Need a new external SSD

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RecalcitrantRon

RecalcitrantRon

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I keep my photos and LRC catalog on an external 2TB SATA III SSD so I can move easily between my 2017 Core i7 iMac and M1 Pro MacBook Pro. I need more space and want more speed so I am looking to switch to a 4TB M.2 SSD. Because the MBP does not use USB 3.2 2 x 2 which is 20Mbs, it runs at 10Mbs. Therefore, I am looking at Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 external cases. The problem is that they tend to use words like “compatible” in the descriptions which usually means it’s not TB4 or USB4. It seems like cases from Acasis and Orico, two brands I am not familiar with are the major players in this range. Anyone have any experience with any of these?

Here are a few examples.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BB74BQVN/?tag=backcogaller-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBZT42HC/?tag=backcogaller-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B14QY7MZ/?tag=backcogaller-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFF3R7ML/?tag=backcogaller-20
 
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RecalcitrantRon said:
I keep my photos and LRC catalog on an external 2TB SATA III SSD so I can move easily between my 2017 Core i7 iMac and M1 Pro MacBook Pro. I need more space and want more speed so I am looking to switch to a 4TB M.2 SSD. Because the MBP does not use USB 3.2 2 x 2 which is 20Mbs, it runs at 10Mbs. Therefore, I am looking at Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 external cases. The problem is that they tend to use words like “compatible” in the descriptions which usually means it’s not TB4 or USB4. It seems like cases from Acasis and Orico, two brands I am not familiar with are the major players in this range. Anyone have any experience with any of these?

Here are a few examples.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BB74BQVN/?tag=backcogaller-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBZT42HC/?tag=backcogaller-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B14QY7MZ/?tag=backcogaller-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFF3R7ML/?tag=backcogaller-20
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Have you checked out OWC website? They specialize in Mac stuff. https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-storage/ssd
 
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@RecalcitrantRon - I have two of the OWC Enclosures. They state - Supports up to 1553MB/s real-world performance. The reason I note the limit is you don't need the fasted NVME out there. I opted for 2TB ones for my purposes as work in progress drives and scratch disk space.

I would go with them as @Ralph suggested. I also have their pro dock so that I could have 10GB for my NAS and keep things tidy. I think they missed the boat on the dock as besides the T4 port that goes to your computer there is only one other Thunderbolt port. I have one of the drives in that and the other in the MBP. What they got right in the dock was a very fast CFE reader. I also have my BenQ monitor hooked up via Display Port, and another Samsung T7 and another large spinning drive for backing up the NAS. With the 10GB NAS connection I am getting about 525-600 write speeds and 1000 read speeds so I am feeling LR is pretty snappy on the NAS so far.

If you need more details please ask.

1689544461073.png
 
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Ralph said:
Have you checked out OWC website? They specialize in Mac stuff. https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-storage/ssd
Click to expand...
BarkingBeansCoffee said:
@RecalcitrantRon - I have two of the OWC Enclosures. They state - Supports up to 1553MB/s real-world performance. The reason I note the limit is you don't need the fasted NVME out there. I opted for 2TB ones for my purposes as work in progress drives and scratch disk space.

I would go with them as @Ralph suggested. I also have their pro dock so that I could have 10GB for my NAS and keep things tidy. I think they missed the boat on the dock as besides the T4 port that goes to your computer there is only one other Thunderbolt port. I have one of the drives in that and the other in the MBP. What they got right in the dock was a very fast CFE reader. I also have my BenQ monitor hooked up via Display Port, and another Samsung T7 and another large spinning drive for backing up the NAS. With the 10GB NAS connection I am getting about 525-600 write speeds and 1000 read speeds so I am feeling LR is pretty snappy on the NAS so far.

If you need more details please ask.

View attachment 65820
Click to expand...
Thanks I have used OWC before (mostly for adding RAM) and some external drives for spinners from years ago. The speeds you are getting are respectable, but are on the slow side for what these SSD drives can do which is why I was looking at Acasis and Orrico.
 
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RecalcitrantRon said:
Thanks I have used OWC before (mostly for adding RAM) and some external drives for spinners from years ago. The speeds you are getting are respectable, but are on the slow side for what these SSD drives can do which is why I was looking at Acasis and Orrico.
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If you find an enclosure that does faster and works let us know. Mines been been fine for the editing. The all in one drives were too pricey which is why I did these. I see these have faster specs. The Acasis seem to have better reviews
 
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@RecalcitrantRon – I put together a 4TB external M.2 SSD using a WD 4TB SN850X NVMe and ACASIS USB4.0 thunderbolt enclosure. Black Magic speed tests on my M1 MacBook Pro show > 2.7 GB/s reads & writes. I used a different thermal pad than what came with the ACASIS (I think I used a 1.5mm pad).
So far I haven't had any issues. Links are below.

YT video showing the enclosure & build.

WD_BLACK 4TB SN850X NVMe SSD
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B7CQ2CHH/?tag=backcogaller-20

ACASIS 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BB74BQVN/?tag=backcogaller-20

Thermal pad Kit
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QH9G1YB/?tag=backcogaller-20



BlackMagicSpeedTest.png
 
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geoawelch said:
Excuse the possibly ignorant question. Why Is this a better option than buying, say, a 4 Tb Samsung T7 at more than half the price?

Cheers,

George
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Read Write speed of the Samsung is probably around 7-800 MB/s so Ron's system is much faster. Useful as scratch disk space, video, or just photo editing. I do most of my initial editing on an NVMe and then move my images to a NAS that is about 3/4 the speed of the Samsung. It works for photo editing as well, but I prefer to do most of the work on a shoot on the NVMe to start. Only you can decide where to spend your $. I use the Samsungs for mobile downloading and backup.
 
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Part of the speed problem is unique to the M series chip Mac's because they do not support the fastest USB 3.2 Gen. 2x2 which runs at 2000MB/s protocols which many of these external drives and enclosures utilize. So on a M chip Mac they run at USB 3.2 Gen 2 which is a max of 1000MB/s. The new Macs do support USB 4 but there isn't much real USB 4 out there yet in terms of cases ect. You have to very careful because the descriptions for many of these cases and devices can be very misleading if not downright fraudulent. For instances just because a device is 3.2 Gen 2x2 or USB 4 "compatible" just means it will likely work on your computer. It does not mean it will support the speeds associated with those protocols.
 
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