no TRIM for USB SSD's - Big enough deal to buy Thunderbolt?

[KrisAK]

I just bought a nifty M.2 NVMe enclosure for a 1TB SSD, and using USB 3.1 gen 2 get a remarkable...and more to the point, noticeable...speed boost when accessing photo libraries.

Now, of course, I discover that TRIM isn't supported for external USB drives.

Part of me thinks I should turn a blind eye to this; after all, don't those Samsung T5 drives, etc., use the USB protocol, and therefor lack TRIM support? So maybe it's not that big a deal.

The OTHER part of me says that if I'm going all-in on SSD's then I ought to do it correctly. Meaning, buy a TB SSD enclosure of some sort.

Anyone else happily ignoring a lack of TRIM on their USB SSDs?
Any knowledgable advice is appreciated.

 

[Fishrrman]

My opinion only, but for the last 7 years I've been posting that TRIM is a non-issue for the vast majority of users.

I booted and ran my 2012 Mini for 6+ years from an external USB3 SSD -- always ran fine, NEVER a problem. It's still running as my "backup" on the other table.

Don't worry about TRIM, particularly on non-booting volumes.

 

[posguy99]

Anyone else happily ignoring a lack of TRIM on their USB SSDs?
Any knowledgable advice is appreciated.

Does this enclosure support UASP? TRIM support is a goal of the UASP standard. If it doesn't, you should replace it with one that does, TRIM support notwithstanding.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_Attached_SCSI

 

[KrisAK]

Does this enclosure support UASP? TRIM support is a goal of the UASP standard. If it doesn't, you should replace it with one that does, TRIM support notwithstanding.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_Attached_SCSI

Hi, yes, it does, at least according to the specs. It's this one:

ElecGear NVMe USB 3.1 Enclosure, PCI-e M.2 SSD External Case, NV-i9 Aluminum Cooling Adapter, 2280, 2242 PCIe M2 Memory Card Reader, NVMe Hard Drive Converter Caddy Box, 10Gbps USB Type A and C Cable

ElecGear NVMe USB 3.1 Enclosure, PCI-e M.2 SSD External Case, NV-i9 Aluminum Cooling Adapter, 2280, 2242 PCIe M2 Memory Card Reader, NVMe Hard Drive Converter Caddy Box, 10Gbps USB Type A and C Cable

www.amazon.com

[automerge]1568904720[/automerge]

My opinion only, but for the last 7 years I've been posting that TRIM is a non-issue for the vast majority of users.

I booted and ran my 2012 Mini for 6+ years from an external USB3 SSD -- always ran fine, NEVER a problem. It's still running as my "backup" on the other table.

Don't worry about TRIM, particularly on non-booting volumes.

Thanks. That's going to be my approach as well.

 

[MacsRgr8]

I have an external SSD via TB hooked up to my iMac for many years now.

I have had TRIM on and off... and I can justify the "no real need" for TRIM om non-bootable SSDs. I do think you have to make sure that you keep enough free space on it.