Fastest External SSD Storage Enclosure Tested For M1, M2, M3 Macs and Win

In this video we build the fastest external M.2 Storage SSD Enclosure that we tested at over 3,300 MB/s. If you are looking to add external SSD storage to your M1, M2, and M3 Mac mini, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, or even Mac Studio and Win PC then this is a perfect external M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure to build. This is the Satechi 40 Gbps USB4 NVMe SSD Pro Enclosure (Model: ST-EU4NPM).
This external storage enclosure will also be perfect for the M3 Mac mini when that comes out and provides up to 16 TB of extremely fast external storage. So if you need a ton of external storage for your Mac and especially Mac mini then watch this video. This will also work on Win PCs as long as you format the drives correctly.
In this video we discuss the following products:
(Satechi ST-EU4NPM External M.2 USB4 Enclosure)
Satechi 40 Gbps USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure - amzn.to/3wlbPcV
(WD SN850X - Recommended Drive)
WD SN850X SSD 1 TB - amzn.to/48p7ovd
WD SN850X SSD 2 TB - amzn.to/48ho0os
WD SN850X SSD 4 TB - amzn.to/49JQs3D
(WD SN770 - Drive Used and Tested in Video)
WD SN770 SSD 1 TB - amzn.to/49IRVan
WD SN770 SSD 2 TB - amzn.to/4bKlslS
(Other Possible Drives)
Crucial P3 Plus SSD 4 TB - amzn.to/3wluJ3B
Other items to note:
Camera video was filmed with - Sony ZV-E10 - amzn.to/42N5lzB
Lens Camera is using - Sigma 14 mm - amzn.to/3OO3kgY
Microphone Zoom F2 - amzn.to/4bLKQaE
My MacBook Skin - fishskyn.com?sca_ref=5474177.FBTFufUYsE
Satechi Website - satechi.net/
Watch my other videos on Thunderbolt SSD Enclosures:
Acasis Enclosure - • Fastest External Stora...
Minisopuru Enclosure - • Fast External Storage ...
Gigamundo Enclosure - • Fast External Storage ...
Thanks for watching and please subscribe for hundreds of videos like this one on technology, Apple, Mac, and similar products. Please note that if you use a link above to make a purchase is possible the channel could receive a small commission to help us make videos. Thank you.

[@craigneidel]

I only tested the SN770 with this enclosure and I would visit the Amazon page to see what others are using if you are using another drive. Thanks.

[@iZacq]

Nice Info Can you suggest & share Link of a NVMV 500 or 256GB 3000MB/s or higher SSD & a Closuer for it with Type C Built in, so i don't need to worry about Type C wire to carry around I want to use it to back up my Videos from Z Fold 5 & Laptop Please

[@AppleFanX2]

Hi Craig, Did you notice any overheating issues with the enclosure?

[@bryans8656]

Thanks for the review Craig. Those are some pretty impressive speeds for an external enclosure.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, it's pretty impressive. I think it might be capable of the 3,800 MB/s. It's not for everybody but if you need that speed it's nice to have.

[@TheRiffeReport]

Craig I did this exact setup. Thank you for the recommendation!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching the channel. Appreciate it.

[@cuate2006]

Hi Craig, thanks for the thorough and unbiased info/review! Came across your channel as I was looking for this exact content. Watched your video a couple of times and did some research. Just ordered this Satechi! Thank you for such a review. New Sub here!

[@craigneidel]

Good luck with everything. Just give it a try and if it doesn't work for you return it. I only tested the SN770 but I know others have tested other drives with great success and a few issues (small but there) with other drives but not sure yet on the list. In any case they are fast when you have a drive it likes.

[@zkampyman]

Hello Craig, I have watched several other reviewers and I protest your characterization of yourself as a small KZbin reviewer. Your videos are consistently excellent and very easy to understand. I put you at the top of the list!!

[@craigneidel]

Appreciate that for sure. Hope you like the videos and it's nice to hear people are getting something back from watching them.

[@Stralnikov]

Another great video. I’ll probably buy this drive enclosure. Thanks!

[@craigneidel]

Thank you. This one is pretty good considering all the others. It has performed well with that setup but I have not tested other drives yet. But I'm hearing it should work well with other drives too.

[@Stralnikov]

Best recommendation for a 4tb SSD? @@craigneidel

[@craigneidel]

I have not used one yet but will update this if I can test any. I would search online for some reviews and see what they recommend on the 4TB models.

[@EltonHo523]

Great review! I am trying to find faster m.2 SSD enclosure, and your video popped up! I have a SN850X 2T, definitively gonna test it once I get this enclosure!

[@craigneidel]

I only tested sn770 but let me know how your test goes.

[@1HPxBAGGA]

​@@craigneidelThanks for the very informative video! I just ordered the Enclosure.

[@DanKapil]

is it any faster than these tests with the faster drive?

[@asan1050]

Thanks, Craig!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks again for watching.

[@andriybashta]

Just bought this Satechi with SN850X 1TB, got the 2500MB/s for both reading and writing on my Macbook Pro M1 8gb RAM :) Thanks for this video

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching the channel.

[@EliteMediaProductions]

Just purchased the same setup from Amazon and used your links, hope you got the refs, thank you for the video 💫

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for that and good luck with everything.

[@ES-zi2xv]

Great review

[@craigneidel]

Thank you for watching.

[@stevenwaldstein2249]

Thank you for the video. Last year I built two 2TB SSD, need a new enclosure for a 4TB but I think I will go with the Samsung 990. Very leery of WD these days with all the HD drive and SD card issues they have had and supposedly hid from the public and failed to recall.

[@craigneidel]

I can only go off experience and with the SN770 I have used that for like 2 years and moved it between 20 enclosures without issues. So it has been a solid performer for sure.

[@dwbro1]

@@craigneidel That is why you have backups for your backups x 3..

[@yannbourdeau6809]

Hi Graig, thanks for making this video. It helps me to find thing that fit my needs. I needed a fast external SSD for Mac games. I bought it with a Crucial NVME pci4 SSD drive. Second time that I buy something from your recommendations (the BenQ was the previous purchase)

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching. Yes I do initial product showcases to show people what is out there. Always do research to make sure it fits your needs as I'm only one person but thanks for watching and supporting the channel. I appreciate it for sure.

[@mishari_alsrhani]

i think about buy one for gaming does it work great and how much the hot it got ??

[@medunkt]

Hi. Craig. These drive enclosures are going for the Aus $ equivalent of 94 US$ here in Australia now. I’ve ordered one and a 4TB Crucial P3 which seems to be the best bang for your buck for this amount of storage. I really appreciate your down-to-earth common-sense reviews. Best wishes for your venture.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the info and good luck with everything. Usually in Australia the costs are higher so it's good to hear it's only $94 US there.

[@SteveCarroll2011]

what speeds did you get?

[@Heartbreakz]

Hello, Can you share your test speed please, i got the same nvme an plan to buy the enclosure, thanks ❤

[@juebaitube]

Thanks for the review. Has to test it on my own 😊.

[@craigneidel]

Give it a try and see how it works. Can always return it.

[@ss750f]

I picked one up and it is FAST !

[@craigneidel]

They are nice for sure and it can move quite a bit of data quickly.

[@vasannaddoni576]

Thank you for such an informative video. I have also heard a lot about Zikedrive 40 GB/s nvme enclosure , would love to see your review of it.

[@craigneidel]

I never heard about that one but will look it up.

[@A.Vopenka]

Garbage and bad quality drivers, crashes when using big files 100gb+

[@SergeyRosinskiy]

Thanks for the video. It would be interesting to see comparisons with Sandisk professional pro-g40 4tb

[@craigneidel]

I may not be doing any new videos on this one but any drive you use that is close to the SN770 will generate speeds around that 3,000 MB/s or higher.

[@BetThisNotThat]

Hello! Love your channel. What mic do you use for recording ? The sound is always clear and crisp.

[@craigneidel]

I think for that video I used a Lav which is my Zoom F2 32-bit float recorder. I also use a Tonor stand mic now as it's sometimes easier etc. Thanks for watching the channel.

[@dbrunda]

Since my original questions to you, I took the leap and bought the Zike z666 enclosure, with the ASM2464PD main control chip. Installed the WD SN850X 2TB NVME. I set it up as the boot drive 2 months ago and it's working great. I set up my video editing applications to use my internal drive as the cache drive to take that load off the external drive. Black Magic reports that is running around 3100 read/writes. Boots up just as fast as the 500 GB internal drive. The enclosure runs just a little warm under loads. My only complaint is that there is a firmware update available for the enclosure but the update only comes as a windows .exe file. I've tried writing their tech support but the don't seem to understand my english questions. I asked if it would be safe to unplug my enclosure and update the firmware from my windows PC. But they didn't seem to understand my question. Since it's running smoothly, I'll just keep it the way it is. My thanks to everybody that made comments.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the follow up and info on this. It helps everybody out.

[@kristoff91]

great video, I've heard this is the fastest on the market --> Express 1M2

[@craigneidel]

It might be around the top performers for sure. Thanks for watching.

[@appearnowappearlater]

@craigneidel, thank you for the information & videos on this subject. Was hoping you could say how long these devices have lasted/how reliable they've been for you. Appreciate it!

[@craigneidel]

So far it's working fine. But like I say I'm only one person with one experience with the device.

[@mikeweltz9779]

Posting here to Confirm the contents of this Video. I have a Mac Mini M2, 8GB Memory, with 256 GB Hard Drive. I needed some space. Used the links in this video and set it up today. This thing hums! I moved a lot of my files and non-Mac apps over to my 2TB SSD, and it has made a difference! My Machine is faster and everything opens up much quicker. I use MS Excel, for work on this Machine and it handles the heavy data I am running through it. This is by far one of the best and most useful recommendations for any of my Apple Products! If you are running out of space or your machine is bogged down....get this set up.....Oh, and yes, I speed-tested this bad boy, and honestly, my results were even a little faster! I'm not sure if the links offered here are Affiliate links, but just in case, toss Craig some credit and click on his links to buy this set up. And I just clicked subscribe!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the nice message and I'm glad that it is working great for you. Appreciate the Sub also. Thank you.

[@antheridia1]

Thank you for your video.. Can I use SN850X SSD w heatsink on the Satechi ST-EU4NPM? Is it going to fit inside ?

[@craigneidel]

I didn't test that so I'm not sure. I would go to the Amazon page or website and see if they list that in the comments.

[@UrbanBDKNY]

Thanks for the video Just ordered the Satechi enclosure with the WD_BLACK 2TB SN850X. I almost told my self to get a 1 gig but for future proofing I went with 2. I m tired of my 1 TB mac being choked by Final Cut Pro's MASSIVE libraries lol my last video took up like 550GB because I am having to run proxies and optimize the videos since it's an Intel Mac (2019 iMac Pro)

[@craigneidel]

Thank you. I have only tested the SN770 on this but if you run into issues with the 850 please let others know. I know that is quite a bit larger so hopefully it will fit fine etc. and if so it should be a bit faster. Thanks for watching.

[@billyfigueroa1617]

@@craigneidel I will let you know. The Amazon page for the enclosure literally recommends the 850 lol so it has to work lol I have my own channel that I have been dormant for a bit, I think I will make a video and reference your video in it

[@craigneidel]

@@billyfigueroa1617 Thanks and good luck. I figured it will work also but I have been using the SN770 in all my videos and don't have the 850 on hand. I think you should get a bit more speed. This is about the 5th Thunderbolt enclosure I tested so far and I'm doing another one from Yottamaster in a few days.

[@UrbanBDKNY]

@@craigneidel I keep switching profiles 🤦🏽‍♂️ I ll comment here once the video is done

[@craigneidel]

Ok, thank you.

[@bluedreams5110]

Thanks for your reviews, Craig! I got the 1TB Samsung 990 Pro and getting 3100+ MB/s on both read and write with Blackmagic on my 13" MBA M3. Anyone tested the WD SN850X?

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the data point. I have not tested the SN850X yet but will let you know if I do in the future.

[@yuriflynn2477]

Hi , great review ,, have you tested the Acasis tuv 405 pro enclosure, wonder how it would compare with this ??

[@craigneidel]

I have it and should do a test in the near future.

[@vickyslifestyle98889]

thanks for the review craig what can be the speeds when we format the SSD in exfat to switch back and forth between my windows system and iPhone 15 pro max I have

[@craigneidel]

I would guess it is around the same speeds as it should not be too different.

[@zaltzband]

Does anyone know where I can find the 8tb version? Any links? Thank you!

[@craigneidel]

8 TB version of what?

[@ahmadaltarazi9582]

Thanks for thos helpful video! If I used Satechi M.2 Enclosure with Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB on Macbook Air M1, will it give me speed of R/W up to 2,500mb?

[@craigneidel]

Maybe but I didn't test that drive and don't have it. The EVO is only about 3,500 MB/s on paper so it may be close but I think you could get that.

[@BaronCAD]

Just picked up a UGREEN CM642 for $90. USB4/TB4, quality metal case, built-in fan, 40gbit/s yada yada yada. I'm using the same WD Black SN770 drive as you do in your video (1TB version). With an Intel 12th gen Framework laptop, it reached a CrystalDiskMark 8 64GB sequential read score of 3736 MB/s, and write score 3111 MB/s. So on par with the unit you recommend, just $10 cheaper and probably stays cooler thanks to the fan.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, thanks for the info. There are so many out there and I have showcased about 7 so far. They are all going to be similar so research and get what is best.

[@therasmet]

there's a reason why the Satechi is the fastest. It is the only one that has a pcie4x4 controller. The others have a pcie3x4 and with overhead you are limited below 3 GB/s. Imo, I tried the Maiwo one which is slightly slower but has a detachable fan but it is currently almost $50usd and half the price of the Satechi which is a big deal considering the USB4 enclosures are mostly around the $80-100 mark

[@craigneidel]

Yes, price can be a factor and the difference of a little speed most people won't notice. I don't even thing 95% of people really need more then 1000 MB/s but I know people like the fastest stuff.

[@agenxphyte]

Can you expand on the maiwo? What ssd did you use with it?

[@1960rdg]

Hey Craig, love your reviews! I bought an Inateck external SSD enclosure, with a Samsung 980 1Tb, works very good, with 1 remark. The Temperature! It gets hot, even in idle situation. AT this moment I replaced with my Sandisk external ssd, which is slower (750 vs 3200Mb), but does the job without extreme heat. Do all the fast SSD casings get hot? Thanks!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching. All of the Thunderbolt enclosures do get quite warm when using them. I only tested it with the SN770 and not sure if they 980 runs hotter or not in the case. Thanks for the info on this.

[@MehranJabbari]

Hey Craig, when the unit states “up to 16TB”, is this a advertisement scheme or does this mean when it’s raided together with another 8TB (RAID0) to get 16TB? Cause I looked everywhere, and can’t seem to find a single 16TB NVMe M.2 stick!

[@craigneidel]

Yeah I'm not sure. Maybe post question on Amazon page and they should get back to you. Might just be ready up to 16 tb when they come out soon.

[@frazerweb]

Interesting enclosuer I'm still happy with the acasis with the WD_BLACK SN850X 4TB. I'm currently looking for an 8tb samsung 2.5 ssd but prices are eye watering. I have the red orico drive enclosure ready to house it, but price is too crippling at moment for my wallet. Apparently there been a spike in nand prices.

[@craigneidel]

Yes, the Acasis works good also. The pricing on the SSDs went up for sure so I would wait a bit for them to come down.

[@ajrfilm0110]

Hands off the QVO, if that's what you are eyeing up. Terrible drive, loses speed fast, has terrible performance. Stick to SN850X or 990 Pro, both very reliable. Yes, unfortunately, prices are currently up, NAND chips are scarce and will take some time to cool off.

[@craigneidel]

I used a QVO to boot Mac OS on for 5 years without issues. It all depends on what you consider terrible perofrmance.

[@user-cd7jx2td8n]

Hi @Craig Neidel - At around 7:15, you touched on an area that I'm keen to know more about: port compatibility. I don't know about you, but I like to put my hard-earned into tech that won't be totally outdated in a year. Having said that, we don't have the latest and greatest hardware. Our old Macbook Pro, for example, has a couple of Thunderbolt 2 ports on it that are [theoretically] capable of 20 Gbps transfer speeds. Our old PC, on the other hand, has a couple of USB 3.1 ports on it, which are only capable of a theoretical max transfer speed of 10 Gbps (through a USB-C port). My question is whether or not the Satechi ST-EU4NPM enclosure that you tested, equipped with one of the M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs that you suggested, will work with the older/slower PC and Mac ports that I just described? I fully realize that the enclosure will only transfer data as fast as the weakest link in the transfer path, so I know that I won't see transfer speeds like the ones you achieved, but I still need to know if the setup you tested will work with our older hardware/ports. I've both liked and subscribed, so please keep up the great work for the folks who don't have the time required to become tech experts. 👍

[@craigneidel]

No, you will only really be able to get up to the 10 Gbps and you would not be able to achieve the 3,300 MB/s with those older ports. So I'm not sure if would be worth the month for this. Thanks and good luck with everything and thanks for the sub for sure.

[@user-cd7jx2td8n]

@@craigneidel Cheers for the response, Craig. I definitely know that I won't get anywhere near the transfer speeds you got during your testing. What I wanted to know is whether or not the enclosure/drive combination you tested will even work with the older USB and/or Thunderbolt ports I described in my original message. I'd really hate to buy something like this only to find that it won't work with those older ports. Thanks again.

[@craigneidel]

I should work but there would be no reason to pay for it since you can purchase a 10 Gbps enclosure (I have a ton of videos on those) for a fraction of the cost. I think it would downgrade to the slower connection so I would just get something like a Samsung T7 at that point.

[@PswACC]

In my Apple M1 Pro Max Mac Studio 2022, my thunderbolt 4 ports reads USB 3.1 Bus in Hardware Settings USB. Will I get 40 Gbps transfers if I connect this USB 4 enclosure? I recently purchased a Crucial X10 Pro drive which was supposed to have transfer speeds in the 2000+ and my transfer rates were around 10Gbps.

[@craigneidel]

I have not tested this on all the systems but with the M1 Pro Max I think you should. It worked on my M1 Air.

[@Heartbreakz]

Hello, thanks for this video, I got an nvme crucial 4to gen 3, whats performance could I expect with this case in term of speed? Its for MAO, loading samples and vst banks. Thanks ❤

[@craigneidel]

I didn't test that drive and only tested the one in the video but I would assume it should be close.

[@Neganur]

I don't see any of those SSD using a heat sink, nor does it seem to facilitate a good thermal connection to the metal enclosure (the gap is too big and the metal lid is too thin). Could you elaborate on that a bit?

[@craigneidel]

I just buy very thick heat tape from Amazon for times when it doesn't touch and I then make sure it is touching the case. They will still get hot but I think it performs better that way.

[@adamnelson9661]

Thanks for the vid. How hot is that thing getting?

[@craigneidel]

It depends on the drive. If you have a thermal pad that touches the metal it can heat up a bit but all of them do for sure.

[@raylachman8101]

Could anyone please advise .. Is this combination suitable /workable without to much speed loss , to store a virtual machine on (parallels -W11)? Or should one not ? and have it on the Mac Mini itself

[@craigneidel]

I think it would work on this as the speed is there at the same speed as the mac's drive but you can test it and return if not what you like.

[@gobofraggel7383]

Is 30 seconds really enough time for things to heat up? I plan to use this tech as an air-gapping solution where 3-4TB are backed up off a server with enterprise NVMe. It could be running a good 15 minutes or more. Would this solution maintain the same speeds over that time period?

[@craigneidel]

Things are going to heat up on just about any of these Thunderbolt enclosures for sure. I haven't really tested one where it won't get a bit hot etc. but as long as it doesn't overheat (any enclosure) they should still work. I would just test it out first with your specific environment.

[@nadavrot]

Thank you for the review. I’m a programmer and plan on using this enclosure and SSD to run Linux. It seems a lot of NVME enclosures come with a fan nowadays. Does this enclosure performs well overtime without one? Will it overheat if used to run an OS?

[@craigneidel]

They will all run pretty hot but I would check the Amazon page to see if others used it to run an OS. I was doing an initial product showcase so I didn't test it running an OS. If I do in the future I can update this.

[@nadavrot]

@@craigneidel Understood. Thank you so much for the reply!

[@craigneidel]

Welcome.

[@masterspud583]

Is it worth it to get a faster NVMe SSD for this enclosure if the enclosure bottlenecks the drive? I was looking into getting a WD770 but went with a crucial p3 instead. Since the enclosure is limited to TB4 should I get similar speeds from both SSDs?

[@craigneidel]

I only tested the sn770 so I can't really answer that since I'm not sure how other m.2s perform with it. I'll let you know if I can test more in future but my videos are more product showcases to show people what's out there.

[@alexchung4549]

Thank you for your review. This is my first time buying this kind of storage. I wonder if I could leave it plugged into my iMac all of the time even when shutdown?

[@craigneidel]

You can leave it plugged in.

[@alexchung4549]

@@craigneidel Thank you!

[@craigneidel]

Welcome

[@dwbro1]

Getting 3K+ both ways with WD850 thanks for the review. I am having a little trouble with cable, it disconnects very easily if I move the drive.

[@craigneidel]

Did you try maybe another cable to see if you are still getting that issue. I would let Satechi know.

[@dwbro1]

@@craigneidel I let them know waiting on response. Have not tried another since I'm in temp house waiting on my new one to be finished and all my shit is in a shipping container. lol

[@craigneidel]

Ok, good luck and thanks again for the info.

[@paulchiu]

have you used these with Samsung 990 Pro 4TB SSD? thanks.

[@craigneidel]

No I have not at this time. Thanks.

[@LocustAndWildHoney]

Hey Craig, How does having such a fast read and write speed effect editing a video on final cut pro? Also, could you link me one with more storage than 4TB. Would love an 8TB. Feel free to have it be an affiliate link. TY!

[@craigneidel]

You can edit just as quick off these as you can the internal drives. I have never tested any 8 TB drives so not sure if I can recommend one but I think that any 8 TB M.2 should work in theory - Gen 4.

[@alvin12341]

My seagate fire 530 comes with heatsink, does the enclosure have enough space to fit it in? Thanks

[@craigneidel]

I only tested it with the SN770 so maybe see if you can ask manufacturer that.

[@Phaseish]

i have 14 ssd 990 pro and got the alexsis, w/e for my pc, but its such apain to have one enclosure switching back and forth between comps. wtih the screws THIS IS GREAT HAKNN YOU. but fuck I wanted to see how you put it in.

[@craigneidel]

No screws. It has slider to open up case.

[@jroscom]

I just ordered this for editing on FCP. Hope its just as fast as my samsung t9

[@craigneidel]

It should be fast enough for any editing.

[@powdoa]

I got this enclosure with a Samsung 980 Pro 2TB NVME SSD. Formatted to APFS. The read and writes speeds are great. The only issue that I have had is some random drive disconnects. Some happened when I moved the drive (but not always). The first issue was copying a 150 Gb file to the SSD. I'm going to monitor the issue for a few days. Not sure if I need a better cable (it should come with a decent cable though) or if I should send it back. I wanted to run my VMs from the drive, but with any kind of instability I am very reluctant to trustVM data to this enclosure / drive combination.

[@craigneidel]

I have not see that before in my testing but I'm only one person. I would try another cable etc. to see if that helps and let us know how it turns out.

[@powdoa]

@@craigneidel It could be a Sonoma issue? I've seen a number of complaints from people after upgrading from Ventura.

[@craigneidel]

I'll need to see if I can find anything. Thanks.

[@powdoa]

Update: I positioned the enclosure so that there is as little tension as possible on the cable. I also used some quake putty to hold the enclosure in place, so that it cannot move. I moved my Win 11 Gaming VM to the enclosure and have spent many hours playing DOS 2. I also moved my Steam folder to the enclosure. I think the original position of the enclosure put too much pressure on the port in the Mac Mini via the cable.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for the update. I have not personally seen this but thanks for posting.

[@georgesenda1952]

My silicon M1 Mac Mini has always had problems recognizing my 2 tb external drive. Any ideas would be a big help.

[@craigneidel]

Do you mean this enclosure?

[@georgesenda1952]

@@craigneidel no it’s a portable hard drive

[@craigneidel]

@@georgesenda1952 maybe it needs to be formatted to work on Macs.

[@dbrunda]

Would this make a good boot drive? I have the m2 mac mini pro, but it only has the 500gb drive. I keep running out of space. I would like to put everything on one 2-4 gb drive. I've got 16gb of RAM. I do a lot of video stuff and am concerned about how the Mac Mini uses the SSD for caching data back and forth from RAM. Would this drive handel the traffic and heat? Is it dependable enough to be my boot drive? Thank you for reviewing the product. I'm hoping that it's a good option for me.

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching. I wish I could give you a good answer but I have not tested that so I'm not sure. I also can't setup a boot drive like that in a short amount of time so it could be some time before I do test that. I would get it and give it a try. You have about 2 weeks to test it out and make sure it meets your needs. That is the best way to know for sure. Thanks for watching. If anybody else has tried that they can post here....

[@craigneidel]

I have been running my 2017 iMac off an 2.5" Samsung QVO SSD for 6 years now and it's still going good. That is just one data point.

[@AndreaBakacs]

The Amazon description of the recommended drive says, "(3) Requires the WD_BLACK Dashboard (Windows only)" but you're using a Mac. No issues?

[@craigneidel]

So far I have had no issues but with that exact setup and test machine.

[@shadow.overland]

NEED SOME HELP! I purchased the Satechi enclosure and the 4TB WD SN850X. Formatted to APFS and connected with a Thunderbolt 4 cable. My M1 MacBook Pro does not like this drive. Max read/write is only 900 mb/s. My M1 Max Mac Studio loves the dang thing. 3000 mb/s read/write when connected directly to the Thunderbolt 4 port on the back of the MS and 2700 to 2800 mb/s read/write when connected to the OWC Thunderbolt hub. Any idea why the MacBook Pro M1 doesn’t like this drive?

[@craigneidel]

I tested it with the M1 iMac so not sure. I was using a different drive though (SN770). Also when running it through a hub it can cause issues etc. I would reach out to Satechi to see what they say. I was just doing a product showcase and only tested one setup.

[@shadow.overland]

@@craigneidel Satechi was quick to point the finger at Apple. Shocker. Can't recommend this enclosure to anyone reading these comments.

[@craigneidel]

It's good to hear all sides so thanks for posting.

[@itsyagirlapes]

Would this work as a boot drive for a 2017 iMac 27”? If so, what SSD do you recommend getting with it?

[@craigneidel]

I have not used it for that and I only tested the SN770 but that drive works great.

[@panamericaco]

I bought the acasis and 770 on your recommendations yesterday. Hope you made some money from Amazon!

[@craigneidel]

Thanks, appreciate that. Just make sure it fits your needs and works good for you. I have reviewed a ton of these and they are all very similar but it comes down to the drive you use and the system you connect to in the end. So give it a try and if not return it and try the next one. Normally if you get 3,000 MB/s or higher then you found the right solution as anything faster isn't going to matter too much. Thanks for watching the channel.

[@panamericaco]

@@craigneidel Thanks, I'm sure it'll be good enough for me. Another question though and maybe a video idea: I have a Synology DS220 NAS but I don't think I even need it. I just wanted to back up my laptop regularly (preferably over wifi) and have redundant backups. I'll be traveling the next year though and giving up our household in Europe. I imagine it's unnecessary and risky to travel with HDDs. Is there something better? You said in a comment to someone else most people don't need a NAS. And I never access it from elsewhere other than at home. I find synology photos also sucks for backing up photos. Never really works on our phones, can't look at pictures on the app though I might have it set up wrong. Maybe a dual drive ssd enclosure is good enough for me?

[@craigneidel]

Yeah I would just get a ssd enclosure with the specs you need and that is fine.

[@user-cy9tg6zi6p]

I know this video is 4 months old But here is a quick question: Will this work on an Imac 27 inch 2019 fusion drive? I want to boot off an external drive as some apps are running slow. Not sure whether to install an internal drive or use this? Many thanks and a great channel.

[@craigneidel]

I'm not sure you will get as fast as speed but it should work. If anybody has tested it please post below. I will also see if I can do any tests in the near future.

[@user-cy9tg6zi6p]

@@craigneidel That’s excellent.Thank you 👍

[@erictai9893]

Will this enclosure take the WD Black SN850 with heatsink? Or is the heatsink too bulky?

[@craigneidel]

I'm not sure as I don't have that but I would see what they say in Amazon questions as it could be there.

[@versevisionsdaily]

I'm planning on buying the recommended products here-- the enclosure, and the 2tb WD. If you notice when looking at the WD, it says there are two options: normal and with a heatsink. With the heatsink, would it still fit the enclosure? Also, I'm planning to import a lot of files into this, but I also plan to game off of it (World of Warcraft), and the game is heavy. Would that work nicely or should I be looking at other options such as SanDisk Professional?

[@craigneidel]

I would not get it with a heaksink because it may not fit. I think that should be fine for gaming.

[@versevisionsdaily]

@@craigneidelthanks much! I bought the 4tb one.

[@thomaskunz4703]

Hallo Craig, thanks for the video and your test! Did you check the transfer speed at your intel iMac 2017 as well? I would like to use it as a boot disk for the same iMac. - Thanks!

[@craigneidel]

I just did a test on the 2017 5k iMac. It's about 2,350 MB/s (up and down) on that older system.

[@thomaskunz4703]

@@craigneidel Hello Craig, Thanks for the quick reply! You convinced me to buy a 2017 5k iMac last year and now I'm looking for an external SSD. Last week I had the Zyke Drive, but it had a loose contact - and I send it back. I wasn't particularly impressed with the fit of the lid either. -The SSD I'm looking for should deliver the fastest speed for the 2017 iMac's TB3 port. Does a USB 4 SSD make sense? - and which of the ones you have tested would you recommend? Thanks!

[@craigneidel]

@@thomaskunz4703 I think the satechi is the highest speeds I have tested. You can give it a try to see if it works good for you. I used the sn770 in the enclosure. I do product showcases and only have had satechi few weeks so I can't do long term testing on it yet.

[@thomaskunz4703]

Thank you very much again Craig! Your suggestions are really very helpful!@@craigneidel

[@craigneidel]

Thanks for watching and the feedback.

[@AliSatchu]

How does it compare to the Zike Drive enclosure or the Hyper Drive. They both claim the fastest speeds.

[@craigneidel]

They are going to be similar.

[@corebee736]

Thank you for sharing the video. I have some questions. I purchased the Staechi solid-state drive enclosure and a 4TB SN850X SSD, intending to use it with my M1 Max MacBook. However, when I ran the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, I found that the read speed can reach 3000 MB/s, but the write speed consistently stays below 2000 MB/s. Could you please explain why this is happening? Because my work requires fast write speeds, I would appreciate it if you could answer at your convenience. Thank you.

[@craigneidel]

I only tested it with sn770. I'm not sure but maybe search Amazon page to see what others got with that drive. I don't have it to test. Also do a real data test as black magic could be off.

[@F34RTEHR34PER]

That's the problem with the M1 Thunderbolt speeds. It's "well known" to have the results you mentioned.

[@jonbarnard7186]

Are you able to edit video with files stored on this drive arrangement?

[@craigneidel]

Yes, for sure.

[@rayqand5068]

Craig I did this exact setup but am getting much lower speeds (2000 write and 3000 read) on an M1 Max. What could be going on?

[@craigneidel]

@@rayqand5068 not sure to be honest. Maybe a bad drive or enclosure but I would think it should be close.

[@vasinninpoom6802]

Can I boot all Mac OS from an external SSD on iMac 5K 2017?

[@craigneidel]

Yes it should work fine. I boot my 2017 from external ssd

[@joeldaniel8317]

Are you still using the Satechi? If so any issues so far, especially to do with failure or overheating? Amazon reviews are not too great the Acacias has a higher rating but less speed.

[@craigneidel]

So far so good with everything but I always tell people that I'm just one person. I would not also worry about a few hundred MB/s difference as you won't notice it.

[@user-bh4bn5dq1l]

Sir Is there any way to know about a replaced battery of a macbook is genuine or not? I mean a genuine battery or a 3rd party or knokoff battery?

[@craigneidel]

I'm guessing that info is posted online somewhere as far as markings on the battery.

[@Jorda5s]

Is there a chance you can test on a m1 or m2 iPad and what’s the speeds?

[@craigneidel]

My test was on the M1 mac but I don't have an M1 or M2 iPad to test on. I only have 9th gen.

[@JayMacPhoto78]

Does your heat tape make connection with the case? I don’t think mine does

[@craigneidel]

I forgot but I normally add a thicker piece or a second one to make sure it touches. I remember that the one they gave us is really thick and I guess it could also depend on the size of the M.2 Drive that you have in there. But if it doesn't reach I would add a second piece.

[@JayMacPhoto78]

@@craigneidel I hear ya. I have the WD sn770. Not sure if that helps. I have the piece that comes with the enclosure but I’m not sure it touches since it seems the enclosure is a bit recessed on the inside.

[@craigneidel]

@@JayMacPhoto78 yeah I always keep some backup heat tape so I normally add until it touches

[@aijokker]

9:49 how did you test it without connecting to your mac? Am i missing something?

[@craigneidel]

Funny.. I test it multiple times before making the video so I'm not fumbling around while filming. I have the device for a month or more before filming usually.

[@blackbelt0555]

Criag, great work by the way! I was hoping you could cut through the maze of choices and give me your simple combination of hardware for an external SSD for my 2017 iMac 27". It's the 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core I5, with 24 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 Memory. I've watched a ton of your videos so know there are many SSD routes, but what would you recommend today for my machine? I'm not a gamer or super user. I do a fair amount of video production and need faster iMovie for sure.

[@craigneidel]

I really only do product showcases on these not full reviews as I have a bunch of these coming in and do the initial testing. With that said I think they are all very close. Note that you may not get the same speeds at what you see in the videos as the 2017 has older Thunderbolt connections and I would need to test this on my 2017 iMac if I get some time to see which one works the best. Acasis works great too and so does the Qwiizlab on my M1 or M2 Macs but I will need to test on my 2017 soon. Maybe reach out the the companies and ask what to expect in the meantime and see who actually emails you back. Then go with that company for the support side.

[@blackbelt0555]

@@craigneidel Thanks again! Great videos!

[@craigneidel]

Welcome.

[@yagoa]

please test "disk utility raid-0" with 2 thunderbolt drives

[@craigneidel]

If I get some time but I would also search the amazon page and the comments.

[@user-ro4kk1qp2g]

can you test with small files like 10MB each with data alternating 1 and zeros

[@craigneidel]

I'm not doing any more testing on that unit but I would do a quick search to see what is on Google for it. That may have been done already. Thanks for watching.

[@KaneshigePL]

Great video. I've received my Satechi enclosure today. Going with Samsung 990 but I just can't format it on my iMac. The error code is -69877. Also the same error in the Diskutil List command. Could anyone please help me?

[@craigneidel]

I'm not sure what that could be. I didn't test that drive though. Did you reach out to Satechi on that error?

[@KaneshigePL]

@@craigneidel I finally fixed the issue.The FileVault encryption setting in the new iMac with the new chip banned the secure erase options for SSD. I format the SSD in my Windows then it finally functions on my iMac right now.

[@craigneidel]

Ok, thanks for the follow up and tip on this.

[@nikkiwasher7235]

I was gifted a 2017 Macbook Pro ,but it only has 120gig ssd in it. Everything works fine on the Macbook, but I am looking for an inexpensive external ssd to run iMovie off of and store my videos I make. What would be best for my situation? Is there a cheaper enclosure to use?

[@craigneidel]

Yes, just something like a samsung T7 like this one will be fine (only about 1,000 MB/s) but fine for running iMovie. Here is a link - amzn.to/3T8mcbL - (if you use link I could get small commission - noting that). Thank you.

[@nikkiwasher7235]

@@craigneidel could the Samsung T7 also be used to run Mac OS off of as well?

[@craigneidel]

@@nikkiwasher7235 it should be as long as formated to APFS.

[@TheMrSamrock]

more videos pls

[@craigneidel]

I made quite a few on the Thunderbolt 4 enclosures over the years. I have a few more coming.

[@pakkz.]

hi, can i use this enclosure and SN770 SSD for daily gaming ?

[@craigneidel]

@@pakkz. I don't see why not but you really don't need that much speed for gaming.

[@viktorascybulskis]

Hi. How do you use this disc? Do you have it plugged in all the time? And what kind of volume have you tried to record on it? I bought a HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure and installed a Kingston KC3000 M.2 NVMe SSD (2280) and a Kingston Fury Renegade M.2 NVMe SSD (2280) I plugged it into a macbook pro M3MAX and as a result I have the drive periodically disconnect itself. I understand this is due to overheating. I managed to write about 1TB of data to the cold drive. On the connected disc I managed to write about 100GB and then it "falls off" from the system.

[@craigneidel]

I have tested up to about 100 GB of data without any issues but I don't have any workloads much larger then that. I'll let you know if I test higher.

[@viktorascybulskis]

@@craigneidel Thank you very much. I have Time Machine backups on one of these discs. So yesterday I tried to make another backup - it worked only with the 4th time and when I put the outdoor fan on.

[@craigneidel]

I'm not sure what could cause that.

[@JohnSmith-dd1vl]

What is this stopwatch app you are using?

[@craigneidel]

It's called "Cooking Timer"

[@gaetanobruno5889]

The speed is important, but I am looking for the most reliable enclosure in terms of heating and durability. Can someone recommend an enclosure that you have been using for some time without any problems? Thanks.

[@craigneidel]

It all comes down to the drive you are using etc. on heating and how you cool it with the way you add quality thermal pads etc. The one from Graugear has been working good and has a fan but of course I have only had it for a few months.

[@gaetanobruno5889]

@@craigneidel thanks a lot!🙏

[@raylachman8101]

How does these speeds compare to the speed of the Mac’s internal SSD drive ?

[@craigneidel]

It depends on what Mac as they are all different. This is like twice as fast as the base model M2 devices with only 256 GB. It's maybe slightly faster or the same of macs with 512 GB. And slower then macs with 1 TB.

[@raylachman8101]

@@craigneidel wow didn’t expect that ! Could one put a virtual machine (parallels) on a external ssd drive and have that still properly working ?

[@craigneidel]

I don't see why not. You can actually boot an entire Mac off an external SSD also but that is for another conversation. Things like video editing off it also. Thanks.

[@colt5189]

I’ve decided to get a 40 Gbps enclosure that is backwards compatible with USC-C and will accept the 4 different NVMe sizes. That way it’s future proof. Ugreen and OWC make an enclosure that meets this.

[@craigneidel]

Nice, and good luck with everything.

[@JamieHarveyJr]

I thought thunderbolt 4 40Gb/s was limited to 22Gb/s for data? Impressed it’s able to go above 2800MB/s

[@craigneidel]

Yes, tested it a few times and this is what it is getting both in synthetic tests and real world data tests (on this exact setup).

[@justbendev2324]

Great video, but i would highly recommend using proper tools for your tests, a stop watch and a simple copy don't reflect real performance unfortunately. I'm not familiar with mac but there is probably caching going on in the background that would lead to an illusion of real fast speed but in reality the drive is still processing the data so even if your copy is "done" on the OS, if you unplug it your data will be corrupted / missing on the drive. Tools like dd or fio can help you tune and test sequential and random write/read with various settings. Windows for example to avoid data loss with people removing their drive too soon, only display the transfer in "Sync" mode meaning it will not complete a transfer until the cache is empty. On the other hand most linux distros don't. The filesystem will also impact performance as you mentioned in the video. I bought the SSK USB Drive you reviewed and was really unsatisfied. On the video and the product page the claim a sustained 500MB/s transfer speed... In reality the write speed will slow down drastically to around 70MB/s after 10GB (Probably cache size) and the drive temperature would go up to 61°C. So i was pretty happy to see you drop a 100 GB file on this video. Have a great day :)

[@craigneidel]

Thanks but the testing is to show people what is out there and is a product showcase. This type of tests on the Mac are fairly accurate as moving data shows how the device performs under load with multiple files. I can remove (dismount) the drive right away so nothing is being copied after it's finished. Yes, this is only a product showcase as all my videos are and then I tell people to always do research. But, the 100 Gb of data test is a good one for sure with these fast drives and this should hold up well beyond that.

[@westfield90]

As a newbie I’m confused how does the enclosure determine the speed? Doesn’t the NVMe, cable and usb c or usb gen make a difference? Also what about heat?

[@craigneidel]

there are 40 Gbps enclosures and if you divide by 8 (bytes and bits) then that enclosure can usually do around 5,000 MB/s but for this Thunderbolt has limits for this so other process have bandwidth so it's normally much lower. With overhead around 3,500 MB/s. But of course the drive needs to be at least this fast to get those speeds. With a 10 Gbps enclosure - divide by 8 - you get about 1,250 MB/s max but with overhead expect around 900 to 1000 MB/s. So the drives do matter but there are limitations based on the enclosure for sure (and computer or plug it connects to).

[@westfield90]

@@craigneidelthank you Sir. Really do appreciate the detailed answer. I’m glad I found your channel.

[@craigneidel]

@@westfield90 welcome

[@rickkane8043]

Where you buy your computer accessories? Like those hard drives

[@craigneidel]

@@rickkane8043 all over. Amazon or microcenter or Best buy or b&h.

[@rickkane8043]

Thanks Boss, I’m looking to get a external hard drive on my new IMac its just have 256 g. Plus planning to upgrade my old hp laptop and put a new hard drive.

[@craigneidel]

For sure, and I did quite a few videos on Thunderbolt enclosures for the Mac with different models so check those out. I normally do product showcases though more than a full review.

[@shiyammosies5975]

Is a 10 Gbps Enclosure enough ? as the write speed is only upto 5000 Mbps ?

[@craigneidel]

10 Gbps enclosure is only capable of around 1250 MB/s but actually lower with overhead (more like 1000 MB/s). You need to convert bytes and bits. So 10 Gbps / 8 = 1,250 MB/s in theory but with overhead you normally get about 900 to 1000 MB/s.

[@christofferandersen1906]

will this get enough power (4,5 watt) to connect to my phone 15 pro and record proress (this will use usb 3.2). So my question does it work with usb c 3.2 in addition to thunderbolt?

[@craigneidel]

I will need to test this but have not yet. I'll post once I do but also check the Amazon page.

[@christofferandersen1906]

Thank you, did a ton of research and couldn’t find out if it will work or not. I ordered it anyway and hoping for the best. The store I bought it from had to order it to them from distant storage, so I still have the time and option to cancel if it doesn’t work if you do a test. In order for the test to be valid you will need to take footage that last long 20-30 min. A lot of ssd will slow down and lead to drop frames.

[@craigneidel]

Got it and thanks for the follow up.

[@MYLIFE-hq7je]

Which ssd brands are suitable for this box?

[@craigneidel]

I would check out the amazon page. I only tested the SN770 in the video.

[@bweafer]

Hi Graig , on your recommendation i purchased the Satechi ST-EU4NPM External M.2 USB4 Enclosure and put in a Lexar NM790 4TB gen 4x4 SSD, it works well on my mac studio 3000mbs plus up and down , unfortunately i was hoping to use it on my IPhone 15 pro max for Prores direct record , my phone doesn't recognize it , any thoughts , thanks

[@craigneidel]

How did you format the drive?

[@bweafer]

apple file system @@craigneidel

[@bweafer]

@@craigneidel Apple File System (APFS)

[@bweafer]

thanks Graig for the info .... i resolved the issue with a " Belkin Connect USB-C Data + Charge Adapter" it allows charging to power the phone and the SSD works well

[@craigneidel]

Good to know thanks.

[@breakingtwitting]

sequential easy. no randomized read benchmark though

[@craigneidel]

It is what it is but still a nice enclosure.

[@VinnyTheAxe]

Would you leave this plugged into your Mac all the time or would the heat kill it.? Or do you only plug it in for short periods of time ?

[@craigneidel]

I leave it plugged in for long periods but with my channel I'm testing so many things that I do switch things out more then most.

[@Jashue]

That is exactly the question that I was going to ask. I'm a media hoarder, and I'd like to put everything on this drive so that my ATV has access to it at all times (as long is the Mac is running, of course). I have ZERO experience with external drives other than Time Machine and drag and drop backups.

[@craigneidel]

You can always get it on Amazon and if it doesn't work you have 2 weeks or maybe even 4 weeks to return it. That is sometimes the best way to test things out.

[@VinnyTheAxe]

@@craigneidel exactly what I did. Lol. Works great. Glad I went with this option for my Mac mini. Thank you for the info.

[@craigneidel]

Thank you for watching again.

[@SteveUrich]

Do you think that it would work with a Gen 5 disk

[@craigneidel]

Not sure but I would ask them on the Amazon page. I didn't test with Gen 5 and not sure if you would want to put that in a Gen 4 enclosure.

[@maximumpat1]

I'm a bit baffled by all this. I am keen to buy waht you suggest to use with my M3 Max but I read that the M3 etc cannot utilise the full speed of the Samsung T9 because of port limitations and yet this device is giving much faster speeds than a T9 would. How is that possible? Is the connection just different somehow? Many thanks.

[@craigneidel]

Yes for sure, these enclosures are full Thunderbolt 40 Gbps enclosures so with overhead and bytes and bits conversion they are capable of about 3,300 MB/s normally. But the T9 is really just a 10 Gbps enclosure on a Mac although it can also do 20 Gbps if you have the 2 x 2 format which states up to 2,000 MB/s. But you won't get that on a Mac as it basically uses the 10 Gbps throughput.

[@maximumpat1]

@@craigneidel Fantastic. Thank you so much for clearing that up. Really appreciated.

[@craigneidel]

Welcome.

[@tomaszwaszka3394]

10:25 nice test... I'd like to see a test with copying 500 GB of data with information about SSD temperatures. 100 GB is not much nowadays...a folder with one game sometimes has more!

[@craigneidel]

Yes, but at the same time about 90% of people will never do a transfer over 100 GB on these as well. Yes, many do but maybe only 10% of users. I did test it beyond this to about 200 GB and it had the same results after the video. So it appears like this is pretty solid until at least that range.

[@tomaszwaszka3394]

@@craigneidel Speed ​​drops will occur (for a good SSD) after copying 250 GB (or more)... The question is how much will the transfer drop... anyway thank's for oyur answer :)

[@craigneidel]

I'll see what I can find.

[@ajrfilm0110]

@@tomaszwaszka3394 We very frequently do this, when we back up our 4K video media cards. Best tip I can give you, purchase a small USB desktop fan and have the drive propped up to be more efficiently cooled by said fan. Works like a charm, does great heat dissipation and keeps the speeds under control.

[@craigneidel]

I will be testing a 40 Gbps with a fan soon on the channel.

[@colt5189]

Is the Satechi backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and earlier? As I've read some Thunderbolt 4 enclosures aren't backwards compatible.

[@craigneidel]

They will just get slower speeds but it should work.

[@colt5189]

@@craigneidel Okay that's good. Annoying how some Thunderbolt 4 enclosures aren't recognized in computers that use USB or earlier Thunderbolt versions.

[@craigneidel]

yeah, I haven't had too many issues with Thunderbolt 3 but they are all different for sure.

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

No ***(WARNING)*** According to the specs on the Amazon site, this device is "USB4". Therefore, is NOT licensed or certified for ANY THUNDERBOLT interoperability!

[@garybrooker5723]

I just purchased both the Satechi and the SSD for my MacBook and it doesn't show up, even in Disk Utility, very sad

[@craigneidel]

Mine works and many others has worked too so I'm not sure what that could be. What SSD do you have? Try using another cable or flip the cable and see if it shows up in disk utility then. It could be a bad unit I guess but please try some of those things and make sure the drive isn't formatted in a Windows Format too.

[@garybrooker5723]

@@craigneidel I bought the Satchi enclosure and the recommended SN850x. I have put it all together well, even flipped the cable around, nothing. It powers up fine. Shame as I have watched this video so many times and both items finally arrived today

[@garybrooker5723]

Just an update for everyone, I updated my operating System and it was found instantly, and it is lightning fast. Very Happy, thank you.

[@craigneidel]

@@garybrooker5723 ok thanks for update

[@vunguyen6289]

Heat management test, Where is it???

[@craigneidel]

I'm doing a product showcase - heat will be different on all drives depending on what you use.