Should You Upgrade the Internal Storage in the M2 MacBook Air?

[@drydessert4198]

M1 Mac mini, Acasis Thunderbolt case, SSD: Seagate FireCuda 530 2TB: Black Magic Disk Speed Test version 3.4.2, 4 test cycles: Write 2805 to 2810 MB/s, Read 2755 to 2777 MB/s. Amorphous Disk Mark 4.0: SEQ1M QD8: Read 3118.03 MB/s, Write 1844.90 MB/s Amorphous Disk Mark 4.0: SEQ1M QD1: Read 2396.45 MB/s, Write 1471.83 MB/s Amorphous Disk Mark 4.0: RND4K QD64: Read 1305.70 MB/s, Write 297.61 MB/s Amorphous Disk Mark 4.0: RND4K QD1: Read 70.81 MB/s, Write 51.58 MB/s Direct connection to Mac mini M1 (no Hub) with the cable that came in the box with the Acsis case. The SSD is brand new, just installed a few minutes ago. I used a thermal pad by Gelid (GP-Ultimate 120x20, which means 2.0 mm thick). The pad touches the top of the Acasis case with the FireCuda installed. The contour of the pad is visible on the top when re-opening (light reflects differently were the pad touched the top). The thickness seems exactly right for this SSD in this case. Black Magic Disk Speed Test and Amorphous Disk Mark were installed from the Mac App Store 20 minutes ago, so it is is the lasted versions. OS on the Mac mini: MacOS Ventura 13.1.

[@KevinRossRN]

I really need to try this SSD. I know I’ve been asked about it. Appreciate you sharing these results. Truly. 🤘

[@drydessert4198]

@@KevinRossRN I did not want to get a Samsung after reading reports of the lifetime being significantly shortened by a bug in case of the 990 Pro. The 980 Pro was not mentioned in those reports I came across but I was suspicious that this might affect also the 980 Pro. Now, it is reported that it was a firmware issue and also that the 980 Pro was affected, too. Apparently, the reported damage is actually real hardware damage. As you can imagine, I am glad that I bought the Seagate.

[@KevinRossRN]

Yeah, and although it’s a niche use case, it’s unfortunate to not be able to update the firmware with out running it through a PC. Really glad you were able to get a great SSD. That’s definitely a great investment.

[@bryans8656]

I saved money on my M1 Studio Max by purchasing the base model and using an external 2TB NAS for storage, and came out many dollars ahead. In my case budget trumped transfer speeds. On a portable device 256GB works because I have that desktop.

[@KevinRossRN]

There you go. And definitely for the studio that’s a great way to go. I did the same on the studio as well.

[@KevinRossRN]

I personally prefer more internal storage on this device. However, if you need to upgrade, just remember friends to assess your current workflow and ask yourself whether the fastest external SSD makes sense. These DIY enclosures are fantastic because you can swap these SSDs and make upgrades as you need to. Sending you all my best. 🤘

[@eatsimplefood]

Hi Kevin, how are you? hope all is fine? I tried to find your videos on the M2 Mac Mini and was surprised that you have not uploaded in quite a while. All the best from Austria.

[@MichaelYee123]

Thank you so much for FINALLY running synthetic benchmarks on a M2 Macbook Air! (all other KZbin reviews only did file transfer benchmarks) Now, I know that the M2 Macbook Air has fixed the slow Thunderbolt transfer speed issue that the M1 Macbook Air had.

[@KevinRossRN]

Happy to help. I try to give a mix of synthetics and real world. Best of luck on your setup. 🤘

[@user-hl9jq8iz4i]

Hey man I am from India Loved your videos on macs I have watched many of your videos recently I want to buy a MacBook but was confused if 256 gb base variant will be sufficient for me or not but after watching your videos on SSD and external storage devices I think I could go for 256 gb my use case is for college and studying and 1080p video editing I think the base variant will be good for me instead of spending too much for just an upgrade for 512 gb apple is charging around 238 dollars in India. What do you think will it be good for me to buy base variant??

[@KevinRossRN]

If you’re wanting to do some editing, you can certainly do all of that on an external drive without issue. Even though I have a larger capacity on mine I still often just use the external drive. As long as you feel like your day-to-day use will be fine with the base storage when you’re in class or doing work where you want to be portable without having to connect to something external.

[@samfrazier5599]

Cool, now I see what you were talking about with the controllers, et al. I really wish this info was out there and discussed more--especially in reviews in places like Amazon-. It would be beneficial to the consumer and would have saved me a lot of time and trouble dealing w/ what were essentially the same enclosures. Thanks!!

[@KevinRossRN]

Glad to help. And I appreciate your time here hanging out in the community.

[@WineWorldTV]

Excellent video. I think this is the first time someone explained the data allocation for Thunderbolt. I'm sure there are other videos out there, but this is the first I've seen. Also great explanation concerning external vs. internal for apps and data.

[@KevinRossRN]

Thanks friend. Appreciate your time here, truly. 🤘

[@YoureNowOnTV]

Thanks for the video's you've posted. The production quality is fantastic! I have no idea how you shot these to camera scenes (Looked like a green screen scene behind you until you moved at the end and the shadows matched the background). The mic/audio and video quality is simply amazing. I hope you're doing ok and will produce more video's in the future. (I saw in a comment below you went through a few reshuffles with companies etc) You rock! 😀👍 EDIT: Oh I should have looked in your video description, Sony Alpha a6400 and a Deity shotgun mic. Nice! Thanks for putting what you use in the description. It's surprising how many content creators don't share their gear. 😉

[@KevinRossRN]

Hey my friend, I appreciate spending a little time here. To produce the videos it does take quite a bit, and no green screen involved. 😉 I think this particular video was filmed n my Sony A7IV, but I do still use the a6400. And the Diety is also still my mic of choice. I’m still hoping to get back on here. Either way, maybe I’ll see you around the channel. 🤘

[@fabianf4626]

Hi Kevin, I discovered your content a few days ago and I really appreciate the work you put in testing this stuff. I’m currently waiting for a M2 Mini to get released by Apple to upgrade from old iMac so your videos are quite helpful planning that purchase. I’m not a video producer but I game a lot on my Macs when not working so I’m interested in how those external drives perform in this scenario. I’ve seen you mentioning some gaming but could do a more comprehensive video on that topic? There are games, especially strategy games, that seem to shuffle a lot of files. Total War Warhammer 3 (a game that runs on Apple Silicon!) is a good example where people really see totally different loading times from several minutes to just a few seconds. Some speculate it’s dependent on the drive you use.

[@KevinRossRN]

Glad you found us over here. I have discussed gaming on an external drive, both on a DIY Thunderbolt enclosure and a SSD that’s 3.1 Gen2 and have had a lot of success. I haven’t tried the game you mentioned, but I appreciate you putting it on my radar. I’ll have to check it out and see what I find. I do love the mini and think that the next iterations could really be an awesome Mac gaming setup. It will be interesting to test these updated machines because that bottleneck is the CPU/GPU on these games, so with more efficiency on those chips it’ll be even more eye opening to see what performance we see on these drives.

[@chrgans4619]

Hi Kevin, i would like to ask if you use any thermal pads in your acasis enclosure, the thickness and of course which brand? I'm searching for something that gives me good and trusty results. Realy apprechiate your content. good job!

[@KevinRossRN]

I only use thermal pads on the enclosures that I’m transferring large files with all the time because that’s where the thermal throttling can happen. However, on the enclosures where I’m just working off the SSD (video editing), then I don’t. The 1.75mm in this pack is just barely too thick for the Acasis enclosure, but I usually try to keep a variety of these around: geni.us/thermalpads

[@CAMTechChris]

Happy weekend Kevin, thanks for another great video! I definitely prefer that freeing feeling that I get from having way more internal storage than I will most likely ever need. I have 4tb and 1tb SSDs in my 16” MBP and M2 MBA, respectively. I also integrate into my workflow my primary 8 bay Synology NAS (and 2 smaller Synology NAS units for backup)for long term storage or just transferring video projects between Macs if I need to. I do have several NVMe DYI and Sandisk Extreme external storage options if needed but those usually sit dormant for long periods of time without being used.

[@KevinRossRN]

Ha! That freeing feeling is something else, right? Appreciate you popping by this weekend. Many thanks and always great to see you. Hope that birthday 🎉 celebration was awesome.

[@CAMTechChris]

@@KevinRossRN you have a great memory! Yes it was a fun B-day, thank you!

[@KevinRossRN]

Fantastic to hear. 🥳

[@Elrevisor2k]

I love your real tests that give us a true day to day experience idea so we can choose wisely THANKS

[@KevinRossRN]

Glad to help. And also glad to have you here.

[@willtindall2283]

Hey Kevin. Do you plan on making any more videos? Because I loved your videos and hope you can make more of them.

[@KevinRossRN]

Indeed. I know it’s been a minute, but I do plan to come back. I appreciate you being here. 🤘

[@tejaspics]

Great job! Don't understand all of it, but watched to whole thing.

[@KevinRossRN]

Well I definitely appreciate you spending some of your time here. Are you in the market for an upgrade?

[@Nashcasts]

Looking at your content, and its a noticable step above. Keep up the good work :). and Merry Christmas

[@KevinRossRN]

Hey, just putting in the reps to get better (even just 1%) every time. Appreciate you being here. Merry Christmas to you as well.

[@tourajmohammadi1359]

Hi Kevin, it has been 3 months since your last video. I hope you and your family are well. Wish you all the best.

[@KevinRossRN]

I appreciate you checking in, friend. Yes, all is great. Been meaning to do a live stream or update. The simple answer is that I’m exiting my company due to an acquisition and it’s been taking a lot of my time. Everything should be finished by the end of the year. I’ll be back to making videos again. I do miss it. How have you been?

[@tourajmohammadi1359]

@@KevinRossRN i am glad you are okay and wish everything end up well. i am okay too and hopefully to see what new year will bring for us. marry Christmas and happy new year to you in advance.

[@KevinRossRN]

And same to you my friend. Glad to know you’re doing well. Hope to see you soon.

[@STRaphelCatholicChurch]

As always Kevin - Love you videos - so packed with info and answering my questions. Thank You!

[@KevinRossRN]

Glad to be able to tackle some of those questions. 😉 Appreciate your time 🤘

[@TheDIYFilmmaker]

We miss your videos Kevin. Waiting to see you back here! :)

[@KevinRossRN]

Hey, I miss making them. I’m still here. I’ve had a couple of business “transitions” I’ve needed to take care of and it’s consuming most of my time. I hope to be back soon though. Appreciate you 🤘

[@jehshik222]

Hi Kevin, thanks again for all the useful information. For video editing, you mentioned if your considering the sandisk ssds to go with the 1050 vs the 2000mbps due to the bottlenecking from the program itself. Is there any other benefits I may be sacrificing if I went with the 1050? Transferring file speeds, etc? Thanks in advance🙏🏻

[@KevinRossRN]

So the 2,000MBs just falls back to the 1,050MB protocol. The file transfers would be about the same between the two. And as far as any other sacrifices, there aren’t really I can come up with that would impact your workflow. The 2,000MBs SanDisk could be used on a PC that was able to take advantage of that protocol, but if this isn’t something you have or need, then you’re basically spending more money for a “feature” that you won’t really use.

[@jehshik222]

@@KevinRossRN Awesome. Thanks very much! Just the info I was looking for.

[@KevinRossRN]

Glad to help. Sending my best.

[@MIN_Tech]

Love ur video! 👍 when are you gonna make next video ?

[@KevinRossRN]

Thank you so much! I do hope to be back on KZbin soon.

[@KimEidem]

My friend, would love your insight and thoughts on the new iPad! I hope you are well ?

[@KevinRossRN]

Kim!! Hey there my friend. Great to see you around here. Are you referring to the “iPad”? As far as the M2 iPad Pro, I’m still doing that research, but for the cost I’m not impressed when compared to the discounts that can be found on the M1. Sounds like you’re in the market to purchase a new iPad?

[@KimEidem]

@@KevinRossRN Yeah been snooping and looking to upgrade my thrusted iPad Air 4th gen.But in all honesty it still preforms quite nicely. I am quite curious how davinci will work on iPad! Although I still have a small dream still on seing fcpx on iPad. Not sure anymore though if it is needed since the introduction of the M1 chip. Was referring to the new "normal" iPad, it makes little sense to me that one, yet I can see its place in the iPad lineup. I am just confused where the iPad is going at the moment. Hope you are well my friend!

[@KevinRossRN]

I think the confusion is even more prevalent for the consumer because we seem to have these really unusual reasons that Apple is creating when it comes to price bracketing and features (or lack there of). I need to get access to Davinci to see what this looks like on the iPad, but even if Apple doesn’t bring FCPX to their own device I could still see this selling really well because of Resolve, and Apple doesn’t even have to worry about their own development of FCPX. 🤷‍♂️

[@markjones8121]

Currently I've upgraded from a 2015 MBP 256GB 16GB which was a nightmare as my iCloud was approaching 1TB to a M1 MBP 2TB 16GB which allows me to have 3-4 projects stored internally but still not enough to include iCloud which is now at 1.3TB. I like to work in various places so I cannot risk having externals hanging so I need as much internal as possible and when I've finished the project I archive on my 2x12TB archive drives. I do have a SanDisk 1TB SSD which writes at 800+GB/sec for when I need to transfer to my iPhone for iCloud syncing ... a bit of a pain but iOS does a better job of managing iCloud storage on the device than MacOS does. Kevin, you channel has helped me so much to understand critical data requirements in my workflow and what to spend money on, cheers.

[@KevinRossRN]

Appreciate you sharing Mark and I know that not every video I make will land, but the ones that do, I’m thankful that they’ve helped you. Truly. 🤘

[@Pesto-64]

I have the 2015 15” MBP as well. Which size, 14 or 16, did you upgrade to?

[@markjones8121]

@@Pesto-64 13” 2020 one. Plenty of power for my codecs

[@Pesto-64]

@@markjones8121 Great! Thanks for the reply.

[@maxit1082]

Hey my friend. I’m an IT student so, I do some codes like machine learning tasks on my laptop. I have a little weird question, which one should I choose? 1. Macbook air m2 16gb 512gb 2. Macbook air m1 base model + iPad air5 m1 base model 3. (A little bit pricier combo): MacBook air m2 base model + iPad air5 m1 base model

[@KevinRossRN]

I would go with the first option, but the question I have is why the iPad Air? Are you using it for notes or testing, or just for personal?

[@KimEidem]

you ok my friend ? have not seen you in a minute. I hope all is well with you and the family?

[@KevinRossRN]

Things are awesome. I still plan on coming back to the Tube. Just enjoying not running a company and taking advantage by spending more time with the family. How are things with you?

[@ufchistorian13]

Hi Kevin. I’m waiting to buy the iPad once it’s released in October. Any inside info as to when exactly the next apple event is/ how long after the event does ordering take place?

[@KevinRossRN]

From what I’ve heard there’s a lot floating around and it’s possible it could be disappointing. Basically just some very minor updates, but of course USB-C for the base iPad. I would certainly wait, and honestly once it’s released then I’d say to take a look at the current Gen for some sales. These current pros are just more powerful than they need to be and honestly they don’t really take full advantage of it. And ordering is usually later in the week after the event.

[@ufchistorian13]

​@@KevinRossRN Hey Kevin. I want an iPad to organize my life pretty much. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has pointed to a release in late 2024 at the earliest. I want an iPad now but part of me is thinking of waiting for the new iPad since I have already waited so long. Any thoughts between the 9th and 10th gen? I guess the 10th gen is more future proof. There will always be a newer version of the iPad so I guess I can't beat myself over the fact that I cannot buy an iPad that currently does not exist.

[@KevinRossRN]

@ufchistorian13 as far as waiting, I can’t imagine any significant difference in the non Air or Pro models. The thing with the 10th Gen is the he Type-C connectivity. I’m starting to see more accessories adopting this for the iPhone line up and Apple products in general. In my household (thankfully) we have quite a few Type-C options due to having other non-Apple devices, which has been nice because as we’re starting to upgrade and test some of the newer devices we’re noticing how fragmented the lightning connections are starting to become. Have you been able to find any deals on the 10th Gen?

[@chadjones4255]

I've had 2TB on my Mac for the last decade. Why the hell is that still the storage limit for many Macs? It's nice that memory has finally gone up over 16gb, but just my Dropbox storage is nearly 2TB by now and there's no good way to buy a new Macbook Air.

[@KevinRossRN]

Partly due to being “forced” in the cloud. But I agree, it is limiting.

[@jonicolton]

checkin up on ya. haven't seen in my feed lately. hope you're doing well. 🤟

[@KevinRossRN]

Hey friend! Yes, doing awesome. I should have put together a livestream to answer questions, but I hope to be back on soon. But definitely, everything is great. Hope to see you soon. How are things with you?

[@jonicolton]

@@KevinRossRN happy to hear that and looking forward to more content from you. as for me... universe has been generous to me lately so i'm loving life at the moment!

[@KevinRossRN]

Oh it’s very nice when the universe seems to align in your favor. Really glad to hear that you’re doing well my friend. Here’s to more of that “goodness.” Be well, and hope to see you soon. 🤘

[@AV84USA]

I question your usage of “upgrading internal storage” in reference to non-upgradable MacBooks.

[@KevinRossRN]

Well, upgrading prior to purchase for the internal, but most often the base storage is chosen and then many end up with utilizing external storage options.

[@CKfotoRomania]

Hello and thank you for your great work! I switched recently to M1 Max from windows for video editing and I want to test a few external SSD for my 10bit, 4K, H265, with at least 9 video playing in the same time. Can you please tell me/us what is the name of the app used to monitor SSD usage in real time? Also, do you know if any of the new external SSD can be used at 2000MB/s (WD Black P40, P50, - Kingston XS2000 - SanDisk PRO G40 SSD) with M1 Max and Monterey OS?

[@KevinRossRN]

So if you want to get that read/write you’ll likely want to bump up to a USB 4.0/TB 3 enclosure because these Macs don’t play well with USB 3.2 2x2 protocol. 🤷‍♂️Bummer, I know. The app is iStat Menu. Still use it.

[@markkeller7705]

Hey Kevin. Former Boulder resident. Hope you're loving it there! Question... Which do you recommend; the Acasis TBU401 or the TBU405? I just ordered my Samsung 980 Pro and want to get the best matched enclosure.

[@KevinRossRN]

They’re the same board and controller. The updated one just has a screw on plate and you screw in the NVMe onto the board vs the 401 that has that rubber fastener. They should perform exactly the same. Congrats on the 980 Pro coming in. So where did you end up in the world?

[@markkeller7705]

@@KevinRossRN I would have loved to have stayed in Boulder but I got priced out. I ended up buying a house in Winston-Salem, NC which is quite nice but it ain't Boulder! I'll be using this new external drive with my M1 Mac Mini (16GB Ram 1 TB) and Pro Tools 2022.9 for session recording. It's overkill but, based on watching your videos, I'm convinced this will a great combo for me. Thanks for doing the things! It's super helpful.

[@KevinRossRN]

Glad to help. Hope it works out well for you. And yes, I remember when I first moved to Boulder and had a couple roommates. It was easy to split the total rent, but nowadays our total rent then is what people are each paying now. And yeah, we purchased a home during the recession before the market recovered and although the Boulder area faired well in that 08 crash it was a “bargain” compared to today. I’ve got some family in NC around that area.

[@tonyburzio4107]

What would be cool is a file project manager that automagically checks in and copies files from external to internal drive, then when you check it back out it copies file changes back to the external and then cleans up the internal files. There you go, a freebie app opportunity for ya! :-)

[@KevinRossRN]

Hey, really appreciate that Tony. Thanks for your time.

[@martin_wood]

I see you did 2tb. Have you tried 4tb? I'm sussed out with reliability on these enclosures

[@KevinRossRN]

Just the 2TB at this time, however the FireCuda 4TB was tested by someone else here in the comments (if I’m not mistaken) with good results.

[@adinnugroho6544]

Man.... I don't know how long I never visited your channel 😅. A few times ago there's KZbinr which just like a reminder, reminding me about you Looks like this is your last video from August last year

[@KevinRossRN]

It is my last video, but I’ve been talking about a comeback. I just had to pause so I could deleverage from my other (main) business and that took awhile to finalize. Anyway, I’ve just been enjoying all this time I seem to have, but I really want to pop back over here. I appreciate you taking the time to be here and of course for the comment. 🤘

[@A7Self]

First thank you for the video! How can I detect duplicates (photos and videos/ folders) across my m1 Mac mini and connected external hard drives (mix between ssd and hdd) ? Currently I am facing the challenge to organize all the data from traveling the world, I want to keep travel and take more photos and videos but storage is full and I can't afford more storage. My Mac mini shows me 2.4tb full storage of possible 2tb because the Mac only has 2tb of max storage. The other confusing thing is that my portable western digital hdd with 5tb is not capable to store 300gb from my smartphone despite the fact that the western digital ha 600GB free storage. After 250gb of transferring I get the error message that the hdd is full and can't accept more data. I need a software which helps me find duplicates across external hdd and is free. The duplicates were made while traveling since my smartphone doesn't separate the photos by date but by the type, so photos first and then the videos. I should have put them in the same folder every time I had new photos so the Mac would automatically only add the new ones but in the moment that didn't appear clean enough because of the fear that some data would be lost. Silly in hindsight but now I have time to figure it all out and reorganize the storage. I want to buy an 8K TV 55 inch Samsung Neoqled and hang it on a railway on the ceiling of my room to be able to switch between watching the videos and editing in a different area of the room. As well as enjoy the content I took in my recent travel.

[@KevinRossRN]

Keep us posted on whether Gemini works. It’s an app that has been around for awhile.

[@Old_accoun_t]

Please do a updated version !

[@KevinRossRN]

What details would you like to see?

[@dayeah765caoni3]

@@KevinRossRNlooking forward to your new vid. All the best regardless

[@KevinRossRN]

Sounds good. Many thanks.

[@Eonymia]

The internal SSD isn't replaceable? Oh boy. I was considering a Macbook Air, but I think I'll skip it instead.

[@KevinRossRN]

Yep, no replaceable storage options on these devices.

[@paulb9453]

I may have overspent, I bought a Certified Refurb 15" Air w/ 1 TB SSD. A day after, a bunch of 512 GB machines appeared! I paid £160 more for an extra 488 GB of SSD, slightly kicking myself as I don't do video or photo, but I multitask Office with spreadsheets. Am I agonising pointlessly (after all there are worse things going on in the world)?

[@KevinRossRN]

Did you end up getting it from Apple’s refurb store? I hear what you’re saying and I’ve talked to quite a few people that have purchased a machine right before something is launched and/or a price drop occurs. Is this a machine you plan to use for years?

[@lvanek2011]

What drive would you recommend for someone starting to VLOG/travel video? Reviews seem to be all over the place on the Scandisk, T7 or enclosure/980 pro. Primary use to start will be to dump action camera and drone footage tooat the end of the day. Right now I am outsourcing my video edits until I get better (on a 2017 mac because FCX - wish I could run it on my insane beast desktop but it is windows) if I get good enough, then potentially editing with FCX on a new M1 Mac

[@KevinRossRN]

As far as transferring footage, the Acasis enclosure will be the fastest, but that might be subjective if you just start the transfer and leave until it’s completed. The SanDisk is going to perform as the Acasis enclosure would when it comes to actually editing the video. The question I have though is budget, how much storage you want, and do you need it to be portable, or will it primarily sit on a desk?

[@lvanek2011]

@@KevinRossRN Primary use (at least today) would be to dump footage off memory cards from GoPro 9/10, Insta360, and Mavic Air 3. Potentially for editing in the future. Once home, if not editing on a Mac, they would be transferred to my NAS or RAID in my desktop. I almost ordered a scandisk a few weeks back until reading all the reviews on amazon about dead drives which scared me. Which sent me on the KZbin search and thus found your channel (liked and subscribed also) In future I may edit with it (from MacBook). As I hear FCX is easier to learn than Adobe Premier (or I would run premier on my 5950x/64gb/3090Ti beast). Right now my 2017 MacBook Pro only has 256gb of memory. no real reason to upgrade it unless I decide to do my own editing, then i would get like a M1 16" MacBook or one of the M1 chip machines. As a Cloud Architect and virtualization architect I fully understand all the things from your various videos on speed testing. As to the size, not sure if 1TB or 2TB would be best? 3-5 day average trips and dumping that footage. As to budget, definitely a buy once cry once type IF it makes sense, and I will get my $$ worth from the product.

[@KevinRossRN]

Great to have you around the community. The quality on those SanDisks may have taken a hit recently for the “obvious” reasons. So far, all the ones I have are solid 🤞 On the flip side I do take comfort in knowing exactly what SSD I have in an enclosure and that I can always upgrade it down the road, which I continue to do. I use them daily. The fact that you have a NAS is awesome. FCPX is easier in my opinion, and I only run Premiere on a PC. Have you looked into Resolve? There’s a free version and you can load it up on both PC and Mac.

[@ekphotography]

What are your thoughts of the ACASIS 10 in 1 after having it for long time now? There are several complaints about it on Amazon that after long use, some ports do not work or the HDMI never really worked well. I was really looking forward to getting the ACASIS but cannot decide since there are complaints on Amazon about it? Your thoughts? I am just interested using it for editing in FCPX off it..Thank you

[@KevinRossRN]

So, I haven’t used the 10 in 1, and honestly I do get a little nervous with the hardware trying to do too much. I’ve just been using the SSD enclosure and haven’t had issues. Are you just needing more ports?

[@KimEidem]

Another great video my friend. I think it is quite important also to ask one self what are you using the storage for. I mean speed is always nice, but it has also become the horse everyone beats now online. Getting the highest speed, best cooling, bla bla. Well come to think of it, it has probably always been like this. Remember the whole Nvidia vs ATI back in the days? And og the Intel vs AMD , HA! I still think the best thing Apple did for us small businesses was the M1 mini or its brothers. Powerful, fast, and the price just made greats sense right? I deliver to my client for the most of the time 1080p. I just finished a TV documentary here in Norway, and it is delivered in 1080P. I can of course deliver it also in 4K but it is not required. And here I think many overlook an important fact. Check the requirements your client, or the network has. In most of the cases you will be shocked that its not higher. I know many uses Netflixes guidelines for camera and storage and god knows what, but unless you have a project with Netflix, it is absolutely not worth investing in this type of equipment etc. Heck I still use proxy files. What I love about your videos my friend is that in the spirit of true KZbin, you answer questions and finds out these things for so many, and all they ave to do is watch your film and get the answer. How many dollars have I not wasted on stupid purchases I wish I knew the answer to before I bought it. Making up here for 3 months of not commenting :) MY point is, what do you need these disks for, and whats your backup plan? :) I hope all is well my friend? Best from Norway!

[@KevinRossRN]

So great to see you around here again. It’s been a minute. No need to make up for time of not commenting. Feel free to chat when you have the time or something you need/want to say. But I do appreciate you sharing this perspective. So true on that 4K vs 1080P. I didn’t think I needed to follow up on my other videos, but I’m also fine to do it. I often get asked about this and as much as I love having these DIY solutions, there are certainly ways to cut a few costs without cutting too much (or any) quality. It sounds like you’re doing well, and I do hope this is the case. Truly. 🤘

[@helloash]

Hi Kevin, with my M1 Studio Max which combination would perform better? WD SN850 with Fledging enclosure or Samsung 980 Pro with Acasis Enclosure ? I’d like to expand my data drive while staying connected all the time while the machine is on.

[@KevinRossRN]

The 980 PRO and Acasis combo is my favorite combo. You’d be fine with either one, but I definitely use the 980 PRO the most.

[@helloash]

@@KevinRossRN Thanks 🙏

[@KevinRossRN]

You bet. 🤘

[@colindoyle9876]

@@KevinRossRN Thanks for the straight clear answers.

[@nikhiljose2029]

Hey Kevin.. I am planning to setup a 256gb mac mini m2 + 1tb san disk ssd..i do more coding stuff..i use intellij idea, docker, xcode on day to day basis..could you please advise on my setup

[@KevinRossRN]

So I assume you’re going to be working off of this drive? Docker and XCode should be fine. I haven’t tested the other.

[@KevinMillard68]

Even with external storage your internal storage if you want the computer to even last you for say five years, you should be going for at least 512 gig internal at the very minimum and 16 gigs of RAM at the very minimum whether you’re a base user or not Otherwise you’re flushing money down the toilet and you’re losing a lot of performance that you could have had you gone with more ram and more storage and the bigger storage has more speed as well I have already proven this fact already that more RAM and faster storage internal it’s going to be a huge timesaver on projects and other stuff that you’re doing.

[@KevinRossRN]

I agree that investing in the memory and storage from the beginning is recommended if you have the budget. I haven’t really met anyone that’s upgraded the memory or the storage capacity and regretted it. Usually. However plenty have regretted not making the investment from the beginning.

[@starsk13]

Hey ! no more vidéo ? what happen ? I hope you are fine.

[@KevinRossRN]

Ha! I’m still here. Working on a video right now actually. I appreciate you checking in.

[@privatetvchr8436]

Since you mentioned that you edit on one of your external SSDs from time to time, does this mean you save all the footage on the drive including the projectiles? Whats about the scratchfiles? Do you leave them internaly?

[@KevinRossRN]

Actually, I edit everything on the external. So the whole library bundle and media files are on the external. I may keep that project and it’s folders on the SSD for awhile as I might be revisiting that footage sooner rather than later, but once I’m done, I just move all of that over to my network attached storage for archiving. I can still access so those files on the NAS if and when I need them.

[@WoutBoekeloo]

Hi Kevin, would it make a difference in speed when you also put the app FCPX on the external SSD or should FCPX always be on the internal SSD? Thanks in advance.

[@KevinRossRN]

You’d want the app on the internal. It’ll take up somewhere around 3-5GBs (give or take). As long as you keep all the media on the external then there shouldn’t be a concern with taking up space on the internal. The beauty about FCPX is that it’s constantly saving and if there’s a crash then you can (usually) get back everything you’ve been working on even when all the media is on the external. FCPX does make some internal backups, but they’re very small in file size and you can certainly go in and clean those up every now and again.

[@WoutBoekeloo]

Thank you very much Kevin,i realy like the channel. Keep up the good thing!

[@WoutBoekeloo]

O actually Kevin, i was not asking about the storage but would there be a speed difference between FCPX on the internal or external SSD?

[@SuperHawk54]

Question, I’ve been seeing ALOT of negatives for the slow ssd on the base version, but if I have 5TB external hard drive, should I even worry about it?? I plan to only upgrade the RAM to at least 16gb since 24gb is not a big difference, i Mostly use for web browsing and school work which includes photoshop and Adobe illustrator, it’s been back and forth with a lot of mixed reviews with M2 Air and i love that it has MagSafe again, any thoughts??

[@KevinRossRN]

For your use case I really don’t think you’re going to notice any difference. The base model I tested was given to a colleague in my business and they love it for the day-to-day of office tasks. I use my upgraded version for the same thing and I do appreciate the extra memory because I run Parallels and multiple browsers and tabs. I also love the fact that they brought back MagSafe for the M2

[@SuperHawk54]

@@KevinRossRN awesome! Thanks man! Yeah cause I have the base intel 2020 MacBook Air and I usually just transfer my files to my external hard drive, and I don’t use it for any gaming so I’ll probably definitely just get upgraded 16gb RAM and just have it with the 256 SSD storage, very helpful bro thank you!!

[@KevinRossRN]

My pleasure. Enjoy your setup. It really is awesome.

[@Izudra]

I went with the 258 GB mac mini, 16 GB Ram. Upgrading with 1050MB external drives. Mainly use for Ableton live. I actually feel „bad“, that this couldve bin a bad decision and I shouldve upgraded to 512 GB. But im not sure. Didnt get any issues yet. Whats your opinion? Valid setup for Music production?

[@KevinRossRN]

I think with music/audio it’ll be interesting to hear what you think of the 1050MBs read/write. It should serve your needs, but I’ve seen where some workflows may utilize a higher throughput. Some workflows, not all. Did you just recently purchase the machine?

[@Izudra]

@@KevinRossRN 2 days ago. Didnt have time to try much things out. Games run smoothly on the external ssd. Its the crucial x8 (i think) ssd btw.

[@KevinRossRN]

Gotcha. Glad to hear the games are running smoothly. With that kind of throughput you should be able to run those without issue. I’ll be curious to hear what you think once you dive into Ableton.

[@Izudra]

@@KevinRossRN i will let you know💪

[@jblev736]

nvme drives are getting so cheap now that you can even find one with tlc and dram for pretty cheap. For the price of apple's $200 upgrade from 256 to 512GB you can get a small portable nvme ssd + enclosure that has 2 TB. If you don't have a NAS just get an nvme enclosure. Actually, even if you have a NAS, still get an nvme enclosure. It's been one of the most effective $100-200 tech decisions i've made

[@KevinRossRN]

That’s awesome to hear, and yes, the prices continue to be quite competitive these days. Thanks for your time on this one.

[@joedoe3446]

Hi Kevin, I want to transfer videos from 4 separate SD cards at the exact same time into an external SSD. My read/transfer speed is around 300MB/s per card. Does that mean I would need an external SSD that performs/writes at a speed of at least 1,200MB/s or more? For example: 300MB/s transfer/read speed X 4 sd cards -->> 1,200MB/s external ssd write speed? Lastly, does transferring videos from the 4 sd cards straight into the external ssd using a MacBook help preserve/protect the wear and tear of the internal ssd? Or is the internal ssd going through wear and tear anyways since everything is connected and transferring through the laptop?

[@KevinRossRN]

What device are you using to transfer 4 SD cards simultaneously, and have you tested that it is getting a consistent 300MBs transfer on each of them at the same time?

[@Nig6tWalker]

Kevin one question you prefer to use the Acasis or Fledging TB3?

[@KevinRossRN]

I use the Acasis more often since it’s USB 4.0 and I can connect it to the iPad Pro if I need it.

[@Nig6tWalker]

@@KevinRossRN ahh ok but the Fledging still a great enclusure?im asking you because i want to buy an enclusure for my SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen 4

[@KevinRossRN]

Oh of course. Totally. I still love it. It will perform quite well for you. And they have good customer service as well.

[@Nig6tWalker]

@@KevinRossRN ahh cool,thank you Kevin.

[@KevinRossRN]

Sure thing. 👍🤘

[@ggdfggdfgdffgfddg34]

A friend tell me how to install several M.2 disks on the motherboard so that they are immediately recognized. I'd like to mount directly by plugging them into the motherboard instead of dropping them onto my PC. And what to do if the disk is not recognized, I can’t format it, there is the necessary information!

[@KevinRossRN]

Are you referring to the motherboard of a Mac or a Windows based PC?

[@ggdfggdfgdffgfddg34]

@@KevinRossRN Windows based pc, you are talking about an adapter for ssd, but what if you directly insert them directly into the motherboard after recording the video?

[@KevinRossRN]

Well you’d have to make sure it’s formatted properly, and that sounds like a little more work, but you can do it.

[@ggdfggdfgdffgfddg34]

@@KevinRossRNI watched your videos but I'm a Russian speaker, it was hard for me to understand. I would like to ask that adapter for $135 is it just an m.2 drive adapter or is there a drive inside. And what should I do if I can buy cheap m.2 adapters from China using your adapter, will it make a difference whether I connect them via What's new in Thunderbolt 4 or usb c on the front of the M1 studio. as I understand from your video, you can work from external ssd m.2 and the speed will not be worse than the internal one. So if there are 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports and 2 usb c, could I connect 6 ssd m.2 at once through the adapter?

[@KevinRossRN]

So the enclosure is just a shell with a board that you connect the SSD to (separate purchase). You can definitely use these enclosures/drives for just about any workflow. You want to make sure if you’re buying an enclosure that it’s Thunderbolt 3 or USB 4.0 to be able to get those speeds that I talked about. Connecting 6 of them at once would not be possible.

[@PeteKowalsky]

For those of you who need speed and capacity, the Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q 8TB will get 1533MB/s write and 1875MB/s read all day long on a TB3 / TB4 port 🤘😎🤘

[@KevinRossRN]

Man I still need to try that one. Appreciate you popping over with that reminder 😉🤘

[@PeteKowalsky]

@@KevinRossRN No prob sir - happy to "pop over" any time you post. :) #rockingface

[@KevinRossRN]

🫵🤘

[@PeteKowalsky]

@@KevinRossRN Still rocking that face, bruh? Hope you're well - missing the vids, yo! :) Be well.

[@KevinRossRN]

Yes indeed. Had to spend the end of last year exiting out my main business (long story, but it was a good thing). Then just enjoyed not having to run that business, and now I’m catching some powder 🏂 in Montana with my oldest son who’s looking at colleges. I plan to circle back around to the channel. I didn’t realize how much I’d be enjoying this time while I have it. How are things going with you?

[@colindoyle9876]

What is the best setup for m1 mac mini as a boot drive? No care for anything other than TB3

[@KevinRossRN]

The Acasis with the 980 Pro has been the best performing still to this day for me. That is if you want the DIY solution.

[@colindoyle9876]

@@KevinRossRN Thank You - Just ordered. I was going to get SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 but is expensive and on back order. Wonder which is best :)

[@DroseMr]

SirROSSa is there a way to adapt nvme to 2.5 ssd that will work w atom😅s ninja . Having issues w 5.7 raw w all cards recording external above 4k skips or drops frame. Bad internet here cloud is unreliable. If upgrading is an option internal would be a great investment. Hope is good and for an update the organizing folders workflow on fcp has been such a world of help . THANK YOU

[@KevinRossRN]

I’d have to double check that but I’m not sure it’s the speed of the SSD to write, but rather the throughput between the SSD and the Ninja. That might be the bottleneck.

[@HarshPatel-j5e]

I just bought macbook air m2 with 512 gb 8cpre cpu 10 core gpu and macbook pro m2 256 gb but very confused which one i should keep for video editing Does the external ssd with macbook pro will help me out in future with my video editing or i should keep air

[@KevinRossRN]

It’s not so much about whether the external SSD will help with the pro model (it will help), but it’s about having that extra thermal headroom in the pro for video editing. That’s what will give you longevity.

[@JudgeFredd]

Great video

[@KevinRossRN]

Thanks!

[@manojkale9733]

What about the new Samsung 990 pro?

[@KevinRossRN]

I haven’t personally tested that one, but with the 980PRO now at around 100USD, it’s a massive bargain in my opinion.

[@manojkale9733]

@@KevinRossRN Very true I recently bought four 2TB 980 PRO @ $180. But still would like to know the performance of 990 PRO with the Acasis Thunderbolt enclosure.

[@KevinRossRN]

Yeah I grabbed that deal on the 2TB. I think I got them for 169. However I may pick up the 990, however we’re still pretty much at the max with the 980. But I’m going to keep my eyes open for a cyber Monday to see if it drops a little more.

[@GooDween.v]

So there is no point on buying thunderbolt enclosure with 40gbps, because when render even easy project in prores there are lower writing speed requirements? Basically how fast can render m1pro h264 to prores? I am trying to figure out do i need to make a m2ssd in thunderbolt enclosure, in usb 3.2 enclosure or just buy samsung t7 and it won't be bottleneck when render.

[@KevinRossRN]

The T7 shouldn’t bottleneck. The advantage of the enclosure is that you have the option to upgrade the SSD if/when you want. With video editing you’re really only going to be able to scrub through and render the files based on the CPU/GPU. If you were editing audio only, this is a workflow that can take advantage of those speeds. The T7 would serve your needs if you just want an all in one prebuilt solution.

[@GooDween.v]

@@KevinRossRN I just think about speed of t7 won't be enought for rendering prores, like a read that m1pro is blazing fast and think that my external ssd will be the the slowest part of the chain.

[@KevinRossRN]

Have you tested the render of the internal with ProRes? I’d be curious as to what you may be getting because I haven’t been able to get the external that’s rated at around 1,000MB/s to bottleneck. It’s all come down to the GPU.

[@GooDween.v]

@@KevinRossRN oh i am just thinking of buying macbook, so i don't know how fast it is IRL. So as i can understan i just should but 10gbps ssd.

[@KevinRossRN]

Gotcha. I can understand that the hype around ProRes being so efficient, which it is great to work with. These machines are fantastic to edit on, but there are going to be bottlenecks that are due to what’s in the machine. However it still blows the doors off of the x86 architecture devices from a couple years ago.

[@carlosmcanuto]

Hi Kevin. What happened to you? Hope you’re doing well with your family. Cheers.

[@KevinRossRN]

Oh, I appreciate you so much. I’m still here. I’m really hoping to make a return. I miss making videos and I miss everyone in the community. Things are great and I hope they are for you as well.

[@CorineCles]

Hello I have 16 go bit ram, will ssd externe card will speed the video editing on da vinci resolve ?

[@KevinRossRN]

To clarify, are you referring to a SD card, or an external SSD?

[@CorineCles]

@@KevinRossRN ssd

[@DroseMr]

🎉Thank You

[@KevinRossRN]

And thank you. 🤘

[@jinraigami3349]

Are you ok, bro? Why you no longer upload any video?

[@KevinRossRN]

I’m still here. I’ve been planning to come back. I had to deleverage from my main business, which took quite a bit of time to do, but I completed that exit. I ended up working on some other projects that consumed quite a bit of my time, but I do plan to come back. I appreciate you checking in on me. Hope you’re doing well. 🤘

[@jinraigami3349]

@@KevinRossRN I'm glad to hear you are doing fine. Waiting for your review for ZikeDrive, Satechi and Acasis 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosures on Mac.

[@KevinRossRN]

@jinraigami3349 Ha! I definitely miss testing. Well, let’s just say that I’m still testing hardware, but I just need to turn on the camera and document it 😀

[@adinnugroho6544]

Just reminding you, if Man that I said as Reminder is Kyle Erickson

[@NotZawie]

you didn't even explain how to install it that's all I care about Im not trying to game or anything I just want to know how to add more storage to my device

[@KevinRossRN]

You don’t install it. You plug it in. There is no upgradeable storage (internally) on these machines after it’s built.

[@NotZawie]

@@KevinRossRN so im fucked and wasted all my money is what your saying im a student man I can't afford anything

[@NotZawie]

@@KevinRossRN is there a way to desolder and desolder a new ssd

[@KevinRossRN]

If you have one of the M-series chipsets, that’s pretty much a no go. Some have tried on the M1 Mac mini, but you’re definitely at risk for bricking the machine.

[@petsareworthsaving4981]

You haven't posted anything in months, you ok?

[@KevinRossRN]

Yes, awesome! Appreciate you checking in. I had to pause here for the moment. My main company was going through acquisition and I’ve stepped away (officially) at the end of 2022. I just needed to focus on that since there was a timeline and it just needed my attention. I will certainly be back since that business is in my rear view and I can focus on other projects, including the channel. Grateful that you stopped back by to check on things. Always great to see familiar “faces” from the community. How are things going for you?

[@petsareworthsaving4981]

@@KevinRossRN Busy, the dog rescue has been pretty full lately and I am taking care of an elderly family member. The holidays had me pretty busy. I haven't posted any great videos or photos lately and really need to get back into doing more dog photography, the lighting outside has been crap lately and depresses me. I plan to add a speedlite as soon as I can afford one, I want to go further with he4 dog photography and maybe start making money from it.

[@KevinRossRN]

Oh I bet it’s been busy. We’ve seen a lot of posts about fostering dogs for some of the local rescues. And taking care of a family member is definitely a big responsibility. Been there. Sending you my best on that support. And as far as creating more content, I hope that you’re able to eventually find some time to invest back into that.

[@jirikrajnak9047]

Those soldered-on SSD solutions really play into Apple's money grabbing hands, don't they?

[@KevinRossRN]

Indeed they do. 🤘

[@colindoyle9876]

Why I run from TB drive for os/boot. Easy to replace.