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Best external SSD money can buy?
- Thread starter keithos27
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USB 3 never got faster transfer rates than thunderbolt it has 1/2 the bandwidth of TB1 and 25% of TB2.
However the max read/write speeds seem to be similar between the 2 on benchmarks so go for whichever you feel like they all seem to top out around 400MB/sec read/write.
You could get a TB2 PCIE enclosure something like a sonnet 2 and a PCIE ssd like the samsung SM951 but that will cost somewhere between $1000 and $1500 to put together for more than 1GB/sec read/write speeds doesn't seem worth it to me especially as it'll need power.
Or you may want to look at this....
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/11/20/sonnet-echo-15-thunderbolt-2-dock/
However the max read/write speeds seem to be similar between the 2 on benchmarks so go for whichever you feel like they all seem to top out around 400MB/sec read/write.
You could get a TB2 PCIE enclosure something like a sonnet 2 and a PCIE ssd like the samsung SM951 but that will cost somewhere between $1000 and $1500 to put together for more than 1GB/sec read/write speeds doesn't seem worth it to me especially as it'll need power.
Or you may want to look at this....
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/11/20/sonnet-echo-15-thunderbolt-2-dock/
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Thank you Samuelsan2001 for the reply. Yeah that sounds cool but I'd probably rather go with a prepackaged solution. Any recommendations there? In the past I've been strictly a G-DRIVE kind of guy (would buy them at the Apple retail stores), but I don't see any solution that they have. Any recommendations?
PS. This its the only external SSD I see on Apple's website: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/H...riceHL&f=flashdrive-ssd&fh=3783%2B45ec%2B464d
LaCie 1TB SSD Thunderbolt 2 Little Big Disk Hard Drive
LaCie 1TB SSD Thunderbolt 2 Little Big Disk Hard Drive
Does "best SSD money can buy" mean money is no object? Then here's one to consider. Not sure what the "normal" user would do with it, but there it is.
Or, better question: How much storage do you need, and what is your budget?
Or, better question: How much storage do you need, and what is your budget?
I have a related question.
I would like to run Windows 8 or 10 from an external SSD on an iMac 27" 2015. I am wondering if the following would be fast enough: SanDisk Extreme Pro 128Gb USB 3.0 Flash Drive. It advertises with speeds 'up to 260 MB/s'.
An alternative would be (indeed) the Lacie Rugged Thunderbolt SSD, which mentions speeds of up to 387 MB/s.
Thank you for your considerations.
I would like to run Windows 8 or 10 from an external SSD on an iMac 27" 2015. I am wondering if the following would be fast enough: SanDisk Extreme Pro 128Gb USB 3.0 Flash Drive. It advertises with speeds 'up to 260 MB/s'.
An alternative would be (indeed) the Lacie Rugged Thunderbolt SSD, which mentions speeds of up to 387 MB/s.
Thank you for your considerations.
DeltaMac, fair question. I guess I worded my question rather vaguely. I would say something around $1,000 for 1TB is not out of the question. I assumed SSD is the fastest option (I got that as a $1,000 upgrade in my early 2011 MBP and have never regretted it). I've been doing some research though, and see that G-Technology's SSD offerings currently are only up to 512 GB (with a 1 TB option coming out soon). However, their G-RAID with Thunderbolt 2 has even faster transfer speeds (even though they have mechanical drives and multiple drives). I'm thinking for the money it's faster, larger capacity, and cheaper. Any downside? Are SSD guaranteed to be more reliable than enterprise-grade mechanical drives, like those featured in the G-RAID?
This is the G-RAID I'm referring to: http://www.g-technology.com/products/g-raid-thunderbolt-2
I don't use one myself I'm afarid so no recommendations from me, I just don't need that sort of speed on my externals.
Buy any raid enclosure put in any drives you like. Nothing Electronic is guaranteed, any component may just fail at any time thats electronics for you. Are SSD's statistically more reliable??? then yes they are.
Raid setups with multiple drives can get to very fast speeds and if you get an enclosure you can just keep adding drives as you need them.
Buy any raid enclosure put in any drives you like. Nothing Electronic is guaranteed, any component may just fail at any time thats electronics for you. Are SSD's statistically more reliable??? then yes they are.
Raid setups with multiple drives can get to very fast speeds and if you get an enclosure you can just keep adding drives as you need them.
I'm planning to pick one of these up, as soon as funding allows. ;-)
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external_drives/OWC-Envoy-Pro
Tim
Even if you say that you could spend 1000$ for a external SSD solution, I would recommend a 1TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD with a UASP capable USB3 enclousure (Inateck) for 370$ all together! That is really the bang for your buck, and you won't find a expensive Thunderbot SSD that is faster. USB3 vs. Thunderbolt doesn't make a speed difference for the SSDs you can actually buy. In fact there are even thunderbolt drives that are slower than USB3 ones, because they have low Quality internal controllers.
If you want external SSD RAIDs to have the ultimate Speed - thunderbolt is the way to go.
If you want external SSD RAIDs to have the ultimate Speed - thunderbolt is the way to go.
Why not just get a Samsung T1? You'll get similar transfer rates.
Hey.
When you're buying external harddrives you need to be aware of the harddrive inside. I'm using all kind of different external drives, and the one that I really like is http://www.lacie.com/gb/en/products/mobile-storage/rugged-raid/
because the harddrives inside runs high enough to get a good transfer speed out of the thunderbolt. It is also possible to go with usb 3.0 and external power.
You can get a lot of externals with thunderbolt, but they mostly use 5200 rpm drives, so the thunderbolt gets unnecessary.
When you're buying external harddrives you need to be aware of the harddrive inside. I'm using all kind of different external drives, and the one that I really like is http://www.lacie.com/gb/en/products/mobile-storage/rugged-raid/
because the harddrives inside runs high enough to get a good transfer speed out of the thunderbolt. It is also possible to go with usb 3.0 and external power.
You can get a lot of externals with thunderbolt, but they mostly use 5200 rpm drives, so the thunderbolt gets unnecessary.
oh sorry didn't read the SSD part.
Just remember to be sure about the computer power and transfer speed. I would still go with the lacie I linked. But if it is SSD go with http://www.lacie.com/gb/en/products/thunderbolt/rugged-thunderbolt/#specs
My problem with these ready to use SSDs is, that you never know what's inside.
LaCie could always swap the SSD manufacturer inside.
And on top of that, you don't know wich chipset they use - and the chipset is the major part of a enclousure when it comes to transfer speeds. There are thunderbolt drives available, that have even slower Transfer rates than USB3, because of low quality chipsets.
3rd argument against ready to go SSDs is the warranty.
Samsung gives you a 5 year warranty on their EVO SSDs, and 10 years on their PRO SSDs.
So I would always build my own external SSD with reliable components.
And that isn't really complicated, you don't even need a screwdriver with the enclousure I recommended.
LaCie could always swap the SSD manufacturer inside.
And on top of that, you don't know wich chipset they use - and the chipset is the major part of a enclousure when it comes to transfer speeds. There are thunderbolt drives available, that have even slower Transfer rates than USB3, because of low quality chipsets.
3rd argument against ready to go SSDs is the warranty.
Samsung gives you a 5 year warranty on their EVO SSDs, and 10 years on their PRO SSDs.
So I would always build my own external SSD with reliable components.
And that isn't really complicated, you don't even need a screwdriver with the enclousure I recommended.
Agreed with all of the first point, and not at all picking nits from a current 1st-Gen Rugged Drive owner. Now that LaCie is owned by Seagate, they'll be sticking with at least Seagate-branded drives. A SanDisk drive in my old Rugged.
OP, I own a few external SSD drives with both TB and USB 3 SS interfaces, and I prefer TB despite the additional cost. I don't own any TB2-based enclosures, and have been looking forward to the updated USB 3.1/TB3 devices/enclosures for some means of future-proofing. I, too, looked at that Sonnet box - two years ago - but, now that it's out and I have a standalone Samsung BR disc burner I have no need or interest in the Sonnet generally since I don't want another disk burner. I have wanted a 2-drive RAID diskless enclosure with TB2 or 3 and/or USB 3.1, and now I've got my eye on a few relatively products that might suit you too.
USB 3.1 (backward to 3 SS) - http://www.akitio.com/desktop-storage/nt2-u31
TB2:
Compare this to the Sonnet, but with no burner - http://www.akitio.com/desktop-storage/thunder2-duo-pro - this is the box I'm leaning to buying and putting two 512GB or 1TB 850 EVO or PRO SSDs in.
Not diskless but TB 2 and speedy M2, and not cheap: http://www.akitio.com/portable-storage/thunder2-storage-av
The way Akitio is pushing forward with disk-in and diskless options, they might get more of my coin spent on storage in the future.
USB 3.1 (backward to 3 SS) - http://www.akitio.com/desktop-storage/nt2-u31
TB2:
Compare this to the Sonnet, but with no burner - http://www.akitio.com/desktop-storage/thunder2-duo-pro - this is the box I'm leaning to buying and putting two 512GB or 1TB 850 EVO or PRO SSDs in.
Not diskless but TB 2 and speedy M2, and not cheap: http://www.akitio.com/portable-storage/thunder2-storage-av
The way Akitio is pushing forward with disk-in and diskless options, they might get more of my coin spent on storage in the future.