Thunderbolt 3 M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosures

[Stephen.R]

I’m using the same SSD and getting less performance though which is a bit puzzling. My machine is a 2019 iMac 27

Any other TB3 devices connected?
How full (and what size) is your M2?

 

[EmmEff]

I am using the XPG SX8200 1TB and have no other TB3 devices connected.

 

[Stephen.R]

I am using the XPG SX8200 1TB and have no other TB3 devices connected.

I wonder if it’s due to being the boot drive, and thus there is some overhead

 

[EmmEff]

It benchmarks the same when connected as a second drive and booted from the built-in drive in my iMac. No worries. I’ve got an OWC TB3 enclosure coming in August and will pick up another branded 1TB nvme to compare the two.

 

[Tricone]

A random question relating to NVME enclosures and heat issues ( I have a TEKQ 2TB T3 drive) . . . would simply laying the drive on top of a cooling pad or ice pack or directing air from a small fan across the enclosure help to reduce the temperature significantly?

 

[imASH]

Hi folks. Looking for enclosure for WD_BLACK SN750 NVMe to use with my MB Pro 2016.
Just wanted to clarify a few questions:
1. Are JEYI enclosures compatible with USB3.1/USB2.0?
2. Aside of temperature issues how stable they are?

 

[dazagrt]

Hi guys, I just pre-ordered the OWC Envoy Express.

OWC Envoy Express

For the first time in the history of Thunderbolt, you can buy a bus-powered Thunderbolt certified enclosure and install your own drive in it.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[lotech]

Hi folks. Looking for enclosure for WD_BLACK SN750 NVMe to use with my MB Pro 2016.
Just wanted to clarify a few questions:
1. Are JEYI enclosures compatible with USB3.1/USB2.0?
2. Aside of temperature issues how stable they are?

Unless they specify USB3 then no - the TB3 model is TB3 only.

 

[lotech]

Heres some results with the same Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1tb drive.
One is in a J5Create USB-C Enclosure (slower) and then moved to a JEYI TB3 Enclosure.
Can also confirm the JEYI comes with two TB3 cables - short (and horrible unless lying flat beside the computer) and a 50cm which is good.

 

[lotech]

Oh if you want to level up your nerd - here's an icon file for the JEYI enclosure.

JEYI-Thunderbolt-3-m-2-nvme-Enclosure-mobile-box-case-NVME-TO-TYPE-C-aluminium-TYPE.icns

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[lowendlinux]

Here's my Envoy Pro EX 2TB TB3

Here's my OWC Elite Pro Dual with a pair of RAID 0 512GB SSD's via USB 3

 

[imASH]

Unless they specify USB3 then no - the TB3 model is TB3 only.

Thanks for the reply
hm...that's an issue of compatibility. I guess it is not a good option as universal portable drive..

 

[Fishrrman]

imASH wrote:
"that's an issue of compatibility. I guess it is not a good option as universal portable drive.."

If it's "compatibility" that you want, USB3.1 gen2 would probably be "the best compromise".

These should yield reads of 965MBps or so when connected to a USBc port that supports USB3.1 gen2.
But they should also connect to USBa (USB3) ports and yield read speeds around 430MBps.

 

[imASH]

imASH wrote:
"that's an issue of compatibility. I guess it is not a good option as universal portable drive.."

If it's "compatibility" that you want, USB3.1 gen2 would probably be "the best compromise".

These should yield reads of 965MBps or so when connected to a USBc port that supports USB3.1 gen2.
But they should also connect to USBa (USB3) ports and yield read speeds around 430MBps.

Thank you for the reply. Is the a general consensus on the most stable usbb3.1 enclosure chip/device?

 

[makkusu]

Ok, another NVMe enclosure here - but this time its built into a TB3 dock as well. This is probably my ideal solution and the one I'll stick with for now!

thank you for the review! That looks like an awesome solution. It will make all my cables disappear and I would have TB3 extra storage. Plus, I might even be able to connect the dock with my work laptop, the USB-c port should be a Thunderbolt And according to Orico some other models might be supported, although not at full speed.

Nevertheless, I’ll have to wait for Christmas to buy something like that, the dock is 310€+130€ for a Samsung 970 Evo... My wife is gonna kill me ?

Edit: actually I have a question, I wanted this to use it for a bootcamp Windows partition. Do you think it would do the job reliably even with a cheap 50€ usb 3.1 gen 2 enclosure? Cause that could be an alternative until I decide to buy the dock.

 

[camner]

Heres some results with the same Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1tb drive.
One is in a J5Create USB-C Enclosure (slower) and then moved to a JEYI TB3 Enclosure.
Can also confirm the JEYI comes with two TB3 cables - short (and horrible unless lying flat beside the computer) and a 50cm which is good.

View attachment 944755 View attachment 944756

What's the difference between the JEYI enclosure you linked to and this one? (Also JEYI, but $10 more)

 

[grayskyz]

Also, I've never ordered from Aliexpress, how long do they typically take to ship?

 

[imASH]

OWC ENVOY
EXPRESS

What do you guys think about this one?

 

[DRDR]

OWC ENVOY
EXPRESS

What do you guys think about this one?

I will test it but not available yet.

 

[EmmEff]

OWC ENVOY
EXPRESS

What do you guys think about this one?

Waiting on my pre-order... no word from them regarding the delay or any idea when it’ll ship...

 

[grayskyz]

I am concerned about the lack of cooling on the OWC ENVOY EXPRESS...no heat sink or anything?

 

[deksawyer]

I've just fitted a Sabrent Rocket 1TB into the Orico TB3 enclosure (the one with the fins) and I'm getting very slow write speeds. The current link speed is only listed as 2 lanes rather than 4. That's the problem, but what's causing it?

OK. I removed a USB C hub I had some hard drives plugged into and seem to be getting mixed results. Again, what's causing that?

Test 1

Test 2 immediately after

 

[joevt]

I've just fitted a Sabrent Rocket 1TB into the Orico TB3 enclosure (the one with the fins) and I'm getting very slow write speeds. The current link speed is only listed as 2 lanes rather than 4. That's the problem, but what's causing it?

OK. I removed a USB C hub I had some hard drives plugged into and seem to be getting mixed results. Again, what's causing that?

Test 1

Test 2 immediately after

You are getting 2459 MB/s read which is more than two lanes. Where are you seeing two lanes?

 

[deksawyer]

Yes, after repeated running, it seems to be all over the place as per the screenshots above - there is no consistent benchmark as it's either all, one thing (read) or another (write), if that makes sense.

In System Information, the only TB3 device is the Orico enclosure. I assume "Current Link Width: 0x2" means only 2 lanes? I may be wrong, fair enough.

It seems to run perfectly fine via other benchmarks, so maybe i'm just being uber sensitive about the BM tests. It's a nice problem to have though....

 

[joevt]

In System Information, the only TB3 device is the Orico enclosure. I assume "Current Link Width: 0x2" means only 2 lanes? I may be wrong, fair enough.

Those are Thunderbolt lanes. A Thunderbolt connection is two bidirectional lanes (2 for send, 2 for receive, 8 wires total in the USB-C connector).
PCIe lanes is different.
You should always see link width 0x2 for Thunderbolt 3 which are combined into a "40 Gbps x1" connection. It may say 20 Gbps x1 if you are not using a proper Thunderbolt 3 cable, or if you are using Thunderbolt 2.
Thunderbolt 1 might be link width 0x1 with "10 Gbps x1" connection (maybe x2 for a Thubderbolt display for two separate 10 Gbps x1 connections).