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I'll let someone else provide the more conclusive an technical answer to your question, but I had no issue with using an external 10Gbps USB 3.1 drive to store my 1TB collection of RAW photos that I was also editing on the SSD. If you're just needing to store and access ordinary files, anything USB 3.1 or above ought to be plenty. If you're doing video editing off of it, you might need to upgrade to a USB 3.2 (20Gbps) spec drive.
The question of whether to have built in storage or external storage is your preference. Your external options are fast enough now that you're not likely to experience any noticeable difference.
The question of whether to have built in storage or external storage is your preference. Your external options are fast enough now that you're not likely to experience any noticeable difference.
The SSD in my M1 MBA has around 3000MBps read/write. That is faster then what you can achieve with TB3 external ones but whether it not you really need that I do not know.
I use a SanDisk Extreme 2 TB USB 3.1 Gen 2 on my iMac to host my 75k photos with no issues, for now that is more than fast enough for my needs, and that is around 900MBps r/w
I use a SanDisk Extreme 2 TB USB 3.1 Gen 2 on my iMac to host my 75k photos with no issues, for now that is more than fast enough for my needs, and that is around 900MBps r/w
Take a look at the thread below, it should apply to the mini too
M1 MBA owners with 8Gb... any regrets not getting 16?
M1 MBA owners with 8Gb... any regrets not getting 16?
As the saying goes, it's not possible to be too rich, be too good looking, or have too much RAM.
That said, if you need to keep your costs minimized, the 8GB test drive I had made me a true believer in 8GB being a very functional amount of RAM for an M1 Mac if your needs aren't demanding.