Samsung X5 verses T5 ssd

[Inspector158]

I was just wondering if a Samsung X5 (512gig) ssd is overkill on new imac to store music & photos? Have an i9, 512ssd, Vega 48 on the way. Or would a Samsung T5 1gig be a better option. (Most of my work is going to be in Affinity Photo) and some video editing in the future.
Thanks for the time

 

[Bohemien]

For music and photos, in your place I’d go with the larger T5. You might need the additional space at some point and it should definitely be fast enough for your purpose. But in the end, only you can know your preference (4x speed or 2x space).

 

[adamk77]

 

 

[mikehalloran]

For music and photos, in your place I’d go with the larger T5. You might need the additional space at some point and it should definitely be fast enough for your purpose. But in the end, only you can know your preference (4x speed or 2x space).

No.

A T5 is a slow (about 1/6 the bus speed of your i9) SATA III drive that connects over USB 3/USB-C. Perfect for offloading and storing files you aren't working on. Musicians streaming virtual instruments (VIs) should get this as it's fast enough.

The X5 is an NVMe 3 x4 SSD (like the one in a 2017–19 iMac) that connects over TB3. If you intend to work on files stored externally, this is where you want them as it's about as fast as your i9.
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Thunderbolt 3 won't have the CPU overhead of a USB drive, though I do not know if this has any measurable impact.

Nope. Your other reasons are good enough.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I was just wondering if a Samsung X5 (512gig) ssd is overkill on new imac to store music & photos?"

Music and photos don't require the absolute "high speed" of x5, vis-a-vis the t5.
The t5 will do everything you need, and more.

Same for storing/viewing movies and video.
Or even for editing video (at least at 1080p).

Now, editing 4k video... might make a difference.

But for the uses you specify -- save the $$$ and get a t5 (perhaps a larger one).

 

[Clix Pix]

I have both -- the X5 and the T5 -- and while each is fast, but the X5 is a bit speedier than the T5, enough so that that it makes a noticeable difference. For storage of files and folders such as music and photos or documents the T5 is just fine and dandy. It also is more versatile in that I can easily swap a T5 between my computers since I still have one machine that has the "legacy" USB 3 ports. A quick switch of the cables and I can easily transfer files and folders between my newer 2018 15" MBP and my older 2015 15" MBP. I purchased the X5 with an eye to the future as well as using it for stashing some files and folders and with the intention of at some point using it for also editing my images right there rather than on my internal drive.

The T5 is smaller in size than the X5, as the latter has a heat sink included in it. The T5 is ideal for travel and I always take one with me that has files and folders that are not on my small 12" MacBook, and that way if I generate new files while away from home they are easily stashed on the T5 for later transfer to my main machine after the trip. If I were planning to do video editing on an external drive I think that probably a 1 TB X5 would be better for that purpose.

In any event, both of these are great little external SSDs and I would recommend either of them.

 

[Jamers99]

Can you provide a link to the Samsung X5? I can't find it.

 

[howard_s]

A simple search throws up https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/portable/x5/

 

[Jamers99]

I guess I didn't recognize it. That X5 look like a cheap Chinese knock product. Horrible cosmetic design IMO. At $500 for a 1TB I will pass for now.

 

[EugW]

I have both -- the X5 and the T5 -- and while each is fast, but the X5 is a bit speedier than the T5, enough so that that it makes a noticeable difference. For storage of files and folders such as music and photos or documents the T5 is just fine and dandy. It also is more versatile in that I can easily swap a T5 between my computers since I still have one machine that has the "legacy" USB 3 ports. A quick switch of the cables and I can easily transfer files and folders between my newer 2018 15" MBP and my older 2015 15" MBP. I purchased the X5 with an eye to the future as well as using it for stashing some files and folders and with the intention of at some point using it for also editing my images right there rather than on my internal drive.

The T5 is smaller in size than the X5, as the latter has a heat sink included in it. The T5 is ideal for travel and I always take one with me that has files and folders that are not on my small 12" MacBook, and that way if I generate new files while away from home they are easily stashed on the T5 for later transfer to my main machine after the trip. If I were planning to do video editing on an external drive I think that probably a 1 TB X5 would be better for that purpose.

In any event, both of these are great little external SSDs and I would recommend either of them.

I have a 2017 iMac with internal 1 TB drive that is filling up. I already have a T5 1 TB that I use for other purposes, but was contemplating using it on the iMac for my Photos library. However, I have been wondering if I should get the X5, since this will be my main active Photos database (and includes photos, Live Photos, and videos, with light editing). When you say the T5 is fine for photo storage, do you mean just in general, or are you running Photos off of it too?

 

[priitv8]

X5 is 3..4 times faster than the T5. So I use it for my working libraries myself. But I never use SSDs for long-time storage of static photo/video archives. Cost per GB is still very bad for that, compared to old spinner.

 

[Clix Pix]

I have a 2017 iMac with internal 1 TB drive that is filling up. I already have a T5 1 TB that I use for other purposes, but was contemplating using it on the iMac for my Photos library. However, I have been wondering if I should get the X5, since this will be my main active Photos database (and includes photos, Live Photos, and videos, with light editing). When you say the T5 is fine for photo storage, do you mean just in general, or are you running Photos off of it too?

I use the T5 (and for the moment, the X5 as well) for temporary photo storage -- that is, I have the files at hand for when I do need and want to work on them but they're not taking up space in the computer's internal SSD. When I'm ready to work on a specific project, I will usually transfer it back to the computer for convenience.

I do not use the Photos app; I have never liked it and prefer to keep my images stored differently and also I use Luminar 3 and other photo editing programs to do any image resizing or editing needed. I also don't shoot video, I'm a still photos person primarily, so that does not enter into my equation at all.

When I've shot images with my Sony RX10 M4, for instance, I'll use a card reader to transfer the images to my desktop in its own folder. From there I am free to take the images right to an editing program or let them sit there until I've got time to cull through them. I temporarily stash folders of uncurled images as well as folders of edited images in my Pictures folder and then transfer them to an external drive. The Photos app plays no role in this at all.

When I shoot an image with my iPhone, it goes into Camera Roll, of course, and I airdrop it to the computer and then choose to edit it or to set it aside for later consideration....and again those files wind up temporarily in my Pictures folder.

When images are fully edited and processed and categorized they eventually wind up in yet another place, the spinner desktop HDD that I use for archival storage.

The T5 and the X5 are strictly for current use and temporary storage until the images do get processed one way or another. I've never actually tried editing images directly from the X5, but I'm sure it is feasible. I don't keep my T5 or my X5 attached to the computer all the time; they only get plugged in when I'm ready to use them.

 

[priitv8]

I've never actually tried editing images directly from the X5, but I'm sure it is feasible.

Because X5 throughput is in the same ballpark as iMac's internal SSD, it is equally feasible for video and photo editing, as the internal drive.

 

[Fishrrman]

Thanks for the reports from X5 owners above.
A question: how warm do these get, in normal usage?

I have an nvme blade drive in a USB3.1 gen2 (USBc) enclosure, and it gets very warm with extended writes/reads...

 

[Clix Pix]

My X5 does get pretty warm if I'm doing something extensive with it, such as swapping files around between it and another external drive; also depends upon the room's ambient temperature, too, to a certain extent.

I think I'll experiment with using the X5 for working specifically with photos and editing them, etc. That could definitely take some burden off the main computer and internal drive as well as save some space on it as well....