Going back to Mac, need external disk for data

[danny_w]

Hi all,
My first Mac was the first generation Mini years ago, and I went through a succession of Apple products since then. However when I was working for Dell I grew tired of the direction Apple was going at the time and I switched to a Windows 10 tower; upgrading to Windows 11 turned out to be a big mistake and I just ordered the latest Mac Mini base model. Since I have been away from Apple for a while it seems that the only internal storage offered now is relatively low-capacity SSD, which is OK for the OS but nowhere near big enough for data (my iTunes library alone is over 2TB). I have since been researching external disks and have not found anything truly appealing. Apparently, LaCie (my first choice) is now owned by Seagate and their quality has suffered. Since I still have some 3.5" drives from earlier, I am now looking at empty JBOD or RAID boxes for them and have narrowed it down to the OWC Mercury Elite Pro 4-bay, TERRAMASTER D4-300/D5-300/D5-300C, or the Yottamaster 5-bay USB 3.1 box. I have concerns about all of them for various reasons so I am looking for your help. From what I have been able to find on the 'net the TERRAMASTER is the one to get but I have never heard of them, and the cheap plastic drive trays give me pause, the Yottamaster is so cheap that it worries me, and I have had problems with OWC in the past. Does anybody here have experience with any of these and can make a recommendation?

 

[Fishrrman]

"I just ordered the latest Mac Mini base model."

If you're still able, CANCEL this order immediately.

DO NOT buy ANY m-series Mac UNLESS it has 16gb of RAM.
8gb is no longer "enough" for applications that "want RAM".
Consider yourself as having been "duly warned" by reading this post.

Also, with the m2 Mini, you'll want a 512gb SSD instead of the base model 256gb.
REASON WHY:
The 512gb is 2x as fast due to the chip arrangements.
(the 256gb isn't overly "slow", but again, the 512gb is 2x faster)

A better buy would be the m2PRO Mini with a 1tb SSD.
It comes standard with 16gb RAM, and again, the 1tb SSD is 2x as fast as the standard 512gb SSD.
If the price is too high for a "new" one, consider buying from Apple's online refurbished page. "Just like new" and comes with the same 1-year warranty. I've done that, very satisfied.

For an external drive:
If your needs aren't "huge" (up to 1-2tb), I'd suggest a USB3.1 gen2 SSD such as the Samsung t7 "shield".

High capacity "boxes"... can't help.

 

[mmkerc]

Like you I was a big LaCie fan, and still have 10tb over four units (12-16yrs old) and have been looking to update/replace. As mention the Samsung T7 are very inexpensive and come in 1 and 2TB models. Western Digital also makes some good drives , as well as RAID solutions.

 

[danny_w]

Thanks for the replies. I will be doing only light work with this Mini (main use it to house iTunes library) so I expect that 8GB memory should be fine based on my research (and even Apple recommends 8GB for most users) but external storage needs to be AT LEAST 3TB plus a backup, hence my consideration of 4-5 bay boxes. SSD would of course be nice but not practical for my use. I already have some 3-4 TB disks lying around. RAID also would be nice but not needed.

 

[danny_w]

Does anyone here had direct experience with the OWC Mercury Elite Pro 4-bay, TERRAMASTER D4-300/D5-300/D5-300C, or the Yottamaster 5-bay USB 3.1 box? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mcnallym]

Bear in mind that the 256Gb SSD in an M2 is still 1500Mbps so not exactly slow, especially if going to be working with 3.5" HDD.

Having said that I would go with the 512Gb anyway just from a space perspective.

I have a Terramaster T6-423 NAS which is the same Enclosure as used by there D6-320 JBOD enclosure. Trays work fine and enclosure is quiet. Would suggest that over there older enclosures.

Also has a 10Gbps USB-C interface as well compared with the 5Gbps USB-C on the D4/D5 products.
Also advertised as supporting Deep Sleep with computers so likely to work better with the mac sleeping and awakening.

A newer more modern enclosure then the other Terramaster enclosures looking at.

 

[bradman83]

Something to be mindful of when shopping for USB peripherals on M1/M2 Macs is that Apple's in-house USB controllers don't support all forms of 10 Gbps connection - specifically dual lane connections that rely on two 5 Gbps connections. I have a 1 TB SanDisk Extreme SSD that connects to an Intel Mac at 10 Gbps but only connects to an M1 Pro Mac at 5 Gbps and is notably slower because of it.

If you're going to be looking at multi-bay boxes then I would just splurge on one with full on Thunderbolt support and not fuss over whether the 10 Gbps USB is compatible with the M-series USB controller or not.

 

[danny_w]

Something to be mindful of when shopping for USB peripherals on M1/M2 Macs is that Apple's in-house USB controllers don't support all forms of 10 Gbps connection - specifically dual lane connections that rely on two 5 Gbps connections. I have a 1 TB SanDisk Extreme SSD that connects to an Intel Mac at 10 Gbps but only connects to an M1 Pro Mac at 5 Gbps and is notably slower because of it.

If you're going to be looking at multi-bay boxes then I would just splurge on one with full on Thunderbolt support and not fuss over whether the 10 Gbps USB is compatible with the M-series USB controller or not.

That’s a good point but even 5gbs is still faster than any spinning disk isn’t it?

 

[danny_w]

I think I have finally decided on a Terramaster D5-300C 2+3 disc enclosure (hardware RAID on the first 2 slots) and a Qwiizlab hub/disk enclosure that fits under the Mac Mini (with spaces for an M.2 ssd and a 2.5” hdd/ssd). I will use my current 3TB disks in RAID0 for the external data disk (slots 1&2), a current 4TB disk for clone backup until my data grows too big, and an existing ssd in the hub enclosure to clone the internal OS ssd. Any thoughts before I place the order?

 

[danny_w]

Disk enclosure and hub arrived today so I have been rearranging my office for the new layout. I haven’t yet installed the disks but the enclosure looks to be nicely made. The hub that fits under the Mac mini is lighter than I expected but it should be fine with the mini on top of it. The mini should be here Tuesday.

 

[mmkerc]

Good luck with everything. I think you will enjoy the power of the Mini. I upgraded from a 2013 "trash can" Mac Pro that was deck out with the M1 16GB Mini in late 2020 and was surprised at the power of it. Biggest issue I had was not enough ports so I ended up getting both the OWC and Belkin Thunderbolt 3 hubs.

 

[danny_w]

Good luck with everything. I think you will enjoy the power of the Mini. I upgraded from a 2013 "trash can" Mac Pro that was deck out with the M1 16GB Mini in late 2020 and was surprised at the power of it. Biggest issue I had was not enough ports so I ended up getting both the OWC and Belkin Thunderbolt 3 hubs.

Thanks I’m looking forward to it! I only grudgingly left Apple for Windows mostly because I was frustrated at the direction at time and the fact that I was working for a Windows shop (Dell). Windows 10 surprised me and actually wasn’t too bad, but the upgrade to Windows 11 has not gone well - it seems like a huge step backwards (could be my hardware is not up to the task). Looking forward to getting back to Apple. I don’t use a computer heavily but when I do I want it to just work. Flipping videos for my wife is a good example; I have been using photoshop elements premier and it works but is a major pain, but I found out recently it can be done very much more simply even on an iPhone using Apple Photos. Now I don’t have to dread this simple task.

 

[danny_w]

Received everything now and spending a lot of time setting things up the way I want. Used hardware RAID 0 on the first 2 slots and using the 3rd slot for Time Machine backups. I managed to get my iTunes files moved over to Music and TV, and my photos from Photoshop Express to Photos but not yet organized. It took me a while to figure out how Music and TV replaced iTunes but finally have it worked out I think; I was expecting my local library to appear in the Music and TV apps on my AppleTV 4K but they only showed under the Computer app (another of Apple’s famous GUI inconsistencies I guess).