Is T5 better than T7 for external drive to boot from for iMac?

[levmc]

Apparently T7 has overheating problem:

https://www.amazon.com/product-revi...r&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar

Avoid Samsung SSD T7. My experience is similar to the experiences others have had with this product. Specifically, SSD causes computers to over heat. The SSD also gets extremely hot! The issue does not correlate to i/o or computational load. The issue occurs the moment the SSD is attached to the computer. Interestingly, the Samsung T5 does not have these problems. It is my conjecture that the T7 is simply an overclocked T5. If my suspicions are true Samsung is engaging in very shady business practices. Please do your self a huge favor and avoid the T7 as it will ruin your hardware.

this SSD overheats, it causes the CPU usage to go insane, it constantly disconnects for no reason.

I called Samsung support, the guy had no clue how to troubleshoot the issue.

I ordered a replacement on Amazon, spent another day with the replacement, exact same issue.

My Ravpower SSD And the T5 run perfectly with no disconnects and normal cpu usage.

 

[Boyd01]

I have two 2tb T7's, one is always connected to my 2018 Mini by USB-C and the other is only connected briefly for backups with Carbon Copy Cloner. It's true that the T7 gets warm when there is a lot of file access, such as the cloning operation, but this has never caused a problem for me. The one that is always connected doesn't get especially warm unless there's a lot of file activity. They are very fast when used over USB-C, this is what I get.

I don't use these as boot drives, but have never seen any problems in the 10 months I've owned them. Very pleased with mine. I also have three of the older Samsung T3 SSD's and used one of them as a boot drive for my 2012 Mini for several years with no problems. They don't get as warm as the T7's but are only about half the speed, which I suspect is similar to the T5.

Perhaps the overheating is caused by a lot of disk swapping on a computer with insufficient memory when used as a boot drive? OTOH, if I paid attention to the reviews on Amazon, I probably would never buy anything. ?

 

[mick2]

I'll echo @Boyd01 comments above. I have both a T5 and a T7; the T7 does get warmer in use than the T5, but this is expected as it's an NVME drive rather than SATA. And to be clear, it's warm, not hot. I've never had any disconnects or throttling issues using the T7 as an external data storage drive.

The Amazon review above quoted in the OP is rather hyperbolic ("Specifically, SSD causes computers to over heat." "avoid the T7 as it will ruin your hardware") and also plain wrong ("It is my conjecture that the T7 is simply an overclocked T5. If my suspicions are true Samsung is engaging in very shady business practices."). OP these are usually signs to treat that review with more than a little pinch of salt.

If you're looking for an NVME speed external SSD and the T7 fits your needs you'll be fine with it.

 

[Boyd01]

@levmc - you didn't say what iMac you have. Does it have USB-C ports? The T7 also includes a USB-A cable for older computers, but I doubt that it would be any faster than a T5 if your iMac doesn't have USB-C ports.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Also be aware that you can "build your own" USB3.1 gen2 drive.
You'll need an "nvme" blade SSD of your choice...
and
A USB3.1 gen2 enclosure of your choice.

Just put the drive in the enclosure and use disk utility to erase/format it.

I've noticed that the USB3.1 gen2 enclosures "run warmer" than do standard 2.5" SATA-based SSDs.
But... they're considerably faster.
It looks to be "a trade-off" for now.

 

[Premal212]

OP:

Also be aware that you can "build your own" USB3.1 gen2 drive.
You'll need an "nvme" blade SSD of your choice...
and
A USB3.1 gen2 enclosure of your choice.

Just put the drive in the enclosure and use disk utility to erase/format it.

I've noticed that the USB3.1 gen2 enclosures "run warmer" than do standard 2.5" SATA-based SSDs.
But... they're considerably faster.
It looks to be "a trade-off" for now.

Would you recommend spending the extra cash and going for a Thunderbolt Enclosure instead? I'm thinking of purchasing one to edit 4K videos off on Premier Pro...

 

[levmc]

@levmc - you didn't say what iMac you have. Does it have USB-C ports? The T7 also includes a USB-A cable for older computers, but I doubt that it would be any faster than a T5 if your iMac doesn't have USB-C ports.

I have 2017 27'' iMac.

 

[Fishrrman]

Prema wrote:
"Would you recommend spending the extra cash and going for a Thunderbolt Enclosure instead? I'm thinking of purchasing one to edit 4K videos off on Premier Pro..."

Only if you can find one for a good price.
I don't think they're worth the money (at least right now).
But then, I'm not the one doing the editing.

Does Premier Pro offer you the option to "create proxy media" when importing 4k video files?

 

[Clix Pix]

I have T5s, T7s and also X5s and have never had any issues with any of them overheating or getting hot at all. The T7s and the X5s do get warmer than the T5s, but that is not unexpected, and they are certainly not hot enough to cause any damage to the computer or to my hand or fingers if I touch one while it is working.

As for that Amazon review..... Consider the source. How reliable is it? The style in which it is written suggests that the writer is not necessarily a reliable source.

 

[Premal212]

Prema wrote:
"Would you recommend spending the extra cash and going for a Thunderbolt Enclosure instead? I'm thinking of purchasing one to edit 4K videos off on Premier Pro..."

Only if you can find one for a good price.
I don't think they're worth the money (at least right now).
But then, I'm not the one doing the editing.

Does Premier Pro offer you the option to "create proxy media" when importing 4k video files?

It does, but I've never used them before, my MBP SSD is blazing fast, decent cpu and 32gb ram.

I may just run with a T5 then, they're around £100 on Amazon right now, can't argue with that price for a 1TB SSD

 

[Blowback]

Apparently T7 has overheating problem:

https://www.amazon.com/product-revi...r&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar

I have one Samsung Pro and 2 T5s...no issues; when I was looking for another external SSD I wanted to stay with Samsung but nixed the T7 as I read similar comments on different sites.

 

[levmc]

I have one Samsung Pro and 2 T5s...no issues; when I was looking for another external SSD I wanted to stay with Samsung but nixed the T7 as I read similar comments on different sites.

So what did you buy instead of T7?

 

[Blowback]

So what did you buy instead of T7?

I purchased a 500gb and 1tb 860 Evo. Got them on a sale; no problems with either. Both are Samsung SSDs.

 

[levmc]

I have T5s, T7s and also X5s and have never had any issues with any of them overheating or getting hot at all. The T7s and the X5s do get warmer than the T5s, but that is not unexpected, and they are certainly not hot enough to cause any damage to the computer or to my hand or fingers if I touch one while it is working.

As for that Amazon review..... Consider the source. How reliable is it? The style in which it is written suggests that the writer is not necessarily a reliable source.

Have you used both T5 and T7 for running the OS? I was wondering if there was any noticeable difference in speed.

 

[levmc]

I purchased a 500gb and 1tb 860 Evo. Got them on a sale; no problems with either. Both are Samsung SSDs.

What did you buy it for? Was it not for booting the OS?

 

[Fishrrman]

The difference between t5 and t7 is that t7 will be faster.
The t7 may run somewhat "warmer", as do USB3.1 gen2 drives.

 

[Blowback]

What did you buy it for? Was it not for booting the OS?

Bought the first Samsung Pro as a replacement for the internal HD on a 2011 MBPro...many years ago (that 500 GB was 500$$$!). A few years ago bought a T5 to boot into windows using Bootcamp on my 2017 MBPro. Bought another for Bootable backup of the MBPro internal using CCC. Bought 1TB because it was on sale and use it for general storage. Think I own 6 or 7 Samsungs in all....

 

[Poncho]

I boot off a Samsung X5. Have been doing it for over a year and have a T5 permanently attached for daily Carbon Copy Cloner backups. No problems so far. Also boot from the T5 occasionally and (subjectively) do not notice much difference between T5 and X5!