External SSDs - how practical are they in reality?

[gusping]

Hi all,

This is a silly question, but I am keen to hear some real world views.
How well do external SSD enclosures work?

I'm thinking of getting a 40gbps one (tops out at 3,500mpbs speed) and chucking a 2TB nvme in.
Is it ok to just leave it plugged into the back on my M4 mini 24/7? Do you run into any issues waking up from/putting the Mac to sleep and the drive not waking up/sleeping, for example?

Thanks!

 

[chrono1081]

VERY. I have a ton of sound samples on mine for music software and they load pretty much instantly. No issues with anything.

 

[gusping]

VERY. I have a ton of sound samples on mine for music software and they load pretty much instantly. No issues with anything.

Awesome, thanks for the prompt response. No issues with pop-ups saying 'drive X not safely ejected'? I recall reading that but perhaps that was referring to old Macs/Mac OS.

 

[chrono1081]

Awesome, thanks for the prompt response. No issues with pop-ups saying 'drive X not safely ejected'? I recall reading that but perhaps that was referring to old Macs/Mac OS.

That's only if you don't hit eject. It's just a warning but as long as you're not actively writing data it doesn't actually do anything if you forget to eject properly.

 

[gusping]

That's only if you don't hit eject. It's just a warning but as long as you're not actively writing data it doesn't actually do anything if you forget to eject properly.

But I don't need to do that before I put my Mac to sleep every time do I? (if it has an external SSD connected)

 

[ser968]

No issues for me at all on my Mini M4. The SSD essentially stores all of my data with the core OS on the internal drive. Never once have I had an issue with the drive not showing up. For all intents and purposes, I don't even know that it is an external drive.

 

[Time89]

I used this video and move my home folder to external Enclosure

 

[chrono1081]

But I don't need to do that before I put my Mac to sleep every time do I? (if it has an external SSD connected)

Nope. I just leave mine plugged in. It goes to sleep just fine.

 

[Weaselboy]

How well do external SSD enclosures work?

Quite well. My daughter had an older iMac where the internal drive died. I set her up with a USB3 external SSD and installed the OS to the SSD then copied her data over. She used it for about two years like that until we replaced the iMac, and never had one problem.

 

[bzgnyc2]

Hi all,

This is a silly question, but I am keen to hear some real world views.
How well do external SSD enclosures work?

Very well in my experience.

I'm thinking of getting a 40gbps one (tops out at 3,500mpbs speed) and chucking a 2TB nvme in.
Is it ok to just leave it plugged into the back on my M4 mini 24/7? Do you run into any issues waking up from/putting the Mac to sleep and the drive not waking up/sleeping, for example?

You shouldn't have any such problems as long as you are using a good enclosure with a quality ThunderBolt cable. I leave mine plugged in 24x7.

Biggest risk is from physical jarring of the unit or a loose plug that makes the setup sensitive to becoming disconnected from a mild bump. If you plug it into the back of the Mac (which you'll want to do on the Mac Mini since the front are only USB3), you'll want to be careful plugging and unplugging a lot of stuff all the time back there. You can still do it but depending on the tightness of the plug/etc it will be easy to knock the plug enough to cause a disconnect.

If your setup allows you to leave the back alone and generally use the front ports for ad-hoc USB devices you should be fine.

Also make sure you have adaquate air flow and cooling around the enclosure. These little SSD can warm up pretty quickly and then if they do there can be thermal throttling/disconnects. More efficient SSD in good enclosures with proper cooling (quiet fans, good passive cooling, etc) should alleviate this risk.

 

[boswald]

That's only if you don't hit eject. It's just a warning but as long as you're not actively writing data it doesn't actually do anything if you forget to eject properly.

Huh... I never knew that either. Good to know that it's just a warning, even though I hit Eject anyway.

 

[gusping]

Very well in my experience.



You shouldn't have any such problems as long as you are using a good enclosure with a quality ThunderBolt cable. I leave mine plugged in 24x7.

Biggest risk is from physical jarring of the unit or a loose plug that makes the setup sensitive to becoming disconnected from a mild bump. If you plug it into the back of the Mac (which you'll want to do on the Mac Mini since the front are only USB3), you'll want to be careful plugging and unplugging a lot of stuff all the time back there. You can still do it but depending on the tightness of the plug/etc it will be easy to knock the plug enough to cause a disconnect.

If your setup allows you to leave the back alone and generally use the front ports for ad-hoc USB devices you should be fine.

Also make sure you have adaquate air flow and cooling around the enclosure. These little SSD can warm up pretty quickly and then if they do there can be thermal throttling/disconnects. More efficient SSD in good enclosures with proper cooling (quiet fans, good passive cooling, etc) should alleviate this risk.

Thanks all. Super helpful and reassuring responses.

Yes, it does seem that not all enclosures are equal, so worth spending a bit more to get something good quality. From a quick bit of research the OWC Express 1M2 seems good, but I need to do some deeper digging. I rarely plug/unplug cables at the back of my Mac so that shouldn't be a problem.