Thunderbolt 5 vs Thunderbolt 4 External USB4 SSD Speed Test Comparison M4 Mac Mini vs M4 Max MacBook

[@DavidHarry]

Thunderbolt 4 vs Thunderbolt 5 on M4 Mac using the same fast USB4 external SSD. So this is a test of the same USB4 SSD, which is a Zike 40Gb/s USB4 enclosure with a Samsung 990 Pro 4TB SSD inside of it. Being tested with Thunderbolt 5 socket on an M4 Max MacBook Pro and Thunderbolt 4 on a base M4 Mac mini. While the Zike enclosure is USB4, USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 share the same data protocols and when used with a Thunderbolt host computer, USB4 will act as Thunderbolt 4 as far as data bandwidth is concerned. Now don't forget, both of these Macs are also USB4 compatible, due to the interchangeability of USB4 and Thunderbolt. So both Macs are fully compliant with the Zike enclosure. Like I said in the video, I don't know the reason for the difference. However, if I had to guess I would say that the internal SSDs of the M4 and M4 Mac Macs are having an effect. I'm guessing that both Macs are caching using their internal SSDs and with the SSD on the M4 Mac mini being a lot slower than the SSD on the M4 Max MacBook Pro. This could maybe explain the difference but that's just a guess. Anyway. Do you know the answer? Or do you have any thoughts on why there's a difference? If so, please let me know in the comments. Here's more info about the shared protocols between USB4 and Thunderbolt. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB4 Video chapters: 00:00 Intro and explanation 01:24 Thunderbolt 5 test 03:04 Thunderbolt 4 test 04:52 Speed comparison 05:07 End summary While I obviously have thermal issues with the Zike Z666. If you decide to buy the Zike Z666 you can get 20% off on the Zike website using my promo code "David20". Zike website ➡ shrsl.com/4rtxp Zike Z666 USB4 enclosure direct from Zike ➡ shrsl.com/4rtxn Zike Z666 at Amazon.de (Germany) ➡ amzn.to/4g478G4 My recommendation for a fast Thunderbolt 4 USB4 external SSD is the Acasis TBU405Pro M1 enclosure, paired up with the WD SN850X SSD. I use the 4TB version and it's awesome. This combination does not thermal throttle as the Acasis enclosure is fan cooled and keep the WD SN850X below its thermal throttling point. If buying direct from the Acasis website use my promo code "David15" for a 15% discount off anything you buy on the Acasis website. Acasis website bit.ly/45RAaUA Acasis TBU405Pro M1 enclosure at Amazon ➡ geni.us/ACASIS-TBU405ProM1 Acasis TBU405Pro M1 enclosure direct from ➡ Acasis bit.ly/4i1edsR WD SSDs: SN850X 4TB ➡ geni.us/SN850X-4TB SN850X 2TB ➡mgeni.us/SN850X-2TB SN850X 1TB ➡ geni.us/SN850X-1TB I have not thoroughly tested the 990 Pro with all of my enclosures. However, this is an excellent SSD if used internally with a computer with proper SSD cooling and good airflow. While I can't recommend the 990 Pro just yet for any use with any enclosure, here's some links for anyone who is going to use it in a properly cooled computer. Samsung SSDs: 990 Pro 1TB ➡ geni.us/990PRO1TB 990 Pro 2TB ➡ geni.us/990PRO-2TB 990 Pro 4TB ➡ geni.us/990PRO4TB AMAZON ASSOCIATE DISCLOSURE: I am an Amazon Associate. My Amazon links are Amazon affiliate links. I earn money from qualifying purchases when you use my Amazon affiliate links. OTHER EARNINGS AND COMMISSIONS: I also earn money from other product links within my video description. For the sake of clarity and for the avoidance of any confusion, assume that I earn money from commissions from any and all links that I have within my video description. Amazon links to stuff used in this video: The gear that I use, have used or reviewed that I would recommend. Cameras: amzn.to/3PzC8mI Microphones: amzn.to/3tD6FaM Computers: amzn.to/3tuwHNr Phones: amzn.to/3ttqjWN iPads & Tablets: amzn.to/46t8wxG You can also send me a coffee donation via PayPal if you found my video super helpful: www.paypal.me/DavidHarry My Amazon pages with videos and product links: Amazon USA www.amazon.com/shop/davidharry Amazon UK www.amazon.co.uk/shop/davidharry If you would like to help my channel please use my global Amazon Affiliate links. I will be paid a small commission for anything you buy from Amazon when using these links. These commissions don't cost you any extra but really do help me to buy gear for my productions and to review: Amazon USA: geni.us/Amazon-USA Amazon UK: geni.us/Amazon-UK Amazon Deutschland: geni.us/Amazon-Deutschland Amazon France: geni.us/Amazon-France Amazon España: geni.us/Amazon-Espana Amazon Italia: geni.us/Amazon-Italia Amazon Canada: geni.us/Amazon-Canada Contact for product reviews: [e-mail] www.DavidHarry.com I’m David Harry. Thank you very much for watching this video, take care and goodbye now. Cheers, Dave. #USB4#Thunderbolt4

[@TDederick]

I’ll go out on a limb and suggest the internal architecture of your two Macs could be playing a role. Depending on which M4 Max MacBook Pro configuration you have, you could have as much as a 546 GB/sec internal memory bandwidth. Conversely your M4 Mac Mini could have as little as 120 GB/sec internal memory bandwidth.

[@pureheartvisuals]

Spot on. The internal caching to the internal drives is factoring into the equation.

[@DavidHarry]

Hi. While I'm not 100% sure, I agree. I think it is the way macOS uses the internal storage as part of its caching and it's that which is probably affecting the results 👍 Cheers, Dave.

[@truthmatters7573]

Maybe it's just a memory bandwidth issue. m4 chip has less memory bandwidth than m4 pro and m4 max, so wouldn't the speed at which data can be transferred to and from the RAM affect how fast it can then be stored to and read from an external SSD?

[@LightSaber12345]

I wish they brought these to market for USB sticks and computers

[@videolan]

Interesting - look forward to further tests/demos and recommendations for reliable high throughputs.

[@DavidHarry]

There'll be a comparison video later showing thermal throttling on one enclosure but not another. Cheers, Dave.

[@rorywalters1614]

My guess about the speed difference is due to the different processors. Back in the early Apple Silicon days, the M1 and lower end M1 Pro had normal Thunderbolt 3 read speed but really low write speed. Thunderbolt uses direct PCIe connection, and the CPU is one major factor that affects PCIe performance. I have an Mac mini 2014, it’s got a PCIe 3.0*2 slot, the theoretical transfer speed should’ve been 1500mb/s~1750mb/s, but in fact it only got 900mb/s maximum, and I was using one of the fastest PCIe 3 drive on the market, that’s due to the weak performance of its dual-core i7. And if you take a look at the MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros from 2013~2015, those MacBooks could take an M.2 drive, and the quad core MacBook Pro 15 inch models always have higher PCIe transfer speeds. The internal SSD cache wasn’t very likely to be the cause, the test was loaded to and run in the ram instead.

[@DavidHarry]

Hi, Rory. I had considered things like CPU speed and memory bandwidth. However, with both being so high, it’s very unlikely that either would be taxed with the simple task of low bandwidth (by comparison) data moving. This is why I’m guessing at the internal SSDs and disk caching maybe being the reason why. If the test file was completely loaded into RAM then the internal SSDs wouldn’t be a thing. However, knowing that macOS does do what I consider to be unnecessary disk caching, at least with the Apple Silicon SoC structure. This is why I’m guessing at the internal storage. Although, it could just as easily be something completely different. Cheers, Dave.

[@KevinMuldoon]

I think you're right that the way internal caching is handled is a factor here. This is all new to me though so the results are interesting. 👍

[@DavidHarry]

Alright, Kevin. I think that's about as good a guess as any. People are suggesting memory bandwidth and also the CPU power. However, the speed of these transfers is minuscule compared the memory bandwidth, so I doubt that's a thing. And as far as processing power is concerned, transferring data is about as low a CPU task as you can utilise and both these CPUs are way way over the top compared to the processing power requirements for data transferring. I'm just uploading a video showing thermal throttling, where the Zike loses out to the Acasis enclosure that has a fan in it. Cheers, Dave.

[@KevinMuldoon]

@@DavidHarry Ahh yeah memory bandwidth could be a factor too. Always hard to do like-for-like comparisons in these situations. Sounds like a fan can be the difference with some of these enclosures. 👍 Slunds

[@motionblurgamer]

The main reason I want TB5 is not because of SSD speeds. I think those are fast enough even on TB3. What I want is support for high resolution monitors with high refresh rates. My dream display would be a 42“ 6K display with 240hz refresh rate. I’m not going to game at 6K, but it would be nice to have 6K 120hz for productivity and maybe 3K 240hz for gaming. In the same monitor. 6K 240Hz in HDR should be possible using DSC and TB5 120Gbit boost mode. 6K 144hz should be possible without DSC but still using TB5 boost mode. Theoretically it is now possible for Apple to release a 6K XDR display with ProMotion (120hz).

[@djfreaknique1587]

What games you planning on playing on Mac that can play 3k 240hz. None would be my guess

[@DavidHarry]

Hi. Yes, with the extra video specific compression for 120Gb/s. The possibilities for resolution and frame rate over TB5 are going to insane 👍 Cheers, Dave.

[@MichaelAnderson-l3k]

My OWC Envoy Ultra on TB5 goes 5000+ read and write with my M4 Pro Mini. Same basic speed as to/from as internal SSD.

[@DavidHarry]

Stay tuned, I will be showing a TB5 drive that is faster 👍

[@tomsun3159]

The limitation lies in the Thunderbolt-interface on Apples side neither on the SSD side nor on the SSD-housing side, interisting is the comparison using an external TB5 Drive if the Mac Mini Non-Pro is limited at same speeds what would underline my suspicion. Yes i think the video for the best drive to use in terms of overheating issues would be interesting (should be the same best drive in terms of energy consumption, more important for laptop users) I found a test where they tested NVME for laptops under the aspect of power consumption and the drive with the lowest consumption (and probably the lowest heat dissapation) was the KIOXIA EXCERIA Plus G3 (available 1/2 TB alternatively the Lexar NM790 available 1/2/4/8 TB)

[@rorywalters1614]

Are you sure Lexar NM790 has an 8TB version? I think only Lexar ARES has a 8TB variant, NM790 maxed out at 4TB.

[@DavidHarry]

Hi. Thanks for the info about the KIOXIA. When I get time I will start looking for the fastest NVMe, preferably Gen 4, with the lowest power draw. This type of SSD would definitely be great for any enclosure 👍 Cheers, Dave.

[@tomsun3159]

@@DavidHarry Hi Harry, perhaps it can explain a lot in temperatur dissapation, we have different types of NVME drives Cacheless, simulated Cached drives, NAND-Cached drives and DRAM Cached drives, where we have to make finer distinctions we have usually TLC or QLC NAND-Chips, in enterprise grade probably MLC or SLC NAND Chips The endurance in a Nutshell lowest QLC highest SLC in term of degradation whereas DRAM no degradation. So the cache can be DRAM (no degradation) ,REAL SLC, simulated SLC or not existent. The question is do you have a high rate of read and writes (workdrive scratch drive) you should go for a DRAM cached drive at a cost of higher energy consumption, if you have a plain storage drive (Write once) even a cacheless QLC-drive is sufficient. So the Samsung Pro Drive has dedicated DRAM for Caching and it own NANDs comparable to TLC therefore a higher energy consumption and heat dissapation. So in comparison you should always mention technical data like TLC/QLC or Cacheless/simulated Cache/Real SLC Cache/ DRAM-Cache

[@DavidHarry]

@@tomsun3159 I have already mentioned the issues with the higher temps of DRAM. By comparison, TLC/QLC and SLC cache are negligible in their effects on temps. BTW, next time you want to give someone a lecture you should also show your knowledge by mentioning how the controller and bridge have an effect on temps. Seriously, this was a very simple video that 100% proved a point and there was no need to go into any information about NAND etc. Maybe you should try making a KZbin video about what you have been talking about.

[@airtightbox]

OWC Envoy Ultra and Sabrent Rocket XTRM 5 look to be the first to market with Thunderbolt 5 high performance external drives.

[@DavidHarry]

Yes, however these are "off the shelf" drives and not one that you can add your own SSD to. Cheers, Dave.

[@makavelithedon69x]

I think the main difference from the two machines it’s the memory bandwidth, hence the difference in speed while reading and writing to the disk✌️

[@TDederick]

Agreed … as much as 546 GB/sec on one end, and as little as 120 GB/sec on the other.

[@DavidHarry]

Hi. I had considered that, however, the bandwidth for the SSDs is nowhere near the memory bandwidth and wouldn't be a stress. Cheers, Dave.

[@LightSaber12345]

Now they need to put this in iPhones

[@asafblasbergvideographer]

Hi Dave - 48GB enough or should I get 64GB - M4 MAX?

[@DavidHarry]

Hi. Depends on what you are doing. Cheers, Dave.

[@asafblasbergvideographer]

@@DavidHarry Thank you Dave. So I ended up getting the base M4 Pro Mac mini. I just really don't have a need for a laptop, and really wanted a desktop Mac. Because the Mac Studio M4 MAX is not out yet, I decided to get the M4 Pro as a "stop-gap" until the M4 MAX Mac Studio comes out. But honestly the M4 Pro for $1,399 is a great value! I'm very happy with it. You are right that the export times are slower than the MAX variant, but I'm willing to wait a little bit more for my videos to render and save money for the Mac Studio next year :)

[@EugeneMaynard]

👍🏾🙏🏾 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇸🇪🇹🇹