Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max – 1TB vs 2TB SSD
- Thread starter sparkie7
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This may help:
forums.macrumors.com
I think the general conclusion from various tests is just get the SSD size that suits you best, as the SSD speed differences make little real world difference in overall performance.
MBP 2021 - SSD Speed Comparison - Please Contribute!
From some of the YouTube reviews, it looks like there are SSD chip configuration differences between the 14" and 16" models and significant speed differences across SSD sizes. Can I please get everyone's help to run Blackmagic speed tests - only takes 2 minutes. Please use 5GB stress file size...
forums.macrumors.com
I think the general conclusion from various tests is just get the SSD size that suits you best, as the SSD speed differences make little real world difference in overall performance.
This may help:
MBP 2021 - SSD Speed Comparison - Please Contribute!
From some of the YouTube reviews, it looks like there are SSD chip configuration differences between the 14" and 16" models and significant speed differences across SSD sizes. Can I please get everyone's help to run Blackmagic speed tests - only takes 2 minutes. Please use 5GB stress file size...
I think the general conclusion from various tests is just get the SSD size that suits you best, as the SSD speed differences make little real world difference in overall performance.
I was contemplating the 2TB. Looks like the 4TB option is where it shows a significant difference. But not worth it at Apple's steep prices
I can 'live' with 1TB. It would be nicer to have an in-built 2TB. But for Apple upgrade prices I think it might be better value to order the 1TB and buy an external 1TB SSD drive for back-ups. Will work out much cheaper
Both (1TB and 2TB) are good choices, IMO.
I've gone both ways, and have not regretted either.
I guess it's whether I might run out of space on 1TB...... thoughts?
And what external SSD's would people suggest. Would say the Samsung T7 2TB be able to utilise it's fastest 1000 MB/s with the MBP 16's Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports?
Last edited:
As far as whether or not you'll run out of hard drive space, thats entirely on your personal usage and what you files you choose to store locally. I went with 2tb option this time, but I store a massive sound library for music production and lots of other various media files for design work.
I filled up 1tb just getting myself started, but I easily could have went with a 1tb model if I wanted to use external hard drives to store a nice chunk on there. Comes down to personal use (how much you'll actually be using) and whether or not you want everything on the internal.
I filled up 1tb just getting myself started, but I easily could have went with a 1tb model if I wanted to use external hard drives to store a nice chunk on there. Comes down to personal use (how much you'll actually be using) and whether or not you want everything on the internal.
My thought is that if you run out of space with 1TB, there is a good chance you will also run out space with 2TB, it will just take a bit longer. So will need to manage and offload storage anyway. For example, I would need at least a 20TB SSD to keep everything internal.
Both 1TB and 2TB SSDs give a decent internal working space, IMO. More than 2TB starts getting expensive, and less than 1TB starts getting tight.
Of course, everyone's needs differ, but that is my thought.
Last edited:
I think you will have more space with 2TB version …
keep in mind the more free space you have the snappier it will run. if you get close to reaching the 1tb the OS will have less space available for using your ssd as (fast) swap.
Good points. 1TB is my minimum. I normally partition 250GB for the System and Applications. Then 3x 250GB partitions, for a back up system, Documents, and Storage/scratch disk. But I've been told by one person I shouldn't use partitions. But Volumes instead?
2TB (ie.for an extra 1TB) costs an extra USD $400. For that I could get a 2TB external SSD.
Tempted to go 2TB internal SSD on my 16" MBP M1 Max order, but hesitant about spending the extra $400, and thinking it might be better spent on the external 2TB SSD. Which I need to get anyway as a back up device, spare system backup
The difference is the 2TB will last longer. Bigger drives wear much slower than smaller drives depending on how much you fill them. Like I wouldn't get a drive that I can fill past 80%. You're asking for trouble longer term.
I wouldn't use partitions (or volumes) for those purposes, just is inefficient use of space. Maybe for separate OS's. If you really want to do so, strongly suggest get 2TB.
Hi sparkie7,
You ask:
"Are there any spec / speed differences between the 1TB vs 2TB SSD storage options?"
Of course, the size required for the internal SSD totally depends upon the individual's usage scenario, as many have already pointed out.
And since you ask in your post #1 about the speed differences between 1TB and 2TB internal SSDs. These speed differences are minimal and for most usages will not make any difference in actual practice.
You also mention that $400 charge for going from internal 1TB to internal 2TB seems a bit large and that you can just purchase an external 2TB USB3 drive for the extra $400. That is certainly true, but I would like to point out that for your $400 you can purchase a slow external 2TB SSD (roughly 1GB/s), but you'd be hard pressed I believe to find a fast (roughly 7GB/s) external 2TB SSD for $400. Maybe I'm wrong on this, as I haven't done any research recently on this issue, so please correct me if I'm wrong.
So the question again returns to your usage. Do you need a fast internal 2TB SSD or can you get by with a fast internal 1TB and a slow external 2TB SSD?
I just wanted to dispel the idea that $400 is actually overly expensive for what you are purchasing -- because you are purchasing an extremely fast internal SSD for that $400 that is not really equivalent to a slow external SSD.
Hope this helps,
Solouki
P.S. I have an external TB3 2TB SSD that today costs $870 on Amazon. It achieves roughly <2.5GB/s R/W speeds, while the MBP M1 Max internal SSD achieves roughly >6GB/s R/W speeds. So, do you need the speed or not? Only your usage can answer this question, but I thought I should mention it since your original post asked the question about the speed differential between an internal 1TB and internal 2TB SSDs. I suspect that only a few usage scenarios would actual benefit from the extra speed of Apple's internal SSDs on the M1 Max.
Good luck.
You ask:
"Are there any spec / speed differences between the 1TB vs 2TB SSD storage options?"
Of course, the size required for the internal SSD totally depends upon the individual's usage scenario, as many have already pointed out.
And since you ask in your post #1 about the speed differences between 1TB and 2TB internal SSDs. These speed differences are minimal and for most usages will not make any difference in actual practice.
You also mention that $400 charge for going from internal 1TB to internal 2TB seems a bit large and that you can just purchase an external 2TB USB3 drive for the extra $400. That is certainly true, but I would like to point out that for your $400 you can purchase a slow external 2TB SSD (roughly 1GB/s), but you'd be hard pressed I believe to find a fast (roughly 7GB/s) external 2TB SSD for $400. Maybe I'm wrong on this, as I haven't done any research recently on this issue, so please correct me if I'm wrong.
So the question again returns to your usage. Do you need a fast internal 2TB SSD or can you get by with a fast internal 1TB and a slow external 2TB SSD?
I just wanted to dispel the idea that $400 is actually overly expensive for what you are purchasing -- because you are purchasing an extremely fast internal SSD for that $400 that is not really equivalent to a slow external SSD.
Hope this helps,
Solouki
P.S. I have an external TB3 2TB SSD that today costs $870 on Amazon. It achieves roughly <2.5GB/s R/W speeds, while the MBP M1 Max internal SSD achieves roughly >6GB/s R/W speeds. So, do you need the speed or not? Only your usage can answer this question, but I thought I should mention it since your original post asked the question about the speed differential between an internal 1TB and internal 2TB SSDs. I suspect that only a few usage scenarios would actual benefit from the extra speed of Apple's internal SSDs on the M1 Max.
Good luck.
Last edited:
Thanks. Good point re the internal speed. I need to check how much a faster external SSD costs
More questions to ask yourself:
How long will you keep your machine? That extra $400 might allow you to keep it a year or two longer which then makes the $400 worth it.
How much does an external 2TB drive and enclosure cost? Is it really a $400 premium for the internal drive? I bet it is much less.
Wha type of work are you doing on the machine? If you aren't doing a lot of video editing or anything that needs the extra GPU use you might not even need the MAX soc. That could save you $200 right there.
How long will you keep your machine? That extra $400 might allow you to keep it a year or two longer which then makes the $400 worth it.
How much does an external 2TB drive and enclosure cost? Is it really a $400 premium for the internal drive? I bet it is much less.
Wha type of work are you doing on the machine? If you aren't doing a lot of video editing or anything that needs the extra GPU use you might not even need the MAX soc. That could save you $200 right there.
Use a single partition (APFS container) and the two standard volumes that MacOS creates, and let MacOS manage it accordingly. This is best for most people. Why make it more complicated than it needs to be. There are limited good reasons to have a separate volume, such as for another MacOS version or a Windows OS.
I used to use separate partitions on Windows machines 20 years ago, but no longer.
Having fixed size containers just means portions of each will be unused and thus wasted; huge hassle trying to balance the sizes as your needs vary and size of snapshots and caches vary. Thus I suggest double the size of the SSD if you really want to have several extra fixed size containers.
Should not do backups on the same physical device, other than normal (temporary) TM snapshots. The volumes/containers are not on separate physical regions of the SDD, but are interleaved. No advantage in having backups in a separate volume or container. At least, I'm not seeing it.
I guess you need to ask yourself what is so different about your usage that you must have additional containers or volumes, because there are disadvantages in doing so, as I have described. If the answer is that you just like the idea or it is what you are used to, that actually is not a good reason (from a technical point-of-view), but of course you can do what you like.
Partition a physical disk in Disk Utility on Mac
In Disk Utility on your Mac, add, delete, erase, or enlarge a partition on a storage device.
support.apple.com
Last edited:
At least 5-10 years+. I have only ever sold one of my macs. Still have my Apple Mac Plus. Still have all my 5 laptops going back 20+ years.
I need to check but around USD $350 for an Samsung X5 / SanDisk 2TB Extreme PRO..
I do design, publishing, graphics, photography. But would like a machine that can handle video, animation, moving graphics I need to down the line. I have 3x older 30" Apple Cinema displays which I would like to hook it up to if possible and upgrade to the new displays anticipated later this year.
What are the standard volumes that MacOS creates?
I never use TM (which I assume is Time Machine). I tend to use Carbon Copy Cloner and manually back up, probably not the best way, manual I mean
I need to do more reading to understand the pros and cons. Guess I'm so used to having several partitions. And mirroring that with my back up external drives ie. having the same sized partitions, which makes backing up easier, at least for me. Maybe I need to change my mindset. But I always like having a duplicate "clean" system and application install on one partition in case my "working system & application" partition gets corrupted for some reason. Sure I could have it on a back up drive. But sometimes it's easier and more convenient to Option select different start up drives.
I'm not used to "Volumes". Always been "Partitions" for me. What's the difference exactly?
Thanks again for all the helpful information and suggestions
I've seen speed comparisons, but has anyone documented any differences between the power consumption of a 1TB vs a 2TB SSD on a M1 MacBook Pro (14" 10/24 processor)? Similarly, is there power consumption data for 32GB vs 64GB RAM?
Good questions. I would imagine the power requirement differences are negligible because 1) these parts are interchangeable and produced to a specific thermal envelope and 2) in the overall scheme of things their relative draw is little as a proportion.
As to how much internal storage do you need? How long is a piece of string. I have made do with 256GB for several Macs now, since SSDs arrived. It involves a lot of discipline, e.g not installing or removing apps that will get/get little use, removing duplicate files, sifting through music and photos once in a while and offloading my entire cinema collection, HandBraked, to an external 2TB SSD. All the important stuff is mirrored to iCloud and I maintain two 'terrestial' backups too, including a rotating hard drive! It is all doable and the discipline is healthy.
However, for comfort, and to have my cinema collection always with me, 1TB would suffice.
How do you upgrade a MacBook Air? You buy another one and sell the old one. It is the only way. So I have just bought the 2TB version of exactly the same MBA I have now. When it arrives, I will do the Vulcan mind-meld between the two and sell off my current 256GB model.
If 1TB would suffice, 2TB, especially with the same discipline instilled in me now, should last for many years.
Experiences vary!
As to how much internal storage do you need? How long is a piece of string. I have made do with 256GB for several Macs now, since SSDs arrived. It involves a lot of discipline, e.g not installing or removing apps that will get/get little use, removing duplicate files, sifting through music and photos once in a while and offloading my entire cinema collection, HandBraked, to an external 2TB SSD. All the important stuff is mirrored to iCloud and I maintain two 'terrestial' backups too, including a rotating hard drive! It is all doable and the discipline is healthy.
However, for comfort, and to have my cinema collection always with me, 1TB would suffice.
How do you upgrade a MacBook Air? You buy another one and sell the old one. It is the only way. So I have just bought the 2TB version of exactly the same MBA I have now. When it arrives, I will do the Vulcan mind-meld between the two and sell off my current 256GB model.
If 1TB would suffice, 2TB, especially with the same discipline instilled in me now, should last for many years.
Experiences vary!