Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

helplol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 12, 2018
6
1
Hi!

I have a 2016 MacBook Pro with touch bar but with limited storage options I'm looking to buy an external form of storage (or an internal one I can buy an enclosure for) for gaming. Only problem is, I'm not very knowledgeable about ANYTHING to do with hard drives or ssd's or anything like that, and I don't want to break the bank...

can anyone tell me any affordable ssd's or hdd's or any other form of storage that I can use to play games on my Mac, preferably one that uses a thunderbolt port and isn't too expensive?
 

Howard2k

macrumors 603
Mar 10, 2016
5,678
5,593
"uses thunderbolt" and "isn't expensive". Those two don't go together too well. :)

I don't think drive seek times affect gaming anywhere near as much as CPU, video, network etc. I have a spinning platter in my PS4. So likely any USB3 HDD will work, but you could consider USB attached SSD.

Any specific games?
 

helplol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 12, 2018
6
1
"uses thunderbolt" and "isn't expensive". Those two don't go together too well. :)

I don't think drive seek times affect gaming anywhere near as much as CPU, video, network etc. I have a spinning platter in my PS4. So likely any USB3 HDD will work, but you could consider USB attached SSD.

Any specific games?

Yeah I figured hahaha, thats why I had to turn to forums :( Again not knowing much about storage tech I couldn't quite understand the jargon I was seeing so I just thought I should ask more knowledgable people. I guess thunderbolt isn't a must, but because I've only got thunderbolt ports on my Mac I didn't want to get a USB port because the adaptor I have might ruin the quality a little, so I figured a direct connection might be better.

Off the top of your head, if you were in my position, what drives would you consider? Storage doesn't have to be too large, 1tb or under will do. The games I want to run are nothing serious, a couple of examples would be FIFA or GTA

I have considered using an internal drive with an enclosure, any ideas how that might work out? Sorry for all of these questions by the way
 

Howard2k

macrumors 603
Mar 10, 2016
5,678
5,593
Yeah that's exactly what I would do. Buy an external drive with an enclosure.

Do you have a backup drive already? You could consider getting a larger HDD and splitting it into two, one partition for Time Machine and one partition for game.s That's what I'd do.

Would I get SSD? Likely not, but I wouldn't rule it out.

You'll likely get better performance from a powered 3.5" external drive than a USB powered 2.5" drive, but either will work. 2.5" drives that are USB powered are far more convenient.

Or go with SSD. Just be aware that SSD drives will not store data perpetually. If you don't plug them in now and then they can lose their data. It's a little different to an HDD. It might take a year or two, but SSD is not good for archival (ie, long term backup). Again, if it's plugged in regularly, non-issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: helplol

helplol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 12, 2018
6
1
Samsung T3 works great for this purpose. I keep my Steam Library on it.
I saw those as well, specifically the T5, but the prices were a little steep so I was keeping it aside as an option but looking out for others that might also work. If I can't find anything, I guess I might have to go with the T5
[doublepost=1536816954][/doublepost]Here's a few of the ones I've been looking at, which option would you guys recommend out of these ones?

Option 1:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LaCie-STEV2000400-Thunderbolt-Portable-Resistant/dp/B01GHCUAKO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536816652&sr=8-1&keywords=lace+thunderbolt&th=1

I don't think that one is suitable for gaming though, but I can't tell :oops:

Option 2:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Fi...=UTF8&qid=1536816733&sr=8-3&keywords=firecuda

I would probably use this in an enclosure, but again idk if it will be good for external gaming use

Option 3:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-Passport-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B01LQQH8E2?th=1&psc=1

I would probably have to get an adapter but I don't mind

Option 4:

I just take it and buy the Samsung T5, which isn't really ideal because of the cost, but if theres no other option

I'm open to any other suggestions as well!
 
Last edited:

iMacDragon

macrumors 68020
Oct 18, 2008
2,398
733
UK
The 1tb rugged will be annoyingly slow loading games etc because it's not an SSD, but it would be 'usable', but the thunderbolt would be useless as a) it's thunderbolt 2, so would not work as in on 2016 model, and b), there'd be negligeable speed gains over usb anyway as it's mechanical drive, so it won't even get close to saturing a usb 3 connection.

Thunderbolt for storage is only really worth it if going SSD, where it can potentially go much faster than a usb drive could. but any such drives are very expensive, and honestly, probably not worth it for your use cases.

Any 3.5" drive is generally speaking not good, as you would need a powered external case, so would need two adapter points and extra cabling.

For best speed something like the t5 or sandisk equivalent really is probably the best bet, they're only USB, but they'll still be way way faster than any mechanical drive.

But if on a budget, and can put up with loading times of a mechanical drive, something like the 2tb my passport portable is probably an 'acceptable' solution.
 
  • Like
Reactions: helplol

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,437
9,302
I saw those as well, specifically the T5, but the prices were a little steep so I was keeping it aside as an option but looking out for others that might also work. If I can't find anything, I guess I might have to go with the T5.
The T5 is awesome. I have one on my Mac Mini. The 500GB size was recently on sale for $120. Keep your eyes open.
 

Painter2002

macrumors 65816
May 9, 2017
1,197
943
Austin, TX
I saw those as well, specifically the T5, but the prices were a little steep so I was keeping it aside as an option but looking out for others that might also work. If I can't find anything, I guess I might have to go with the T5
[doublepost=1536816954][/doublepost]Here's a few of the ones I've been looking at, which option would you guys recommend out of these ones?

Option 1:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LaCie-STEV2000400-Thunderbolt-Portable-Resistant/dp/B01GHCUAKO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536816652&sr=8-1&keywords=lace+thunderbolt&th=1

I don't think that one is suitable for gaming though, but I can't tell :oops:

Option 2:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Fi...=UTF8&qid=1536816733&sr=8-3&keywords=firecuda

I would probably use this in an enclosure, but again idk if it will be good for external gaming use

Option 3:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-Passport-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B01LQQH8E2?th=1&psc=1

I would probably have to get an adapter but I don't mind

Option 4:

I just take it and buy the Samsung T5, which isn't really ideal because of the cost, but if theres no other option

I'm open to any other suggestions as well!
I personally would go with option 4. Unfortunately like others have said, "cheap" and "thunderbolt/fast" drives don't go together. When you are looking at speeds and storage size options the T5 is the probably one of the best deals. I have a 500GB T5 that I got on sale on Amazon for $125.

The alternative is to buy an enclosure and throw in a fast SSD, but the combined cost of the external storage drive and a good USB-C enclosure will end up costing you more than the same size specced T5, and likely will have slower load speeds.
 
  • Like
Reactions: helplol

helplol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 12, 2018
6
1
Thank you all for your replies! I've just decided to take the most popular advice and buy the T5 rather than risk it with other drives that aren't much cheaper anyways.

If anything I'll buy an adaptor thunderbolt cable to use with the drive so I can get a direct connection to my mac.

Thank you guys so much for your replies once again! Much appreciated!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Painter2002

iMacDragon

macrumors 68020
Oct 18, 2008
2,398
733
UK
Thank you all for your replies! I've just decided to take the most popular advice and buy the T5 rather than risk it with other drives that aren't much cheaper anyways.

If anything I'll buy an adaptor thunderbolt cable to use with the drive so I can get a direct connection to my mac.

Thank you guys so much for your replies once again! Much appreciated!

The t5 is not a thunderbolt drive, so no adapters or anything would be of use.

It IS a very fast usb C drive, though. And comes with both A-C and C-C cables, so will natively plug in.
 

IngerMan

macrumors 68020
Feb 21, 2011
2,016
905
Michigan
I just got an email from B&H on deals and could not resist purchasing the T5 500GB for $99 delivered.

update: of course I then just checked Amazon and it is $99 as well, I have to pay taxes at Amazon though.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.