Thunderbolt 3 M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosures

[BeatCrazy]

1mm thick heatsink is hard to find in my country. Do you know the max. allowance for thickness to use with the ACASIS?

By my estimate, there is 1.5mm clearance from the top of the SSD to the top of the ACASIS case (when closed).

If you use a 1mm pad + 1mm shield, it will just barely fit because the pad will compress slightly, giving just enough clearance for the case top to close.

 

[orpheus1120]

Found one in my country. 👍🏼

 

[PetrosMac]

Personally I’ve used this one and it works great!

Sabrent Case Esterno USB 3.2... https://www.amazon.it/dp/B081FHQ781?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[Fomalhaut]

Personally I’ve used this one and it works great!

Sabrent Case Esterno USB 3.2... https://www.amazon.it/dp/B081FHQ781?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Does this reliably connect to an M1 Mac at 10Gbps? What sort of real-world speeds to get with this? Which SSD do you have?

Thanks!

 

[joanbcn91]

I'm very impressed with the results of my SSD Reletech 2Tb + Orico TB3 Transparent enclosure (Mac Mini M1 16GB).
It is essential enable TRIM with "Trim Enabler".

 

[PetrosMac]

Does this reliably connect to an M1 Mac at 10Gbps? What sort of real-world speeds to get with this? Which SSD do you have?

Thanks!

I don’t have an M1 Mac but I used it with my 13” MacBook Pro 2016. I put inside a Crucial P2 1Tb and it works really good.

 

[Earl Urley]

BTW, for people who got the Wavlink UTE02 enclosure, I found I had ordered it (and forgot about it) because I got a TEKQ Cube.. the Wavlink had dropped to $80 when I bought it.

I saw the complaints about it dropping connection and noted that some said there was a firmware update available. WAVLINK's website lists the firmware revision as NVM40, says it was updated on 12/19 but when you get to the actual link it says it was updated on 8/2020?

Installed the TenLira updater and python 2.4 as indicated, followed the steps and it says it updated, will pick up either a Inland Premium or WD750 to test.

BTW be careful, the download appears to contain a Trojan, but oddly enough it wasn't part of the flasher or bin file, but a third app that appeared to be included for no reason.

 

[Kris28]

Since I am owning a great new MacBook Pro, I have been searching the web for a worthy external storage to go with it.

So far, I only know of stationary Thunderbolt 3 drives (mainly in the form of full-size PCIe boxes with NVMe SSDs in them or large RAID systems that weigh upwards of 5 kg), but I am wondering, whether there's such a thing as an M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure that uses Thunderbolt 3 to connect to the computer.
I could not find anything like that up until now, with the closest match being a bulky M.2 enclosure from Sonnet that is called a "Windows Edition" (probably due to an incompatible TB3 chipset, I guess).

On the other hand, there are some cheap USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C enclosures on Amazon, that can house an M.2 SATA SSD, which will not get you the highest transfer speeds possible (in fact, they are pretty limited at the 480 MB/s that USB 3.1 Gen1 supports), with NVMe and Thunderbolt being able to transfer data much faster (theoretically 5 GB/s, but at this point in time the highest rates I could find for desktop drives were about 2400 MB/s).
And last but not least there are the Glyph Atom (RAID) SSDs, which get closer (~800 MB/s) to the speed I desire, but still use USB 3.1 Gen2, and they are rather expensive at 1 TB at ~ $ 420. (usual prices for M.2 NVMe SSDs range from 450 to 600 bucks and they are way faster at ~1600 to 3200 MB/s read speed).

So my question is: Did I miss something, or are there just no portable Thunderbolt 3 external SSDs/SSD enclosures?

I have also new silicon laptop, and as for storage 256 Gb isn't much I'm using Apple Time Capsule- wireless and very convenient , you can have up to 3 Tb !!!

 

[displayator]

anyone has experience with the Western Digital D50 game dock as an external nvme enclosure ? they offer it in 0 / 1 / 2 TB version and i would really like to buy the 0tb version and put a 4tb nvme drive in it. it would solve my lack of port and lack of storage problem in one go.there is a firecuda game dock, but it seems bgger and it comes with a 3.5“ drive and what looks like 5gb/s usb instead of 10gb/s like the D50

there are amazon questions / answer that says you can open it and that there is a slot, but i haven’t figured out if it was active. like, do they batch defective units as 0tb or is it always the same motherboard with the same quality? do they just deactivate the slot if it’s there?

 

[joevt]

anyone has experience with the Western Digital D50 game dock as an external nvme enclosure ? they offer it in 0 / 1 / 2 TB version and i would really like to buy the 0tb version and put a 4tb nvme drive in it. it would solve my lack of port and lack of storage problem in one go.there is a firecuda game dock, but it seems bgger and it comes with a 3.5“ drive and what looks like 5gb/s usb instead of 10gb/s like the D50

there are amazon questions / answer that says you can open it and that there is a slot, but i haven’t figured out if it was active. like, do they batch defective units as 0tb or is it always the same motherboard with the same quality? do they just deactivate the slot if it’s there?

Reviews suggest the 0 TB version can't have an M.2 added but I haven't found one that opened it up to check. It's not easy to open since the screws are non-standard and there may be some adhesive.

https://www.legitreviews.com/wd_black-d50-game-dock-review_225402
https://www.gadgetguy.com.au/wd-black-d50-game-dock-why-should-gamers-have-all-the-fun-review/

It looks like it could be using two four-port USB 3.1 gen 2 hubs changed together. Then the Ethernet and Audio would be using two of the 7 ports.

 

[displayator]

Reviews suggest the 0 TB version can't have an M.2 added but I haven't found one that opened it up to check. It's not easy to open since the screws are non-standard and there may be some adhesive.

https://www.legitreviews.com/wd_black-d50-game-dock-review_225402
https://www.gadgetguy.com.au/wd-black-d50-game-dock-why-should-gamers-have-all-the-fun-review/

It looks like it could be using two four-port USB 3.1 gen 2 hubs changed together. Then the Ethernet and Audio would be using two of the 7 ports.

yeah, i read those, but i have found one person that said there was a connector in the dock, but hadn’t tried putting an nvme drive in it.

 

[crevalic]

I don’t have an M1 Mac but I used it with my 13” MacBook Pro 2016. I put inside a Crucial P2 1Tb and it works really good.

Could you please test the speed?

 

[xxr]

EDITED - (*Redundant*)

 

[timberty]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for an TB3 enclosure for my M1 Mac mini to use 24/7 and sometime uses it as a portable external SSD when going out.

How about Orico SCM2T3-G40?

I need it to work stable, cool, and safe. As of speed, around 1,000 MB/s is good enough to me.

 

[Stephen.R]

How about Orico SCM2T3-G40?

I need it to work stable, cool, and safe. As of speed, around 1,000 MB/s is good enough to me.

I have the very similar TFM2T3-G40 (my understanding is they're essentially just aesthetic differences in case design).

I get 1300+ MB/s with a not-particularly-expensive 1TB ADATA SX8200. I believe the case is capable of reasonably higher speeds with something like a WD Black.

 

[timberty]

I have the very similar TFM2T3-G40 (my understanding is they're essentially just aesthetic differences in case design).

I get 1300+ MB/s with a not-particularly-expensive 1TB ADATA SX8200. I believe the case is capable of reasonably higher speeds with something like a WD Black.

Thanks!

How about its stability and the temperature when it works 24/7?

 

[Stephen.R]

Thanks!

How about its stability and the temperature when it works 24/7?

I have it connected 24/7 to a 2018 i7 Mac mini, it's used for work files - so git and mercurial repos of code, and the backing images for <counts....> 90 VMs (not all running all the time).

I don't recall it ever disconnecting. It's definitely quite warm to touch - about the same or slightly warmer than the top of the mini I'd guess. Not hot enough to burn you but warm enough to be uncomfortable to hold for an extended period of time.

I'd previously had really bad luck with Orico USB stuff (m2 case, 3.1G2 hub, 2.5" case, 5x3.5" case) - but lack of availability of other brands here (Thailand), and a positive mention from someone here (in this thread even I think) made me try it.

 

[timberty]

I have it connected 24/7 to a 2018 i7 Mac mini, it's used for work files - so git and mercurial repos of code, and the backing images for <counts....> 90 VMs (not all running all the time).

I don't recall it ever disconnecting. It's definitely quite warm to touch - about the same or slightly warmer than the top of the mini I'd guess. Not hot enough to burn you but warm enough to be uncomfortable to hold for an extended period of time.

I'd previously had really bad luck with Orico USB stuff (m2 case, 3.1G2 hub, 2.5" case, 5x3.5" case) - but lack of availability of other brands here (Thailand), and a positive mention from someone here (in this thread even I think) made me try it.

Thanks! I just want to use it to save some important .text files (which I don't want to save on the internal SSD) that I need to access a dozen of times a day.

So I think it would be good solution to me. Thanks again for your shared experience.

 

[mackiemesser2]

I think there are two different thickness of the blue thermal pads. I believe I used the thicker one. When you do it correctly, the copper shield should come into contact with the top of the ACASIS case when closed.

I don't think it's permanent, because the pad should pull off the SSD easily, same with the copper shield. View attachment 1728501

Do you or anybody else have a chance to test a Samsung 970Pro (not EVO) in this Acasis TB3/USB enclosure? This drive is not yet listed in the compatibility chart. Thx

 

[BeatCrazy]

Do you or anybody else have a chance to test a Samsung 970Pro (not EVO) in this Acasis TB3/USB enclosure? This drive is not yet listed in the compatibility chart.

Sorry I only tried the EVO, and Write speed was no good: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...b4.2269777/page-8?post=29539280#post-29539280

 

[mackiemesser2]

Thanks.

Found a review https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...in_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&tag=mrforums-20&th=1

Acasis USB4 with Samsung 970Pro on 1TB Mac Mini 2211Read 1792Write.
So the Samsung 970Pro works in this enclosure, I expect higher speeds under Win10 though.

Acasis USB4 with Samsung 980 Pro 2TB SSD seems to be the fastest atm with read speeds of 2959 MB/s and write speeds of 2758 MB.

My 970Pro 1TB reaches 2830Read 2255Write under Win10 with an Orico TB3 enclosure. Remember this is MLC so *no* speed decrease due to SLC cache. Acasis USB4 + 970Pro combo could be the best for anybody who wants constant TB3 performance + USB compatibility + MLC reliability. For the smallest formfactor + decent cooling choose the Acasis TB3 or Orico TB3 enclosure nonetheless.

 

[svintuss]

Hello guys,

I feel like I need to share my experience with Orico M2V01-C4 USB4.0 enclosure (https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005001952854624.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.22d933edO9ktL1). In many ways it seems similar to Acasis TBU401 (https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005002340695249.html?&sku_id=12000020177507665)




I use it with A-DATA SX8200 Pro 2TB drive and read/write speeds with TB3 connection are far from perfect. Acasis clearly states in product description to stay away from A-Data drives. Unfortunately I didn't do any research before purchasing my setup.



But the most annoying and scaring issue with the Orico is constant disconnection of the drive ("Drive not ejected properly" error). I narrowed down the problem to the metal case itself: looks like if you wiggle the cable USB-C connector short circuits to the case which results in SSD power loss and disconnection. After getting rid of the case it seems to work OK.



When I use USB-C cable to connect it to my MBP 16" it makes the system to go to kernel panic due to power management errors.

After all that thermal design is lesser of my problems: these thermal pads you see on my photos don't touch the casing, especially the controller chip at the bottom.

So I would stay away from this enclosure unless one wants to spend some time and loose some data while isolating the enclosure's internals and making thermal mods.

 

[mackiemesser2]

To all of you:

Has anybody ever thought of insufficient current regarding low write speeds?

Could it be that the peak current for writing operations simply exceeds the combined power needs of the TB controller (+ circuitry) + the SSD?

JHL6340 has a TDP of 1,7W
JHL7440 has a TDP of 2,4W

Add the power demands of your SSD while writing (peak) and it might very well be that the JHL controller throttles due to insufficient overall current.

Afaik TB3 has a PD of 15W but this could be the case for the mysterious low write speeds and kernel panics on some SSD's while others just work fine.

Maybe somebody skilled enough and with the proper equipement could do some testings?

Cheers

 

[Screensaver]

This drive is not yet listed in the compatibility chart.

Hi! Where is this compatibility chart that folks are talking about? Thanks!

 

[Screensaver]

Sorry I only tried the EVO, and Write speed was no good: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...b4.2269777/page-8?post=29539280#post-29539280

have you attempted to install Big Sur on your ACASIS drive and boot from it? Before I buy the ACASIS and a WD Black SSD, I was hoping to confirm that it can externally boot when connected to an M1. Also, Do you know if you can enable FileVault on the external ACASIS boot? I know that some drives are finicky.