expired Posted by tDames | Staff • Yesterday
May 29, 2025 7:41 AM
Item 1 of 3
Item 1 of 3
expired Posted by tDames | Staff • Yesterday
May 29, 2025 7:41 AM
2TB Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan Z SLC Cache 3D NAND QLC 2.5" SATA III Internal SSD $83 + Free Shipping
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Y tho
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This also means it is not an NVME drive, and speeds are going to be in the 500/500 range rather than like 5000/3000 range that a good NVME drive would have.
That being said... If you're upgrading an older machine, or if you don't have a spare m.2 slot in your motherboard, and you need a SATA drive, this isn't a bad option.
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Those also overheat quickly negating the speed factor unfortunately
Further, Samsung's 990 EVO is 10x as fast and has a reputation for keeping cool. And on sale regularly for $130.
Lastly, just for you: If someone is pairing with a Mac Mini M4 as external enclosure, they're usually looking to get as close to Mac internal HD speeds as possible, which is incredibly fast, around 7k mb/s, 10-20x as fast as any SATA SSD could ever achieve. They're trying to avoid paying the high price Apple demands for an upgraded internal HD, and spending a little extra on the right SSD/enclosure is usually the right option to minimize performance impact.
Further, Samsung's 990 EVO is 10x as fast and has a reputation for keeping cool. And on sale regularly for $130.
Lastly, just for you: If someone is pairing with a Mac Mini M4 as external enclosure, they're usually looking to get as close to Mac internal HD speeds as possible, which is incredibly fast, around 7k mb/s, 10-20x as fast as any SATA SSD could ever achieve. They're trying to avoid paying the high price Apple demands for an upgraded internal HD, and spending a little extra on the right SSD/enclosure is usually the right option to minimize performance impact.
Do you have any recommendations on which SSD and enclosure I should go with without breaking the bank? I'm looking either 2 or 4 TB. TIA.
Do you have any recommendations on which SSD and enclosure I should go with without breaking the bank? I'm looking either 2 or 4 TB. TIA.
My budget pick:
Reviews are solid, tons of people reporting success using it with a M4 Mini. There are a couple of potential manufacturing defects to watch out for, but most don't encounter and are spotted early (check out the reviews). If you don't expect to do large transfers regularly, it should work great, and I couldn't find anything else with a better quality/price ratio.
https://www.amazon.com/Compatible...B0
(note that there is another "TBU405" with very similar specs. not sure of the difference, but the specs are nearly identical)
My quality pick:
This is the one I ended up going with. Currently $120, but has been on sale recently for $100 on their direct website, and could come back there or on Amazon. But it has incredible passive cooling, the whole thing is a giant heatsink. The reviews are unmatched, and the company has an excellent reputation. If you don't want to worry about thermal throttling, this is the option. Also, you're paying a bit for the company here - but I'm expecting better support if I run into an issue.
https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Portab...B0CPYQ
Avoid anything that isn't USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 compatible. They'll dramatically impact max speeds. And Mac does not support USB 3.2 gen2, which many of the cheaper enclosures use to provide fast speeds, so your experience will be even slower than what is listed in the enclosue specs.
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Do you have any recommendations on which SSD and enclosure I should go with without breaking the bank? I'm looking either 2 or 4 TB. TIA.
Edit: it's also worth noting that no matter what, you won't be able to match internal speeds. At best with all of the options I mentioned, you'll get about 1/2 speed (without throttling), which you'll probably be satisfied with. But all of these SSDs exceed the max speed. The only way to get the remainder of the speed difference is with a RAID setup, which is complicated and doubles the price. Just a disclaimer, so your expectations are set properly.