How Fast Does External Storage Need To Be For Average Users?

How fast does your external storage need to be for the everyday Mac or Win PC user? Is 500 MB/s, 900 MB/s fast enough or do you need Thunderbolt 4 external storage? People always ask me if they should bet 10 Gbps enclosures or 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 enclosures and spend the extra money. In this video I wanted to cover how fast your external SSD storage should be and ask the question if you really need Thunderbolt 4 speeds. If you are running external storage on your M2 Mac mini or M2 15" MacBook Air how fast does it need to be?
In this video we discuss the following enclosures:
Yottamaster Dual-Bay M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure - amzn.to/46CPqp6
Acasis ThunderBolt 4 SSD Enclosure - amzn.to/3lmGeCH
WD Black SN770 1 TB M.2 SSD - amzn.to/449raJO
WD Black SN770 2 TB M.2 SSD - amzn.to/46zftO0
Crucial P3 4 TB M.2 SSD - amzn.to/3PC7FFg
Thanks for watching and please subscribe for more technology videos like this one where we discuss external storage speeds. Disclaimer - if you use a link above to purchase a product we could get a very small commission to help us make more content. Thank you.

[@francescofarina5331]

Absolutely, I'm in total agreement with you, like 1000% on point! Most of the time, we end up with way more performance or capabilities than we really need... and the rest is just plain old marketing! Thank you for being rational, honest, and clear.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for feedback and watching. I appreciate it for sure.

[@may0023]

As someone who just bought a new MacBook Pro and is now looking for external SSD to expand the storage, I admit that I am one of the people who believed I need "at least" 20Gbps enclosure for my (basic) video editing with CapCut. But after watching your honest and informative clip, I suddenly asked myself "do I really need to pay that much when external SSD like Samsung T7 should be fast enough at 800Mbps?" And the answer is "Hell, no." So thank you for a wake up call, Craig. You just earned one more subscriber. Cheers!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching the video and for the info. I also use Capcut and I edit off 800 to 900 MB/s quite often just fine. Now everybody might be using different types of footage and some is heavier then others but at the end of the day I have never had an issue at all.

[@vas1010]

Some REAL analysis, thank you!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the feedback and for watching.

[@streptomyces]

Excellent video and fantastic advice

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the nice feedback.

[@jackwang2531]

Thank you so very much for your knowledge!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks Jack appreciate that for sure. Thanks again.

[@Mark_Media]

I have a 256GB Mac Mini M1 with 16GB of Ram, the only reason I can think of for buying a really fast external thunderbolt 4 external SSD is to run your OS on it (which is what I do) If I was going to purchase the M2, I would do this also, especially with the slower 256GB one. These SSD's only have a specified length of time before they go bad, I feel like I am able to keep my M1 for a long time by not utilizing the internal/original drive. Apple has made it insane buy making the SSD options so expensive. I would never buy the extra storage from them! Besides if my external SSD that I run my OS on goes bad I can buy a new one but if my Mac mini drive goes bad, well, Apple wins...Not for me! The drive I use is a Sabrent Rocket Xtrm-Q at 1TB and for using over 6 months now, no issues.

[@craigneidel]

Not a bad idea for sure. I actually run a bunch of my older Apple computers off external SSDS and edited 550 videos on one external drive and it's still working great. I have not tried boot off an external drive yet on the new Apple silicon chips but might try that in a future video.

[@UnionMac]

Excellent, Craig, thank you.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the feedback.

[@ignaciogranadosr6658]

Absolutely right! I do a lot of multicam video editing and totally agree with you. On a different topic, I love the way your laptop stand looks! Are you planning on making a video on it or could you at least post a link to it? Thanks, and keep up the good work! The channel is looking better and bettter every time!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks. I did a video on the laptop stand as part of this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnuXeqN5l5eprac . It's a bit pricey but super nice. I have some links in the description to other models that could be the same but I only tested the BENKs.

[@jeffross9620]

Craig, Don't get discouraged. I enjoy watching ALL of your videos even those for which I have no immediate need. I think you do a lot of research and I have learned much from your videos. Often people who argue and/or complain are not "in the arena" as Teddy Roosevelt famously said. Stay true to your own goals and values!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I guess it's just part of the job on KZbin. It's just amazing how rude and crazy some people can be when hiding behind a fake name etc. I have learned to just delete posts that are rude and move on. I'm learning but as my channel grows a little you get more of these haters watching for sure. In the end what can you do and I am learning to not let it bug me. I just tell people KZbin is free if you don't like the channel watch something else. It's funny because you get a ton of people who hate Apple watching which cracks me up.

[@winstonsmith935]

Bottom line, does your boss pay you any more money for being 25% faster at the end of the day? No so while your disk is reading and writing files, go have a coffee and enjoy life.

[@craigneidel]

Most ssds are fast enough. I agree.

[@winstonsmith935]

@@craigneidel I only make the comment because how fast do you really need your computer to go? I can understand Video Editing and Video file sizes, but the average User doesn’t need to pay for all the extra speed. Years ago when you hit F9 , it could 2 minutes to finish a recalculation on a Spreadsheet, or even 5 minutes on a 5000 activity schedule.

[@craigneidel]

I totally agree with that.

[@thegoodtest]

A big AMEN! Speed is a fun mental thing . I admit to wanting the faster SSD, the newest Mac or PC but you are right on . Accuracy, timing, careful planning ECT, are the real time and money savers in big or small projects. I won't discourage anyone from going high-end on everything. Been there, done that and spent money I could have used for family. Hard lessons for sure. Good to see sensibility on full display here :) Love your posts, reviews..... everything. You inspired me to save money and be fully happy with my purchase.

[@TheSincioco]

I love your honest and practical approach to storage. I use a Samsung 980 Pro 2TB. I also use a Samsung SATA SSD drive. Sometimes I forget that the 4K60 10-but HDR file I am editing is not on my Samsung 980 Pro but on my older Samsung SATA drive. Nothing skips while I’m editing in DaVinci Resolve! Sure when I am done with my video editing and I’m ready to export it might take a minute longer (some of my files are 60GB! And one project might be 250GB!). But I don’t stare at my computer while it renders the video out for KZbin. I go to the gym or go outside for a run! I agree with your recommendations. If you have the money to burn or a business need for the faster SSDs then get those. Otherwise, even the older SATA SSD can handle 4K60 10-bit HDR with no problems! Thanks for posting this video! ❤️👍

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the comments and for watching. I appreciate it since it helps others watching too. I agree and good luck with everything.

[@danovenilsen]

Hi :) Thanks for this upload. I was wondering about this due to it being my first encousure-build today, and what i should buy. Getting one of those Yottamaster 10-in-one USB-c hub with built in SSD slot and fan-cooling. I just bought an SSD that is able to run over 3000 mbps, but the hub will slow that down, and if i for any reason need faster (Reeeeally doubt it) i can always get a second 2000 or so enclosure. So thanks, this really put me at ease :)

[@craigneidel]

Yes, for the Yottamaster you can almost use a SATA drive as they run a bit hotter. But those are only around 500 MB/s. Also confirm it can take both types. But if you put a M.2 NVME (not sata) in the Yottamaster it doesn't need to be a super fast drive and you will still get about 850 MB/s. Some drives run hotter than others and that enclosure is meant for some basic storage and not very fast storage which is fine. If you want some speed you can pick up a Thunderbolt 4 enclosure and then you can get up to around 2,800 MB/s.

[@adamnelson9661]

Thanks for the info. I especially like the transparency of the internal storage compared to these external devices

[@craigneidel]

Yes you know what you are getting

[@azlife4me]

Great video.

[@craigneidel]

Thank for feedback

[@jjmag3107]

Craig … in your opinion, how fast of an SSD enclosure would you suggest that a 2017 iMac OS / Ventura need to run effectively? I currently have a Samsung SATA SSD that I put in an enclosure, and runs 480 mb/sec. It seems to run fine, but I don’t edit 4K vids either. BUT … I if I did, would that suffice for those types of projects? I understand speed is king. Another informative video, btw. Thanks for the effort. 👍🏾

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the feedback. If it runs fine for what you do then I think you already answered the question. I run my 2017 27" off a 2.5" SSD at about 500 MB/s and have edited 550 5K videos off that so it just comes down to testing and your workload.

[@weholmes5315]

I agree. Over 1000 MBs is overkill for me. I followed your advice and made an external SATA SSD with a $38 Teamgroup MS30 1TB and $12 SSK enclosure and it’s plenty fast. Much faster than my USB 3.0 thumb drives!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching and for feedback. Appreciate it.

[@markw.4679]

​@craigneidel They are the "Sad Geeks". Their is a reason why only a few complain. Thanks for helping us and that's what counts. Then sit back and watch your channel grow and grow! 👍

[@craigneidel]

@@markw.4679 thanks for the comment and for watching. I appreciate the comment and hope I can help some people.

[@sauleomarova7730]

@@craigneidel Craig, have you been able to test Zike Drive? I have seen some pretty good reviews of it but have yet to see it tested on a Mac. kzbin.info/www/bejne/paGzf355ncR4rNE

[@craigneidel]

I have not been able to test that one yet.

[@bryans8656]

I'm hoping that some day you do get sponsors. The drives you showcase are lightning fast compared to my old SATA SSDs in USB 3 enclosures (which I'll replace some day but hey, they still work). Don't fret about the complaints, a click is a click so they still support your channel in their own way.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks. Some day. I do get some stuff send to me but I decide if I want to make a video on it but they don't pay me. So I guess I kind of get a few sponsors but in the end I only show products I like even though I really can't suggest them all the time due to lack of testing over a long period of time. That is why I do the showcases and not the full reviews.

[@mqcapps]

@@craigneidel thus the value of the day job

[@craigneidel]

Day jobs are good to have for sure.

[@Peter-jm7zt]

Hi Graig, great video as always. I would rather keep my data on a USB drive that doesn’t over heat. It might be slower but I would rather the reliability of a cooler drive. Looking forward to your next video. All the best. Regards Peter.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks Peter, I appreciate it and good luck.

[@worldtravier]

Hi Craig , Thanks for all your work and expertise ! I have iMac 2017 5K 27 inch with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) . Of course the Fusion Drive 3.8 . I am looking to install an external ssd to run MacOS. Please advise what enclosure and ssd would give me performance for the price . I am a consumer user .

[@craigneidel]

I have not done this in a while but I have numerous videos on doing that before. I used a 1 TB samsung QVO 2.5" SSD and an enclosure from OWC. It's works flawlessly but obviously there are many other upgraded drives now since that was 5 years ago. So maybe I'll do another video coming up to test out what works best. The key is making sure the enclosure doesn't go into any sleep mode and can boot up the OS quickly.

[@azlife4me]

To me, speed is nice but value is also part of the equation.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching. The question is how do people actually use the speed.

[@Pranay_singh_]

Very helpfull

[@craigneidel]

Thank you

[@abemiranda1092]

100% agree. Most people don’t need thunderbolt speed. I run virtual machines off a usb 3.2 enclosure at 880 MB/a from a Sabrent enclosure and it works flawlessly. I also have a TB3 orico enclosure that runs at 3000MB/s I run windows 11 VM off, the difference is barely perceptible. The biggest difference is HEAT production. The sabrent stays warm, the Orico gets hot! Unless you are moving massive amounts of Data to your SSD daily (100GB+) or have extra money to burn, it’s not worth it, put that $ into buying a bigger better SSD! Most SSDs have a TBW of only 300TB. You are just tearing up your SSD with all that data! Bigger drives hold up longer. Also a lot of video editing apps can only work so fast anyway, they don’t always utilize all that throughput.

[@craigneidel]

I could not agree with you more. That is a perfect example of why the speed is not needed. Sometimes it causes other issues and it's better to just get more storage in most cases. Yes, some people might need it but it's a very small percentage. I see so many KZbinrs with their $50,000 Red cameras too and do they need those? No way as nobody can tell the difference between those and a 2K camera. But do they buy them - yes. So in the end it more about the needs not the wants. We all want the faster storage but it's not always the best choice.

[@johnnyvvlog]

So true! I just connected a Samsung 1TB T5 to my M2 Mac mini that I got cheap on a discount because the T7 came out, set that one up as my home folder and called it a day. Plenty fast for any regular computer user like myself!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching and for the comment.

[@paultiyu1068]

Love your video, just subscribed! So is it okay to buy a cheaper ssd (wd sn750 se) if it’s only for storage since speed of the enclosure is only up to 1gbps, or do I buy a better ssd such as Samsung 980 pro?

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the nice comment. Yes, when you are dealing with a 10 Gbps enclosure the fastest the drive can go is about 1,250 MB/s and that is in a perfect world. With overhead it might be like 800 to 1000 MB/s (more common speed). So getting a drive that goes 7,000 is not needed unless you have something like a Thunderbolt 4 enclosure and even then you can only get about 3000 MB/s with all the overhead and they will run much hotter. Thanks.

[@BobDoe_69]

yup, there is a sweet spot where by the cost is just insane for the few seconds you shave off, I took your advice and got an m2 sata instead of an nvme for heat purposes and i get about 370mb read and write. Mainly throtled by the laptop itself but its ok i am happy with it. Its an upgrade from the spinning WD external HDD that came before it.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, in the end just get what you need and most people don't need so much speed. People watch videos and think they need it but for just backing up files and stuff like that it's fine and may take a few more seconds, but that's fine. I'm all about just getting what you need, and not getting what you always want. Since I have a channel I get more stuff than most people but if it wasn't for my channel I would stick to the basics. Thanks for the post.

[@geoffhoward2171]

I totally agree with you. Let us look at the operative word here "storage", this means what it is storage not the working drive, that drive should be internal and should be as fast as you can afford, even if compromising a little on capacity in relation to speed bearing in mind if you are working on a large file, you need sufficient capacity for your OS & Software along with what you require to work with. As a keen photographer I sometimes work with quite large files but my iMac only has 500Gb internal with 32Gb RAM. Externally I have a 6Tb HDD, 3Tb HDD and a couple of 2Tb SSD's and 1Tb SSD's. Why this set up? easy I find the file's I require transfer them and get to work, the time the transfer takes I get on with some prep or a cup of Java, suits me fine.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the post and sharing that info. I think we are on the same page. I have even booted off external SSDs on Macs that are only 500 MB/s and to be honest I could still edit videos and do most things just fine. In the end faster might be better, but we just don't always need it.

[@sdbur]

Hi. I really like this channel. You know a lot about storage. I have a request…. It seems like the landscape has changed since cloud storage and smaller hard drives in most iMacs. It use to be get a big internal hard drive and than 1 or 2 similarly sized back up drives to back up. What do you do now? Much of my day to day needs is stored in iCloud which is good. But I have lots of large family video files presently on my old sata internal imac HD and some back up drives. How do i manage this on a new 500 gb imac and still use it and protect it. It seems like it would be to expensive to put all this on iCloud. It would be nice to get your philosophy on managing a families storage and back up needs…. Thanks

[@craigneidel]

Now I'm using the Terramaster D8 Hybrid and storing files on SSDs and then also raided spinning drives for multiple copies. Really important stuff I move to another drive and store in second location.

[@schadlarry]

I have a 1TB Crucial SSD ($79) that I'm using for a boot drive while I evaluate Ventura. I'm getting a little over 900 read/write. Bootup is just a little longer and after that can't really tell a difference.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, after the boot it's hard to tell the difference between 900 MB/s and 2,500 MB/s for normal everyday users.

[@muskatkeks]

I am absolutely with you… I think a basic way of “fast” is any (or nearly any kind) of ssd’. They offer fast random access. And a (compared to a hdd) a high throughput about at least 500MB. That thing is fast enough for the most things you do on a daily basis. If you do thinks like (I don’t know anything about that) like high res video editing… fast will be much better. But in the normal usage....the offer things is more important.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the feedback and for watching. I like fast too but just don't need much faster for my needs even with my 4K edits. I know others might need it but it's just a smaller percentage for sure.

[@SamuHell782]

Question: PCIe 3.0x4 should be enough for a type-c 10gbps enclosure right? Maybe one with dram cache just to cover my bases...? Because price/performance 4.0 seem a bit of a waste in such enclosure.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, for sure. You can only get up to 1,250 MB/s on a 10 Gbps enclosure but in reality it's more like 800 to 900 MB/s after overhead so no need to go with hotter faster drives.

[@larrymeyer6006]

Graig, I bought this set up . I am going return it as I can’t ( 1 can’t get the sod to stay in the slot , 2 can’t get the rubber hold down button the stay in the hole. Great idea but doesn’t work for me. Thanks for the video. Larry

[@craigneidel]

I have never heard of that before. Put in the rubber stopper first and then bend out of the way when putting in SSD. Are you sure you bought the correct ssd? You might be trying to use a different key. SSDs come with B, M, and B+M. That is the only think I can think might have happened.

[@teddiecrash8216]

To the POINT !!! nothing to add. Good video. Mac Mini M2 Pro user with "toooooo expensive" 1 TB Harddrive. 512 will do it with a "cheap" t7 2 TB for around 110 Euros. IMO better deal for 95% out there.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching and the feedback. I know there are some users who need the speed but most don't. Thanks again.

[@cyberlizardcouk]

some people have no idea. i used to think my old 386 SX40 was fast. we've just gotten really used to things feeling instantly snappy. Besides most people are not working with video or 50megapixel images for that matter. For web, office, basic video editing, consumer grade photography and even coding, 900MB/s is more than enough, in fact when working with most everyday files, most people would not even notice. It's only a benefit when files are large and contiguous.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, people do need the speed but it's a very few select individuals. Most people get all this tech but barely use it so I was just saying make sure you need it before spending the extra cash. Thanks for watching and the comment.

[@shooKnFr0st3]

Well said as always sir. People are out here thinking they are doing NASA level work when really they are playing in swimming pool. If you need it, you know you need it and you probably are not even looking at ANY of the stuff in this video. The highest level storage (space and speed) are probably not even a blip to the ones playing with the real toys.

[@craigneidel]

Funny, and thanks for watching and the comments. Appreciate it.

[@jerrywaters8141]

I’m buying a Quiizlab UH25 max for my new Mac M2 mini I takes two different cards the 2.5 card and MMED card what do you recommend or should I just skip it and go with your suggestion in this video

[@craigneidel]

Any that match the specs should work I would assume. Get what's best for you

[@oyajipunk]

I agree and disagree - but as you said, it all depends on your use case. I've got an M2 Pro Mac Mini with the minimum built-in SSD storage because I don't want to pay Apple's prices for storage. Currently I'm using this built-in storage for Davinci Resolve, but my end plan is to fit something like the Acacia Thunderbolt 4 enclosure you introduced and run the Resolve app from my Mac Mini, but have all the assets/proxies etc. on the T4 external drive. Thus, reducing strain and extending the life of the built-in SSD. I've currently got a cheap ("slow") 2TB external SSD for backups and static file storage, which is fine. However there's no way I can use this for Resolve proxies - playback is horrible when I do. Keep up the good work! I just discovered that I wasn't subscribed, so I am now. 😁

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for sub. There are some externals that can be edited off of for sure, but if you have a bit slower external storage it might cause some issues. I do understand having the fast internal storage, but so far with my 4K editing, I have had not issues even on 900 MB/s. I use H.264 and some simple techniques etc. so maybe that is why, but in the end I hate to pay Apple any more money than I need to so I will hold out until I need that super fast storage. Thanks for watching.

[@Rick210Texans]

Have a question I have a Mac mini 2012 with an I five and an upgraded SSD how can I take advantage of the thunderbolt to? I have the Apple adapter but I need an enclosure or a dock that’s not going to break the bank.

[@craigneidel]

That is an older port for sure and is only 10 Gbps Thunderbolt. It's hard to find that type of connection too since it's not even USB-C at that point. So there is really no way to get these speeds in most cases without spending a ton of money, if even possible, and at that point you might as well just upgrade to the $549 M2 Mac mini.

[@mrchrisbeaver]

It's not just about raw transfer speed in all cases, I need very fast speeds to load and use virtual instrument libraries. Seek time must be instant for real time streaming from the drive to DAW which helps negate reliance on the Ram pool. I found slower SSD's are problematic for large orchestrations

[@craigneidel]

Yes, if you are one of the few that needs that speed then go with the one I reviewed at 2800 MB/s and that would work great.

[@NikoNikolov]

This is exactly what I was looking for! A dual bay enclosure, so I can do backup with time machine on the first one, and use my sound libraries on the second. Since my Mac mini is limited on ports, this one will do a great job 👍🏻. It’s more affordable, convenient and reliable for me. Thanks you!

[@craigneidel]

Yes, here is the link to the full video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6eqdWiodq2npaM

[@fleemwings207]

I think how fast depends on how you use it. If you are using the external storage as a backup device (i.e. using backup or disk imaging software) for your laptop - the faster the drive, the better. This allows you to complete your backup task to complete ASAP. For those who use it as a data drive for their work data files (e.g. Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Acrobat etc), any drive would do. Where it becomes critical is when you work on large data files, e.g. video editing and rendering - you want a drive that is as fast as possible. A lot of this depends on the user as well as their workflow. Some people are more patient than others and some workloads are more demanding than others. I use a desktop PC and enjoy the internal M.2 storage at full speed. I only use external drives when I need to access my data files when I am not at my main desktop PC and can't access my cloud storage - this does not happen often. My external enclosure is a Realtek RTL9210 bridge chip 10Gbps unit with a Kingston A2000 drive. It serves me well and works as intended - no complaints!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for sharing. Yes, faster is better but usually many people who are normal users won't need faster than the 900 MB/s this example showed. But, for some applications it is justified for sure. Thanks again.

[@davehachey3888]

Well, the problem is worse than most people realize, mainly because they aren't moving large (>GB) files, but rather moving small blocks of data. The small block file transfer speeds are in the range of 30-60 MB/sec.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for posting

[@ghost-user559]

The one thing that makes me not regret getting an external nvme enclosure is backups. I can definitely watch content, game, edit videos etc from even my spinning HDD over usbc at usb3 speeds. No problem. But my nvme just backed up my entire 150GB of my Mac Mini into a bootable clone in three minutes. Even with a slightly faster sata ssd I still would have spent at least a half an hour to 45 minutes just because of the bandwidth being over saturated. So it’s not something people “need”, but it is nice to shave hours off of your week. It adds up.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, but I wasn't talking about a spinning drive I was comparing 900 MB/s vs like 2800 MB/s. Spinning drives are about 100 MB/s but 900 is fast enough for everyone except about 5% in my opinion. We are all different though and I always tell people get what they think they need. Thanks.

[@KaranSingh-gd8sp]

Nah you can't do those stuff with spining disk except for browsing and movies

[@ghost-user559]

@@KaranSingh-gd8sp Idk, you definitely can using a raid array. But obviously most people won’t invest in a raid array just to save money on storage space. But yeah film editors in Hollywood definitely have been using spinning disks to edit for a very long time. It’s cheaper if you need multiple TB of storage. But it’s definitely nothing compared to the speed of an ssd.

[@craigneidel]

If you use raid you can increase the speed of disk (even spinning disk) but you need maybe hundreds of disks to come even close to the fastest M.2 drives. In the end for most users it's totally not worth the price difference as those raided NAS or SAN storage can be very expensive. Of course there are cheaper options like synology but for most users they will end up needing help with setting up and maintaining raid - the average user.

[@ghost-user559]

@@craigneidel You’re definitely right. I like the OWC Thunder Bay line. It’s the only “affordable” in quotations way that I can run 10 or 20 or 40 TB off of my M2 mini pro, and it’s not any more expensive than the Apple upgrades if you do the math on the enclosure. But I agree most people don’t need or want to deal with Software raids and the setup. Personally I like to just use them as a DAS and I don’t always raid them, but they still can do decent speeds with Enterprise 3.5 Hdds. Fast enough to play games or store Logic sound libraries or Final Cut assets and hold all my backups and clones and my lifetimes music and media. But it’s not worth it for everyone.

[@MinhNgo-qj1bt]

Can you please advise which one should I get for external storage with 4TB with a links. Thanks

[@craigneidel]

I haven't tested any of the 4TB drives in that device. Most should work if it meets the specs on the enclosure so I would go with the best price and the brand you like best.

[@yubinator7455]

if im just storing games(and play on them) and school works, is the ~500 mb/s is enough? And if im gonna buy a SSD for a SSD enclosure, is it ok to use an SSD with no DRAM cache?

[@craigneidel]

I'm not sure since I don't know about size of games but I think it should be fine. Yes, using an SSD without DRAM isn't a huge issue if you are using it in an external enclosure for items like backups or data. I use a number of Dramless SSDs and barely notice the difference when using as an external SSD.

[@williameverets2736]

On my iPad Pro 12.9" I tried to download apps like Black Magic speed test. So then I clicked on app store on my iPad nothing showed up, then I tried AmorphousDiskMark and nothing came up to download. So what app can you use to Check speed of External SSD, on a 5th Generation iPad Pro 8GB 256 GB ? Have you every done a Video using iPad to check out speeds of SSD.

[@craigneidel]

I have not tried that on an iPad before but will let you know if I find anything. Good luck and maybe do a search on Google to see what is available there for the tests.

[@motorqir]

Hey Craig, what stand is that for the MacBook ?

[@craigneidel]

I made a video on it here - part of the video and the links should be in there - kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnuXeqN5l5eprac

[@frazerweb]

Using both a 4tb samsung evo ssd in an orico enclosuer and a 2tb nvme samsung 980 pro in an orico thunderbolt enclosure. Obviously the more expensive thunderbolt access files instanously. The ssd option no slouch. I also bought a 4tb seagate eco ultra touch for pure back , as platter sata hds are still most reliable for archive purposes. Now Im considering the acasis thunderbolt enclosuer with a wd 4tb nvme as next drive for fast access.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks and good luck with your setup. 4TB Samsung Evo is a great drive and I have a few smaller Evo's and have used them for years.

[@frazerweb]

@craigneidel I have a 4tb evo 850 and the other is a 860. There also do a pro version but it seems pricy. Although my enclosuer says 10gb I'm getting far less than that on my M1 macbook pro.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks. With 10 Gbps you can only get 10000/8 (bits and bytes) which equals 1,250 MB/s at most and most enclosures will be around 900 MB/s with overhead.

[@dydx2391]

Writing files to my 10 Gbps Samsung T7 ssd is only about 10% faster than the 5 Gbps Samsung 860 EVO. WD SN850x nvme on Thunderbolt 3 is about 50% faster than the T7. Not the double or triple as implied by the advertised RW speed.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for posting and watching. I'm not sure what you mean though. The 10 Gbps refers to the connection type and not the drive speed. A 860 EVO 2.5" is about 520 MB/s but that isn't the same as 10 Gbps etc. as they mean two different things. I'm getting close to about 3100 MB/s on some of my Thunderbolt 4 drives which is quite a bit faster then 520 MB/s but most people really don't need that much speed but there can be a big difference.

[@KevinMillard68]

you usually dont get the full its and UPTO Rating which does not mean its going to do what its rated for but its got the potental, you best bet would be thunderbolt but not all computers have it, how ever intenral sotrage will always be way faster then the same drive external reguadless of the speeds internal is the fastest over external.. how mich speed someone needs in a drive really does depend on the users needs for there ueses..

[@craigneidel]

Thanks. For sure the speed will depend on needs. I was just saying that for 95% of users they should be fine with 900 MB/s. Yes, will things take a few seconds more, for sure but in the end most people would not even notice. Now if you run a video editing company where each minute can cost you $50 then for sure get the fastest and get internal storage. But the costs just need to be justified is all I'm trying to say in the video. Thanks again for watching.

[@mqcapps]

When you look at device specifications, marketing, and it says up to 10 GBs, 1K is still up to 10 GBs. They didn't say equal to 10 Gbs and therefore haven't lied to you. I use the SATA M.2 and SSD's as well as 2.5 inch drives as local backups because I want to backup the backup because too many "things have happen" with the promoted backup software; restoring an image is not the time to tweak. I'm okay with some people who are into benchmarking and when Adm. Grace Hopper told her engineers "please cut off a nanosecond and send it over to me", that was a model for benchmarkers in that she was trying to teach and explain, not trounce. I downloaded a 9 GB video from KZbin and use it to do the speed test. The only thing I'm interested in is whether or not it's "fast enough". Computer scientists and the like know that there is a CPU speed limit, but don't want to get into a gaggle of PC gamer benchmarkers who want to squeeze that .0005% more FPS out of the GPU. The GPU manufacturers are looking for the increase in the share price so they can talk to the shareholders, not us. I'm okay with that, because if the company succeeds, we won't have to keep shopping for new stuff every six months.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the info and I agree. I make videos so sometimes I like to show the crazy fast enclosures but in reality I tend to use my 900 MB/s devices more and really don't notice much of a difference with my workloads.

[@asan1050]

Craig Neidel! Thanks Much !....... Not a bot!😅

[@craigneidel]

Funny. Ok thanks

[@alex_es]

I read that NVMe SSDs only have SMART support when connected to macOS by Thunderbolt.

[@craigneidel]

I'll need to review but thanks for the info.

[@larrymeyer6006]

Craig I have WD_Black SN770 NVMe SSD game Drive 2tB Gen 4 Larry

[@craigneidel]

Ok, and what is the enclosure again it won't fit in? I just want to make sure I have all the info.

[@olganerd]

I been using an external deive to boot macos for a few months. it does make the laptop cooler not having to use the internal ssd. however macos crashes when I turn on the laptop after a sleep cycle. I now save my work before hitting sleep 😢

[@craigneidel]

I boot off external drives on all my older Macs but have not done that on any M1 or M2 Macs yet. On the older one I don't have that issue but one day I might do a test on the newer macs and test it. It might also be the enclosure you are using and it might need to be powered so the drive is available when it goes to sleep.

[@olganerd]

@@craigneidel Great! Thanks for your interest & advise. I might wait for ssd enclosures to mature, probably with a power bank to keep it going.😂

[@craigneidel]

Thanks and if I do a video I'll let you know.

[@niniengineering]

Top speed is not as important as consistency in transfer speed. I bought the SK Hynix X31 Beetle, it is around 950MB/sec no matter the amount of files and stays cool.

[@craigneidel]

Yes for sure. There is always a trade off for sure.

[@LuxStroy]

Hello. I'm looking for dual NVMe M.2 or dual sata 2.5" via 1 cable + RAID, high speed is not needed, but it is necessary to support 4tb ssd (total 8tb). I don't want a NAS, they're all bulky and rated for 3.5", although I want to put a pair of 2.5" or m2 ssd. I know about the asus for 6 m2 ssd, but so far such a volume is not required. it is very surprising that ssd has been around for a long time, but there is nothing designed only for 2.5 ". P.S. I hate hdd, lonies are noisy, bulky, fragile, and die like flies.

[@craigneidel]

Per my other answer - Yes, I have not seen anything like that before but will do a video on one if I do find them in the future. I'm always looking for interesting products to showcase.

[@DavidJao]

I use a Sabrent Thunderbolt 3 dual NVMe enclosure with 2x8TB drives (16TB total), using software RAID and software full disk encryption in Linux. I never trust hardware raid or hardware encryption with real data. To the video's point, I "only" get 900 MB/s from the RAID array (because of the overhead from disk encryption), but I appreciate this level of speed and I wouldn't want it to be any slower than that.

[@SteveOfTheMountains]

Can it be used with a firestick TV?

[@craigneidel]

Not sure as I don't have a firestick.

[@bstevens9831]

Love Craig's videos and like his approach. There are cases when a fast external drive is helpful, so choose wisely. For example, if you need an external drive to be a bootable clone of your main drive, you will want at least 1,500 MB/s and probably 2,500 MB/s when booting from it( unless you don't mind waiting for a long boot time - and that's cool if you do ). A lot of new mac internal drives are 3,000 to 5,000 MB/s by comparison. For folks using their macs to make a living, time is important and they will choose accordingly. Thanks for the videos Craig. Like your honest approach.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the feedback and for watching. To be honest I actually have been booting off my 2017 iMac (27") with 24 GB ram from a 2.5" Samsung QVO 1 TB SSD (about 500 MB/s) and a OWC enclosure for 5 years now and created over 500 5K edits on that external bootable drive. So while yes faster is better, I'm proof that I can barely notice any slowness on my 27" iMac after using it for close to 5 years. Also, the drive has no heat and I think that is why it's lasted so long. I know there are much better options now but I just wanted to let you know that it's for sure possible to use a 900 MB/s drive to boot off of since I'm living proof of using a 500 MB/s drive and it's snappy - even more than the original fusion drive. Thanks again for watching and the feedback.

[@craigneidel]

@@NajiSibin ok. I disagree for sure. I boot off an SSD 2.5 inch at 500 MB/s on my 2017 iMac and it's plenty fast. But I'm also talking about 95 percent of normal users who never would boot off externals. You could be that 5 percent that needs it but most people don't

[@ggproductions7078]

@@craigneidel I imagine it will depend on what sort of work you are doing really no? when you put in heavy fusion clips or effects heavy that might need to write and re write your edits it may be less frustrating to have to wait a shorter time for the render, just a thought. I mean I have a macstudio base M1 and I have 2 thunderbolt enclosures with a 2tb drive in each and put them in a RAID 0. Now it is not just because of the speed, which is over 4200 on the Blackmagic reads and writes, but also because it gives me 4tb of work space for crap loads cheaper than a mac. But because I do copy lots of stuff over and do use perhaps more demanding Fusion-type stuff, I think it probably does help. But yeah it's like anything, the more demanding the task the more benefit the speed, not just because it's faster as such but because it makes the experience more enjoyable and that's worth the extra in my eyes. But like anything, just an opinion.

[@craigneidel]

@@ggproductions7078 fast is better but what I'm saying is 95 percent of people are using externals for copying photos or documents and not editing 4k or performing Xcode compiles. That's why the 900 is fast enough for most. I actually edit 4k video from mine and it works great.

[@ggproductions7078]

@@craigneidel ohh sure, I agree, I have a 2tb NVME for my downloads and assets, though have all my personal music on a WD duo and it's more than fast enough for that. As I said, it depends on your actual needs, your available cash and ultimately just what you want. Why do we have cars that go way faster than the speed limits? But as I said, if you are using resource heavy stuff it just makes the process less frustrating and thus more enjoyable. Top end phones have given us the need for speed no? Sure we can per the dog, chat to people, pick up a book or do the hoovering while you put more coal in the steam engine boiler, but other times you need to get it done before you can do these things. A friend and I always used to say what's the difference between two blinks of an eye and one, but we are past that now. Anyway, we broadly agree, but I reckon 95% is a bit high.😉

[@The_Temple]

For my use, incremental backups & storing a/v files … 900 mb/s for external drive is more than enough

[@craigneidel]

I agree for sure and for most people it's fast enough. Thanks for posting and watching.

[@lesliesutherland4080]

I can remember when it took 10 minutes to move 1MB over a dial up modem

[@craigneidel]

Yes, a webpage would take a minute to load sometimes. Somehow I feel like living in those times was better, but not sure why. Thanks for watching.

[@shooKnFr0st3]

Its like the people who have a lawn care business that have a push mower and a weed eater and think they need a 1 ton dually and tandem trailer. Sorry I dont know why this is sparking so much with me lol

[@craigneidel]

Yes, true. Most people on KZbin have more tech then NASA in the 1980s.

[@aelaan12]

Speed is not all what it is drummed up to be. Think about a time, not so long ago, we used USB-3 and then all of a sudden we got all these weird, very confusing, USB-C "standards". But where a lot of people get into the main confusion is the capabilities of their laptops. USB-C 3.2 10Gb is optimal, I built many enclosures myself and right now I am pushing 915 MB/s and that is more than fast enough. The rat race for "stupendous" fast external storage is of course driven by Apple. Soldering the storage, making it non-upgradable and offering too small of a size. So the internal drives of your computer is of course much faster, but buy a Lenovo T14 and upgrade your internal drive on the PCIe Gen4 bus to an aData and all of a sudden it scores 7300 MB/s. But Craig, why don't you talk about IOPS 😀. I manage many PB (no, not peanut butter) in our datacenters, on cloud storage and on prem. Most of the NetApps can run many circles around stupid fast SSD, but at what cost? Because all I care about is IOPS and the amount of storage I can offer. I can talk for days about storage, protocols, pros and cons, cost and maintenance. Yeah, I am also a sysadmin in my day-to-day work, VMware and such, you know the kind of work that you still cannot afford a nice EV on - lol. So my external storage is more in size, because size matters.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, IOPs are important too but these M.2 NVMe drives are pushing very high numbers on IOPs also. In our datacenter that is one of the conversations we have but in the consumer market and with my videos I keep it simple since most normal users really don't need to know IOPs but I hear you on the importance.

[@jimcallahan448]

Yes, this is an excellent, cost-effective single user solution. What if one needs multi-user shared storage such as Plex, DaVinci Resolve, PostgreSQL, PostGIS or JupyterHub? I have looked at NAS (Network Attached Storage) which are barely multi-user (Intel Celeron), but brain dead or Apple which is brilliant but famously expensive to add internal storage or RAM at time of purchase. What about a low end Asustor NAS SSD RAID array connected by a USB 3.2 cable to a low-end Apple Mac Mini and the Mac Mini connected to the LAN network by Ethernet? The Mac Mini acts as a server to Apple and Windows clients running the appropriate client software such as DaVinci Resolve, ArcGIS, QGIS or a data science environment such as Jupyter/Python? If one only needs RAID, Asustor Flashstor or if also need backup Asustor Lockerstor Gen2 which has both SSD and spinning disk support. How would one manage Dr. Frankenstein's creation?

[@craigneidel]

If you need raid then there are many raid setups available. I would argue that 95% of Mac users don't need raid due to complexity when something goes wrong. I work in a datacenter and have seen it when raid setups can go bad. But for the people that are familiar with it and are techie then it can be a great solution. This was just a video on speed though. I edit 4K videos off externals just like this all the time in FCP and similar software.

[@jimcallahan448]

@@craigneidel Agree and unfortunately, the USB 3.2 cable machine to machine connection would not work without ethernet which is too bad because 10 gbs ethernet is much more expensive on both ends.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks and good luck with everything.

[@brentstwocents]

Too many people simply get off on running black magic speed tests. But in reality that's the only time those ultra fast drives are ever pushing data at those speeds. RAM does all the heavy lifting, especially for editing video. The theoretical speed of an SSD makes no difference after about 300MB/s for anything excepting booting up and even that we are talking about differences of seconds. But KZbin and Reddit are full of people telling you that faster is always better.

[@craigneidel]

Video rendering is also a ton of CPU. I agree and 900 MB/s should be plenty for almost any case. Black magic is only a test but this enclosure was able to keep speeds high with longer real world tests. Thanks for posting

[@mortenthorpe]

Fast is never fast enough… the Acasis Nvme 40 gigabit thunderbolt enclosure with a Samsung 980 Pro is amazing! Fairly cheap, and up to 2800 megabytes per second, read and write, sustained!

[@craigneidel]

Again, sure it is for 95% of people. I did a video on the Acasis enclosure so I know speed but with 95% of tasks that extra speed won't matter to the normal user. But for the people who need it then they should get the Thunderbolt 4 enclosure.

[@MarvinConnell]

You can comfortably edit 4K videos on an external SSD with only 900MBps? Awesome... BUT did you consider that you CAN - at least with a Mac - use that SSD enclosure in a RAID config & get 'twice' the speeds? Just imagine 8TB of editing space with up to 1800MBps...

[@craigneidel]

That enclosure needs two cables connected so I'm not sure it can be raided but I do get your point. It would be nice for sure.

[@MarvinConnell]

@@craigneidel If you have access to another cable - attach it\them both to your Mac & try to RAID them in Disc Utility(where HOPEFULLY, you'll get twice the speeds)... The sata vme enclosure may not be RAID-able, but one may be able to save & use 2 sata nvmes in a RAID & get......800MBps? O.O P.S. I'd go that route if I need to - but I'm more likely to RAID HDDs that will allow me to delete & rewrite data as much as I want... =]

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the tips. I tend to stay away from raid, and even work in a datacenter. I have seen too many issues with cost vs. benefit with setups on raid that may not be server grade setups. It's easy to make a mistake and lose data so I just stick to the basics on my personal systems and have programs that can backup to multiple drives. But, I understand raid can be a great thing in some cases and if it works for your needs then use it for sure. Thanks again.

[@Mr.Zen_73]

i have the need, the need for speed - so i'm 40gbps all the way

[@craigneidel]

If you do then get what you want.

[@emo65170.]

I'd be interested in a metric that measures temperature vs data transferred. We know that chips throttle down when certain temperatures are reached, A slower drive that transfers more data before throttling may be a better value than a fast drive that slows down quickly. Plus, high heat reduces the life of electronics in general.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, that is why I use my SATA M.2 drives quite a bit as they don't heat up like the NVMe drives. But, I'm guessing a ton of testing would be needed to get accurate tests since things like room temp, # of files, etc. would all need to be tested - multiple enclosures too etc.

[@PaulStoffregen]

Single thread random read (often called RND4K QD1) is what makes a drive to "feel" fast for usage more complex than merely copying large media files. Sadly, most reviews only focus on sequential speed. Please run CrystalDiskMark (Windows) or AmorphousDiskMark (MacOS) and compare supposedly "fast" drives by their single thread random read.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, I run these tests but I was talking about overall speeds not testing specific hard drives. But, yes depending on the # of files, sizes, etc. drives can slow down depending on the setups. Thanks for watching.

[@paulgooderham]

Big Number Syndrome.

[@craigneidel]

Yeah, most people won't ever need more than 900 MB/s unless for professional work.

[@paulgooderham]

@@craigneidel What they really want is the feeling that they have the fastest one.

[@craigneidel]

Yeah, I think people are super competitive and just want the fastest. I do think there is 5% of creators that actually need the speed but not of the people who claim they do actually would be just fine with an SSD at 900 MB/s.