Does SSD size affect speed in the Pro/Max MBP's?

[theorist9]

In prior MBP models, the larger SSD's were sometimes faster. For instance, in the 2014 MBP, the 128 GB – 512 GB SSD's were slower than the 1 TB SSD, because the former used PCIe 2.0 × 2 (8 Gbit/s), while the latter used PCIe 2.0 × 4 (16 Gbit/s).

I'm thus wondering if there are notable speed bumps in going to larger SSD sizes in the new AS MBP's and, if so, where they are (and what underlies them, e.g., difference in number of lanes, etc.).

EDIT:

I found this thread:

MBP 2021 - SSD Speed Comparison - Please Contribute!

From some of the YouTube reviews, it looks like there are SSD chip configuration differences between the 14" and 16" models and significant speed differences across SSD sizes. Can I please get everyone's help to run Blackmagic speed tests - only takes 2 minutes. Please use 5GB stress file size...

forums.macrumors.com

Looks like write speed increases for every increment between 512 GB and 4 TB, but that 4 TB and 8 TB are about the same. With read speed the trend is not as clear. No one has provided an explanation yet.

 

[OSX15]

There is already a substantial speed increase from going 512GB -> 1TB, but more importantly, larger disk sizes wil
have better longevity, since they have a higher TBW rating. All information I’ve seen thus far leads me to believe that the sweet spot is 2TB for speed and longevity. I myself chose 1TB.

 

[newellj]

I can't cite a specific source, but I'm pretty sure I've seen data that shows an increase going from 512GB to 1TB. Whether there's a further bump from 1TB to 2TB, I don't know. The smallest iPhone 13 Pro, 256GB, is noticeably slower than the 512GB version, IIRC.

 

[jdb8167]

I can't cite a specific source, but I'm pretty sure I've seen data that shows an increase going from 512GB to 1TB. Whether there's a further bump from 1TB to 2TB, I don't know. The smallest iPhone 13 Pro, 256GB, is noticeably slower than the 512GB version, IIRC.

I’ve seen video and images of M1 Pro and Max MacBook Pros with the bottom cover removed that show empty pads for the SSD on 512 GB and 1 TB models. That would imply that more than 1 TB is needed to get a fully populated motherboard. Given the way that SSDs work, I would assume that having double the SSD chips would improve performance.

It should be easy enough to test.

 

[Ploki]

The speed tests i've seen from 1 to 2TB never hit the 7.4GB/s of the 8TB apple tested drive, so i guess the 5300mb/s to 7400mb/s bump comes from going to 8TB drive.

 

[MK500]

Quick test on 14" Max with 1TB:

 

[jdb8167]

Quick test on 14" Max with 1TB:
View attachment 1904296

Need more from those with 2, 4, and 8 TB now.

 

[hstanyan]

Some relevant benchmark data in another thread:

M1 Pro SSD speeds

Thanks for doing the testing! There's something wrong with these results, especially for Random. It looks like AmorphousDiskMark isn't measuring them properly. For comparison, here's my results on a 2015 MPB 15" upgraded in 2018 with an Adata SX8200 1TB (non-Pro). My mac's been running for a...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[jdb8167]

Some relevant benchmark data in another thread:

M1 Pro SSD speeds

Thanks for doing the testing! There's something wrong with these results, especially for Random. It looks like AmorphousDiskMark isn't measuring them properly. For comparison, here's my results on a 2015 MPB 15" upgraded in 2018 with an Adata SX8200 1TB (non-Pro). My mac's been running for a...

forums.macrumors.com

Nothing above 1 TB in that thread unfortunately.

 

[theorist9]

I found this thread:

MBP 2021 - SSD Speed Comparison - Please Contribute!

From some of the YouTube reviews, it looks like there are SSD chip configuration differences between the 14" and 16" models and significant speed differences across SSD sizes. Can I please get everyone's help to run Blackmagic speed tests - only takes 2 minutes. Please use 5GB stress file size...

forums.macrumors.com

Looks like write speed increases for every increment between 512 GB and 4 TB, but that 4 TB and 8 TB are about the same. With read speed the trend is not as clear. No one has provided an explanation yet. [Also added this info. to the top post.]

 

[Stratus Fear]

Need more from those with 2, 4, and 8 TB now.

I got ~6300 write ~5400 read on my 2TB, although didn’t screenshot it.

 

[jdb8167]

Looks like speed increases for every increment between 512 GB and 4 TB (no one's posted an 8 TB result).

The latest post shows 8 TB and it is consistent, an increase in performance at every SSD size increase.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...rison-please-contribute.2320899/post-30580273

 

[theorist9]

The latest post shows 8 TB and it is consistent, an increase in performance at every SSD size increase.

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...rison-please-contribute.2320899/post-30580273

Ah, thanks, I missed that last posting. I'll edit my posts. Though if you compare the 8 TB result with the 4 TB results, they look about the same. So I'd say we're seeing boosts for writes in every increment up to 4 TB (and that with reads the trend remains unclear).