Finding the Best External SSDs for M4 Mac Mini: Real-World Tests & Shocking Results!

[@kingneutron1]

Thanks! Really good review, man

[@aslamsean]

Glad you liked it! Appreciate it!

[@stevetodd7383]

Many SSDs these days use a fast pseudo SLC section of the drive for fast writing, but move data off to QLC storage as a background task. This is much slower than SLC writes, so once the SLC region fills up the drive will slow down to the speed of QLC. The other factor that can influence speeds is whether or not the drive controller has a DRAM cache or not. Obviously not on the Mini, which controls the SSD directly from the SoC, but an M.2 drive with a DRAM cache has more flexibility as to when to write out SSD blocks and in which order, plus it can read in fast bursts to the DRAM ahead of the CPU requesting data, so improving effective throughput.

[@aslamsean]

Thanks for such a clear explanation

[@Hrishi1970]

Great! Would you recommend a setup for M4 Mac mini?

[@stevetodd7383]

@@Hrishi1970 that rather depends on which type of Mac Mini you are using (the base model only supports Thunderbolt 4, the Pro versions support Thunderbolt 5. Thunderbolt 4 is limited to PCIe 3 speeds) and what you are using it for (mainly reading and mainly sequential access is fine for QLC, fast writing and highly random access would suggest TLC or MLC, plus a DRAM cache). Also, is cost a factor?

[@Hrishi1970]

@stevetodd7383 I was thinking of M4 Pro with Thunderbolt 5. Cost is a factor for sure. The use case is to use a 1 Tb external SSD as the main drive and limit using the internal mac drive.

[@stevetodd7383]

@ can you wait a couple of months? If not, your only TB5 option is the OWC drive mentioned in the video. There are plans by other manufacturers to bring out external cases which will accept standard M.2 drives and connect via TB5. Until then you’ll have to put up with a TB4 case. Combine these with something like a Samsung 990 Pro or WD Black SN850X (the Samsung sustains a higher write speed, the WD will write at full speed for longer, but then drops back to somewhat slower than the Samsung, your choice).

[@JimBoomer]

I just got my OWC 1M2 + WD Black 8TB ($550 Black Friday deal!). LOVE IT SO FAR!!!

[@aslamsean]

That's an amazing setup. Enjoy!

[@JoJo-nd1xi]

👍The best detailed test I have seen on this important topic, great work❣️ 👌 Thanks an warm regards from 🇨🇭 JoJo🙏

[@aslamsean]

Appreciate the support!

[@seanohaimheirgin1047]

The slow speeds when moving large files sounds like a cache issue. After the process signals that it has finished there are still processes running in the background.

[@arserkal]

Great video … I appreciate all the work put into comparing the different drive. Thank you 🙏

[@aslamsean]

Glad you liked it!

[@nevvanclarke9225]

4 TB is the go never had a SanDisk fail 😮

[@kabirnanavati]

I'm planning to buy the Crucial X9 Pro, and keep it plugged into my Mac Mini to run Illustrator , Photoshop, After Effects and Lightroom etc. files from the X9 Pro and not store anything on the internal SSD accept the applications thai i install since its only 256GB. Will this setup run smoothly if i format it in APFS and use it daily without swithcing off my Mac Mini? I plan to keep this as my primary setup with the X9 Pro plugged in at all times.

[@foongpedq2238]

Can edittng direct to external SSD ?

[@aslamsean]

Yes in my previous video I used x10 pro and everything will work fine. but make sure you keep a backup on a separate drive. If you can

[@kabirnanavati]

@@aslamsean okay, thanks a lot. Is it ok if I keep a HDD as a time machine back-up every week?

[@Mangold108]

rule nr 1: sandisk never again

[@myemail1668]

Samsung ssd all the way ?

[@daddadc-ej9tl]

what file format was used for the test, exFat or APFS?

[@PeteC62]

LOL he liked your comment but didn't answer the question. APFS I'd imagine.

[@clansman81eg]

APFS bro for sure 😀

[@UlyssesZopol]

Thank you for this! Further down I wrote a blurb on my own resuluts with the same M4 & SanDisk configuration. Got the same numbers. Seems like SanDisks has sold these drives with different specs. Would send you some funds, but unfortunately, that requires sharing my bank data with Google, which I am unwilling to do.

[@thehuntrockband]

You need the thunderbolt 3 cable in a thunderbolt 3 port to get the full speeds. I have the SanDisk 4TB and I get the full listed speeds.

[@UlyssesZopol]

This is interesting. I have the SanDisk 1TB version laying around here, and I was about to sell it off. Now when I look at the specs of my device (model SDSSDE61-1T00). it says it's USB 3.2 Gen 2. So I wonder what a thunderbold cable would do in this case. Could you share the model number of yours? It's in small print on the backside. Might be that yours has just a higher specification. There would be no point in spending money on yet another cable then. But then again, I just moved around a 12GB file and it took around a minute which not that bad. The Blackmagic Test delivered almost the exact same result as OPs.

[@DennisdeCaccia]

Did you use the connectors on the front or back. They are different and have different speeds of transfer.

[@aslamsean]

From the back. Also for owc The one marked with thunderbolt

[@Äpple-pie-5k]

@@aslamsean All ports in the rear are thunderbolt. I know, there's only one thunderbolt symbol. But all 3 are thunderbolt. Hope that helps.

[@tenampk]

why did you not use the back usb thunderbolt 4 instead of the front thunberbolt 3?

[@BorderTerrier-yk2hw]

My new kit includes a Mac Mini M4, with 24 Gb of RAM, a small hard drive, and a Samsung 995 Pro 2TB SSD, in an Acasis container. I have watched your videos on the use of an external SSD, and have gone 'nuclear'. Using the 'Apple Support' instructions, I now have all my o/s on my external SSD, and my internal 256 Drive is 'empty'. My transfer speeds are c. 2800mb/s. Everything works, it's per Apple instructions: sorted.

[@UlyssesZopol]

Great solution. And kinda tragic at the same time.

[@BorderTerrier-yk2hw]

@ Please explain.

[@UlyssesZopol]

@BorderTerrier-yk2hw Tragic, because the internal memory is so slow compared to the external solution. That said, later today I found this guy. I ordered his solution right away. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKWnq4WVd8SprJI

[@yinoveryang4246]

Yes. The Crucial XD SSD is currently receiving highly negative reviews in the UK, with numerous reports of frequent failures and data loss. Why specifically the UK? It’s likely due to a manufacturing issue or a problematic supplier producing substandard units. For now, the best advice is to avoid purchasing these drives on Amazon in the UK as of early 2025.

[@aslamsean]

Thanks for sharing your insights!

[@MatthiasHamilton]

the ssd sticks have different "generation" markings... do those matter as far as speed and optimal performance?

[@aslamsean]

Yes different generations have different speeds but with apple/ Mac’s it will only perform if it’s thunderbolt 3/4/5.

[@globalrevival]

Interesting results. But, I’m curious - in one picture you show plugging the external SSD into the FRONT USB-C connectors - but on the Mac Mini, the front USB-C’s are purposefully slower (adhere to a lower standard) then the one’s on the BACK. Did you run all your tests plugging all the devices into the FRONT or into the BACK USB-C connectors?

[@aslamsean]

I mainly used the back ports for testing specially the one labeled with thunderbolt symbol.

[@Äpple-pie-5k]

@@aslamsean Just so everyone knows, all ports in the rear are thunderbolt. Even though there's only one symbol. It's potentially confusing.

[@EdKenUK]

“Mainly” used the back? So which tests DIDN’T you use the correct ports? These tests don’t seem very scientific… I think you need to do a follow-up on this video with valid tests.

[@PaulReitman-x5j]

Something happened to my external recently, when I shutdown the mac mini 4, and power back up, the login gets stuck unless I unplug the external. Wow, it was working for about a week until I loaded up the external with files. Any ideas what would cause that? Since it was working then wasn't, all I did was load files and go to 15.2 (24C101) from whatever version the Mini 4 came with. PS rebooting works just fine, just starting from a power off state.

[@MasterChief4U]

These small enclosures build up heat fast for large files. So they will throttle down...Why RAID NAS 10GB port is for full time use..

[@YaThinKnow]

M4 Mac mini w/256 ssd is slower than 512 on base and pro chip. They clock in at 4100 read and write for the internal ssd. Also, the pro’s memory bandwidth increases allowing 5000+. Just like the thunderbolt 5 external performance tests on the few manufacturers with enclosures. But only with the 1tb or higher. Typical Apple, the more the money the more the speed. The max gives you two ProRes codecs on chip so double the video processing power.

[@aslamsean]

Yep! Well said .. faster SSD would solve the problem

[@jayheha0053]

So should I get the 512 ssd over the 256? I’m a content creator and a lot of my projects are 60-110GB

[@TonyLuuvlogs]

@@jayheha0053 yes, u should get 512 for faster SSD but it's not worth for the money u should go for m4 pro base model

[@HeangKoing]

@@jayheha0053get the 1M2 enclosure but get a faster nvme ssd with dram. Any higher end drive will do wd850, 990 Pro or any others with dram. It’ll provider nearer 3100 MB/s for large file transfers.

[@MadelnMachines]

Should you get a Crucial x9 (non pro) or pro instead of x10 pro for mac - am I going to see any real benefits?

[@atwajesper9434]

The WD SN770NVMe has worse cache performance than the SN850NVMe. I bet the WD 850 would have given you better results with large files transfers.

[@aslamsean]

The owc enclosure limits any Nvme ssd performance because it can’t go beyond the ~3000 MB/s read write speeds

[@atwajesper9434]

@ You missed my point. I was addressing your question about 9:30 into your video. The OWC enclosure reached over 3K MBps with small files and it only reached 771MB/s with large files. This has nothing to do with the enclosure because I’m not expecting it to reach 5KMb/s. This was your assumption. What I meant is that the WD Black 850NVMe would have given you better results with large files. When I say better I mean better than 700Mb/s and closer to the 3K Mb/s that you saw with smaller files.

[@HeangKoing]

@@atwajesper9434this. If the op used a better drive with dram he would have faster large file transfers. The 980 Pro, 990 Pro or the wd850 would have performed better.

[@HeangKoing]

@@aslamseanit’s not about faster speeds as you’ll be limited by the 1M2 enclosure. It’s about faster sustained speeds with large file transfers that a better nvme could do. Yes, you’ll never get more than 3100 MB/s but you’ll get a lot better then the 550 MB/s on large file transfers as the wd770 doesn’t have any dram.

[@seanohaimheirgin1047]

The Sandisk is being flagged as untrustworthy on many channels at the moment. And the life of an ssd is generally determined by heat

[@timjkinney3472]

How about Samsung T9 it's sometimes available at a lower price than the t7

[@igonzalez0]

why not use an Apple Time Capsule 5th Gen? I'm still using my 2TB TC

[@steveblanchard7293]

Does it really matter what SSD you use, you are saving a few to tens of seconds. It is the processing power of the M4 that matters and please don't forget the iMac M4.

[@Dvance]

If your SSD is a bottleneck to transfer speed, then the SSD is a bottleneck. The processing power of the Mac is completely irrelevant.

[@phoenixbenjamin]

What about Lacey drives?

[@TechGameDev]

the coming back !

[@JGBSolutions]

Nice video

[@aslamsean]

Appreciate it!

[@manasgbhalla6071]

I think mac mini m4 have two usb 3.2 ports on the front so why dont you use them

[@goobfilmcast4239]

With Apple offering Thunderbolt 4 on its entry level devices it will serve to drive down the prices of TB4 peripherals. The entire PC community will benefit. The same will be true of Thunderbolt 5 as it becomes available in the mass market. Apple’s next step will be the introduction of MacBook Pros with ONLY USB-C / TB5 ports… no Legacy ports….each being completely agnostic whether you connect power or any I/O devices. The internal controller will handle it. Even MagSafe will go TB5.

[@aslamsean]

Interesting, thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@odebroqueville]

I wouldn’t recommend the Sandisk, because I couldn’t launch macOS from this external SSD. Luckily I was able to exchange it for a Samsung T7 which worked fine.

[@aslamsean]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing! I'll be sure to look into that for a future video.

[@nevvanclarke9225]

I'm using the Samsung T7 and no issues on a macbook M1

[@Monsux]

Why wouldn't Sandisk drives work? Just use the right format and you can use any drive you like.

[@odebroqueville]

@@Monsux Try launching macOS from an external Sandisk drive then tell us why!

[@Monsux]

​@@odebroqueville Doesn't take that much searching to find out that people run macOS from an external Sandisk drives just fine. You can use any type of drive you want. Just use proper format and follow simple instructions. There's nothing special with Sandisk vs. all the other manufacturers.

[@mex5341]

crucial x6-x10 is enough

[@RussellRay]

OWC is $250 now

[@aslamsean]

I am going to make a video about some other alternatives soon

[@tunggad]

hagibis 40mc + sn770 = best p/p

[@idi01s]

Buy the cheapest 2 TB ssd (about $100). 2 or 3 years later buy a 8 TB at same price.

[@wgm247]

The sandisk is unreliable

[@imApodro]

Why? I used it for years and still works

[@steveblanchard7293]

@@imApodro court cases against Sandisk over reliability I believe

[@TheCitizenship]

@@imApodromost electronic components are hit or miss, there’s bound to be defective units. Sandisks SSDs are more prone and likely to be corrupted that’s all, I have one myself and never had any issues with it and am still using it, but my friend has to refund his due to corrupted drive after 1 month and he got a external enclosure instead.

[@the_TechGee]

If you found this video insightful you would love this next video it’s the Mac mini 4 vs a $30,000 gaming pc kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYnLaGp9gayjlZYsi=L2UBesKfiIFsXx07(we would appreciate if you would subscribe and leave a like to support our channels growth and to keep the spark alive)