Need a fast external SSD for m2 MacBook Pro

[CarloSalt]

Hi,
I have the new 14" MacBook Pro M2 and need an external drive.
It needs to be fast so an SSD. I have read some confusing things about what the MacBook speed they actual support as opposed to what it says on the box. I hear it doesn't support some of the USB speed specifications so I don't want to overpay for a drive spec which won't actually run on the Mac. Hence I just want to cut to the chase and have what does work fast on my machine.
Thanks

 

[phrehdd]

A drive that is "faster" than a Mac's connection speed will still operate. It will operate about the speed of the connection.

There are several makes of fast SSD and you could of course go 'custom' by getting an enclosure and putting in a high-speed SSD. Try checking out Youtube as they have a few people who share their experiences and some offer up a contrast and compare.

I use a hub and attached to my hub is a Sabrent SSD. The speed was about the same whether the hub was attached to a Mac Mini M1 or the Studio Max M1. About 1250 writes and 2640 reads (MB/s). This is fine for my purposes.

 

[pianojoe]

The Thunderbolt spec maxes out at 2800 MB/s. Any current NVMe-based SSD will do.

If that isn’t fast enough, combine two of them into a RAID (using two TB ports) for a combined performance of 3800 MB/s write and 4400 MB/s read. (These are Real World numbers that I gauged myself with mid-priced NVMe by Crucial and enclosures by Orico. Using high-end storage will improve the yield, but not by much.)

 

[CarloSalt]

The Thunderbolt spec maxes out at 2800 MB/s. Any current NVMe-based SSD will do.

If that isn’t fast enough, combine two of them into a RAID (using two TB ports) for a combined performance of 3800 MB/s write and 4400 MB/s read. (These are Real World numbers that I gauged myself with mid-priced NVMe by Crucial and enclosures by Orico. Using high-end storage will improve the yield, but not by much.)

Thanks. Thats what I was thinking. Why waste money on 10gb ssd drives when they wont give you that when paired with the macbook. USB 3.1 seems to use a sort of dual pipeline for data transfer which the macs dont support. All confusing. Hence why i want the quickest which actually works and not spend hundreds on something which wont. Thanks

 

[pianojoe]

Don’t confuse Gigabyte per second and Gigabit per second.

Anyway, the Mac doesn't support USB 3 faster than 10 Gb/s, so with USB 3, you’ll see a real world performance of 750 MB/s which is deplorable.

 

[CarloSalt]

So how quick is the integrated SD card slot as thats another option

 

[CarloSalt]

Don’t confuse Gigabyte per second and Gigabit per second.

Anyway, the Mac doesn't support USB 3 faster than 10 Gb/s, so with USB 3, you’ll see a real world performance of 750 MB/s which is deplorable.

So whats the maths on that 10/8 ?

 

[Fishrrman]

If you absolutely have-to-have "the fastest" drive, get a thunderbolt drive, such as the Samsung X5.

I'm thinking that a high speed nvme blade in a USB4 enclosure might be the equivalent of that.
But at this point, USB4 enclosures seem few and far between. Here's one:

Ankmax USBC 40Gbps Enclosure for NVMe M.2 SSD, UC4M2 USB Type-C 40Gbps Interface Compatible with Thunderbolt 4/3 USB4.0/3.1/3.0, Tool-Free Aluminum External Hard Drive Enclosure（8TB Support）

Ankmax USBC 40Gbps Enclosure for NVMe M.2 SSD, UC4M2 USB Type-C 40Gbps Interface Compatible with Thunderbolt 4/3 USB4.0/3.1/3.0, Tool-Free Aluminum External Hard Drive Enclosure（8TB Support）

www.amazon.com

(I have no idea as to actually how well this works, but it is "USB4")

Could you give us an idea as to WHAT this drive will be used for?

 

[CarloSalt]

If you absolutely have-to-have "the fastest" drive, get a thunderbolt drive, such as the Samsung X5.

I'm thinking that a high speed nvme blade in a USB4 enclosure might be the equivalent of that.
But at this point, USB4 enclosures seem few and far between. Here's one:

Ankmax USBC 40Gbps Enclosure for NVMe M.2 SSD, UC4M2 USB Type-C 40Gbps Interface Compatible with Thunderbolt 4/3 USB4.0/3.1/3.0, Tool-Free Aluminum External Hard Drive Enclosure（8TB Support）

Ankmax USBC 40Gbps Enclosure for NVMe M.2 SSD, UC4M2 USB Type-C 40Gbps Interface Compatible with Thunderbolt 4/3 USB4.0/3.1/3.0, Tool-Free Aluminum External Hard Drive Enclosure（8TB Support）

www.amazon.com

(I have no idea as to actually how well this works, but it is "USB4")

Could you give us an idea as to WHAT this drive will be used for?

I just want to know my options so I can make an informed Decison. To start with I want to but a fast external SSD without buying something which is not supported. Remember the M2 Pro is USB4/TB4. At the moment it seems the Sandisk Extreme is the way to go as the Pro version USB3.2 2X2 is not supported. I can't find any real world benchmarks out there.

 

[vaalbara]

A similar thread from February: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/16-m2-pro-max-does-it-support-usb-3-2-gen-2x2.2379558/

 

[HDFan]

If that isn’t fast enough, combine two of them into a RAID (using two TB ports) for a combined performance of 3800 MB/s write and 4400 MB/s read. (

Since port aggregation usual doesn't affect the time it takes to transfer a file but rather allows you to transfer two different files each at a thunderbolt rate can you elaborate a bit? Which Orico enclosure were you using?

 

[CarloSalt]

Okay ive done some reading up and have came up with a solution. I have ordered the Sandisk Extreme portable ssd for time machine. No point paying the extra £50 for the faster Pro as the Mac doesn't support the 3.2 2x2. Later I will get the Acasis Thunderbolt/USB4 enclosure with a 2T ssd stick in it. This will be super fast storage option. Thanks for the help.

 

[kjlanglois]

Another option is the Acasis external SSD TB4/USB4 drive. It seems similar in performance to the one pointed earlier in the thread (Ankmax USBC). I have a 2023 MBP M2 Max and Black Magic clocks it at 2,770 to 2,870 MBps on both read and write (WD Black SN850X - 4TB). The enclosure was only $119 (Amazon). The SSD was $324 (Amazon).

The idea of RAID-ing two different drives using two different TB4 ports is clever. I haven't tried that.

I did create a RAM-disk on the internal RAM inside the MPB. Oddly enough, the read speeds on that RAM-disk are almost twice the speed of SSD read speeds as measured by Black Magic (over 10,000 MBps!). I don't understand why they could be that much different. I thought the bus speed was the limit. Oh well - fast is fast!

 

[phrehdd]

Another option is the Acasis external SSD TB4/USB4 drive. It seems similar in performance to the one pointed earlier in the thread (Ankmax USBC). I have a 2023 MBP M2 Max and Black Magic clocks it at 2,770 to 2,870 MBps on both read and write (WD Black SN850X - 4TB). The enclosure was only $119 (Amazon). The SSD was $324 (Amazon).

The idea of RAID-ing two different drives using two different TB4 ports is clever. I haven't tried that.

I did create a RAM-disk on the internal RAM inside the MPB. Oddly enough, the read speeds on that RAM-disk are almost twice the speed of SSD read speeds as measured by Black Magic (over 10,000 MBps!). I don't understand why they could be that much different. I thought the bus speed was the limit. Oh well - fast is fast!

RAM drives are nothing new. I recall (dating myself here) setting up a RAM drive for a friend in DOS. He was doing light programming. In those days, it could take awhile to finish compiling. With the RAM drives it was just a matter of minutes. That RAM drive was just a few megabytes.

RAM is, by far, faster than SSD due to its function and architecture. Remember, it is volatile and is accessed differently than an SSD or mechanical hard drive. Your 10,000 number is not surprising at all.