends on what kind of footage you are editing - SD, HD, 4K 8-bit, 4K 10-bit...and what CODEC you are using. Here is a resource for picking the right storage - https://larryjordan.com/articles/q-a-how-to-pick-the-right-storage/

 

[richpjr]

Since it seems each M.2 drive only gets 1 PCIE lane it wouldn’t be ideal for a single drive.

^This. Read some of the reviews and people are pissed about the misleading specs. It only runs at full speed with 4 drives in it. I have had too many bad experiences with OWC to recommend them to anyone (though they seem to have a good reputation to others).

 

[jeremiah256]

It really depends on what kind of footage you are editing - SD, HD, 4K 8-bit, 4K 10-bit...and what CODEC you are using. Here is a resource for picking the right storage - https://larryjordan.com/articles/q-a-how-to-pick-the-right-storage/

From the article:

I’m currently a 1-man shop and I have 176 TB of online storage capacity at the moment; and most of it is full.

Holy crap!

 

[patwin]

Just posting this for general information in case it may help others in the same situation.

I needed a fast high capacity external SSD for my new 2018 Mini for storing and editing a very large number of digital images. I was looking at the Samsung X5. The Samsung X5 2TB Version is currently selling for around $1,200.00 down from $1,400.00 but still very pricey.

So after doing a little research online I found it possible to upgrade the internal NVMe M.2 SSD. So I bought the 500GB version of the X5 for $300.00 and replaced the SSD with a 970 EVO 2TB ($540.00). I was able to sell the new original 500GB NVMe SSD for $100.00.

So I ended up with a 2TB X5 for a total cost of $740.00. A substantial savings of $460.00.

The SSD swap was very simple and took maybe 15 minutes.

View attachment 812253

The newest Samsung X5 drives have started gluing the enclosure shut at the far end (opposite the USB-C port). Found this thread and made my purchases only to run into cement walls. Hopefully this will save someone else the hassle & scarred / unreturnable X5. Caveat emptor.

 

[doboy]

The newest Samsung X5 drives have started gluing the enclosure shut at the far end (opposite the USB-C port). Found this thread and made my purchases only to run into cement walls. Hopefully this will save someone else the hassle & scarred / unreturnable X5. Caveat emptor.

Maybe you could apply some heat to loosen the glue?

 

[patwin]

Maybe you could apply some heat to loosen the glue?

I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze. There's no tangible seam to leverage a spudger into on the far end; you'd need to somehow work it down (blindly) from the bezel end, between the heat sink and the logic board, thereby tempting The Law of Unintended Consequences. At least past my comfort level. If I wanted to burn a couple Bens, I can think of more creative ways involving different tools.

For context, I tried this at a phone/tablet repair shop with the fancy electronics surgical instruments and a couple techs both taking swings at the plate. The case itself started to eek and groan threatening to crack as the orange "belly" part of the case refused to divorce the gray part (after removing the orange bezel and two screws behind it). Ended up with a rather chewed-up X5 that I’m praying gets the new guy on the Amazon return.

There’s a couple no-name enclosures I’ve already ordered. G-Tech’s G-DRIVE mobile Pro TB 3 is a candidate if you’re down with Pantelobe. For the time being, my 2TB 970 rolls a steady rhythm in the 3.1 Gen2 slow lane.

 

[Chrisjmv]

is it possible to put a 970 EVO Plus in the X5 by changing the original SSD (500GB)?

 

[hagjohn]

I just purchased X5 500GB to keep a virtual machine on it (with Win10 and Steam). Good to know I can swap drives out, if I need to.

 

[Chrisjmv]

I just purchased X5 500GB to keep a virtual machine on it (with Win10 and Steam). Good to know I can swap drives out, if I need to.

So it’s possible to use a 970 EVO plus here too with 2 TB?

 

[Fraserh02]

Just posting this for general information in case it may help others in the same situation.

I needed a fast high capacity external SSD for my new 2018 Mini for storing and editing a very large number of digital images. I was looking at the Samsung X5. The Samsung X5 2TB Version is currently selling for around $1,200.00 down from $1,400.00 but still very pricey.

So after doing a little research online I found it possible to upgrade the internal NVMe M.2 SSD. So I bought the 500GB version of the X5 for $300.00 and replaced the SSD with a 970 EVO 2TB ($540.00). I was able to sell the new original 500GB NVMe SSD for $100.00.

So I ended up with a 2TB X5 for a total cost of $740.00. A substantial savings of $460.00.

The SSD swap was very simple and took maybe 15 minutes.

View attachment 812253

Do you happen to know if I can upgrade it with an 970 Evo Plus instead of the 970 Evo? Also whilst on that note, could I upgrade with another brand nvme 2 SSD? Thanks
[doublepost=1566506278][/doublepost]

So it’s possible to use a 970 EVO plus here too with 2 TB?

Exactly what I'm trying to find out! If you find out let me know please.

 

[Chrisjmv]

Do you happen to know if I can upgrade it with an 970 Evo Plus instead of the 970 Evo? Also whilst on that note, could I upgrade with another brand nvme 2 SSD? Thanks
[doublepost=1566506278][/doublepost]
Exactly what I'm trying to find out! If you find out let me know please.

Same here