Thunderbolt 3 M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosures

[PaulD-UK]

Quote: "Just set up a return for them. I also don't get a Link Speed of 16 GT, I only get 8 GT."

The picture on Acasis' website shows their "40 Gbps" enclosure with an Intel JHL 7440 controller.
That's a Thunderbolt 3 chip, so limited to PCIe 3 = 8GT/s.

The ZikeDrive enclosure talked about above has an ASM TB 4 controller, so is identified as a 16 GTps (in theory).

 

[Lounge Deluxe]

I'm not getting near those speeds on a Mac Studio M2 Max with the Acasis Enclosure and the Samsung 990 Pro 2TB.

Just set up a return for them. I also don't get a Link Speed of 16 GT, I only get 8 GT.

I've received that same Zike enclosure on Wednesday and tested it with my Mac Mini M2 Pro. Using Black Magic's SSD test app reads and writes both hit 3200 MB/s, in line with what others have reported. It also showed up as a TB 4 device with 16 GT/s including trim support.

You may want to check the cable that came with the Zike enclosure as I've had the same speed issues you've had with a cable from another vendor (Acasis). Apparently these included cables that come with such enclosures are often of dubieus quality.

 

[masotime]

I'm not getting near those speeds on a Mac Studio M2 Max with the Acasis Enclosure and the Samsung 990 Pro 2TB.

Just set up a return for them. I also don't get a Link Speed of 16 GT, I only get 8 GT.

I think you can get any enclosure with the ASM2464PD chipset. The current Acasis enclosures in this thread probably use the JHL7440 Thunderbolt 3 chipset? I'm going off https://dancharblog.wordpress.com/2022/11/29/list-of-ssd-enclosure-chipsets-2022/ which is a pretty good reference, I'm guessing any of the drives listed there will have good performance:

• AData SE920 (ships with 1TB or 2TB SSD pre-installed)
• Hyper NextDrive HD5001GL
• Jeyi TB-2464
• Maiwo 2464 (available at Amazon/NewEgg)
• Satechi Pro enclosure
• ZikeDrive ASM2464PD engineering sample benchmark

I'm not certain, but I think the Maiwo 2464 listed above is available at a really cheap price of $53.45 at AliExpress - caveat emptor with warranty issues as usual, but $53.45 is very nice if it also uses the same chipset. The Jeyi enclosure I have does get very hot though, something to consider...

 

[Earl Urley]

Acasis uses the JHL 7440 TB3 chipset which still reserves bandwidth for DisplayPort and USB devices so it will never get more than 2.6 - 2.8 GB/sec throughput.

Hope to post benchmarks with the HyperDrive Next USB4 enclosure which also uses the ASM2464PD chipset

Thanks for confirming the JEYI USB4 enclosure. Hoping it'll show up on Amazon soon..

 

[Loco Sock]

Should a new topic be started primarily directed at Thunderbolt 4?

I'm in no rush to get a new enclosure and an SSD. In anticipation of a 512GB internal hard drive, I was able to get rid of stuff that was more than a decade old (but it's on Time Machine ). This internal is all over the place, up to 7 or 8k and down to 1k on continuous testing, in either read or write. Actually, AmorphousDiskMark is giving me about 3,500 consistently.

 

[Earl Urley]

I think it's better to keep the topic unified so that people who read the thread can get a better understanding of the differences between TB3 / TB4 chipsets, but what do I know.

 

[Loco Sock]

I think it's better to keep the topic unified so that people who read the thread can get a better understanding of the differences between TB3 / TB4 chipsets, but what do I know.

I agree.. maybe we can get it renamed? Just for people that are looking for TB4, makes it a little easier.

 

[masotime]

I agree.. maybe we can get it renamed? Just for people that are looking for TB4, makes it a little easier.

We can “suggest to make it a wikipost” - maybe that’ll make it editable by the community. It’s in the little context menu at the top of the thread.

 

[masotime]

I'm not certain, but I think the Maiwo 2464 listed above is available at a really cheap price of $53.45 at AliExpress - caveat emptor with warranty issues as usual, but $53.45 is very nice if it also uses the same chipset. The Jeyi enclosure I have does get very hot though, something to consider...

It looks like there's confirmation that the Maiwo on AliExpress also uses the Asmedia 2464PD chipset - https://www.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/17vbbgp

 

[richpjr]

The HyperDrive is on sale for $89.99 so I ordered one that should be here today. Will try it with my current 2TB SN850 though the 4 TB SN850X and 990 Pro's are on BF sale - tempting!

 

[mogens]

The MAIWO (K1695) looks tempting, but I don't see the ASM2464PD chip being mentioned in the places I've looked. Can anyone confirm if this is the case?

 

[masotime]

The MAIWO (K1695) looks tempting, but I don't see the ASM2464PD chip being mentioned in the places I've looked. Can anyone confirm if this is the case?

So if you look more closely at https://www.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/17vbbgp , there is this screenshot. I think it's pretty conclusive.

It's a good time to buy from AliExpress in general because of the 11/11 "singles" sale...

 

[mogens]

So if you look more closely at https://www.reddit.com/r/UsbCHardware/comments/17vbbgp , there is this screenshot. I think it's pretty conclusive.

It's a good time to buy from AliExpress in general because of the 11/11 "singles" sale...

👍thanks

 

[Loco Sock]

Are you looking at the Mode: USB4 to determine that? Cause the 40Gb/s is misleading if the Mode is say, Thunderbolt 3.

 

[masotime]

Are you looking at the Mode: USB4 to determine that? Cause the 40Gb/s is misleading if the Mode is say, Thunderbolt 3.

No, the device name… 246x along with the Vendor name Asmedia. It’s not 100% conclusive, but it’s close enough, along with the benchmarks in the reddit thread itself.

EDIT: It's a good question though, so I can reconfirm using my own Jeyi enclosure, which has similar characteristics:

 

[Earl Urley]

So I picked up a HYPER HD5001GL-90, advertised and labeled as USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure.

I don't think it has the ASMedia 2464...

No idea what that chip is but it sure isn't an ASM2464.

I dropped in a Hynix P31 Gold 2 TB and got the following:

This is rather disappointing as the Hynix is supposed to be capable of 3500 MB/sec reads and 3200 MB/sec writes.

I'd stay away from the HYPER as it seems they just swapped out the ASM2464 and instead swapped in something that only gives TB3 speeds..

The only saving grace is that it doesn't seem to get too hot, but that's because I leave the silicon wrapper it comes with off. With it on I'm sure it would get mega hot.

Makes me wonder if that's why they took the ASM2464 out..

So I ordered the JEYI enclosure but with the fan option, will test that when it arrives..

I will likely sell off the HYPER assuming whoever buys it doesn't care that it doesn't have the ASM2464.

Hooked it up to a 2020 rMBP and got nearly exactly the same results, so it looks like HYPER just punted and shoved in a TB3 chip and hoped no one noticed.. System Information does identify it as a USB4 device, though.. maybe the cable is crap? Will order a Cable Matters USB4 and see if that helps.

Additionally, it's only connecting at 8 GT/s and link width x4, which means its definitely not an ASM2464.

Hook it up to an Intel rMBP, it will say it is Thunderbolt 3. Hook it up to an M1/2/3 and it will report that it is a USB4 device.

 

[joevt]

Use the following command to get PCI information from a Mac:

ioreg -lric IOPCIHostBridge | grep -E '([ :]IOPCI(Device|Host|Bridge))|(vendor|device)-id|class-code|subsystem|IOPCIExpress(Capabilities|Link(Status|Capabilities))' | sed -E '/(.*), id 0x.*/s//\1>/' | tr '|' ' '

Then we can find the vendor and product ID of the IOPCI2PCIBridge's that belong to the Thunderbolt or USB4 device. On an Intel Mac, I would use my pcitree.sh script to get the info.

 

[mogens]

Can anyone recommend a 4TB NVMe that performs well with a JEYI ASM2464? I have an Acasis TBU405 with a 4TB WD SN850X, but I’m not satisfied with the write speed (around 1000 MB/s) on my Apple M1

 

[Loco Sock]

Can anyone recommend a 4TB NVMe that performs well with a JEYI ASM2464? I have an Acasis TBU405 with a 4TB WD SN850X, but I’m not satisfied with the write speed (around 1000 MB/s) on my Apple M1

I personally had good results from a Samsung Pro 990 2TB in a similar enclosure. It was my boot drive on my 2017 iMac and things flew. A couple pages back I posted benchmarks. With Apple Silicon, you should get the full 40Gb/s, so you should be around 3,000-3,200MB/s at the minimum and maybe a little more in that JEYI. Would like to hear how that enclosure works for you. (I wasn't crazy about the Samsung Magician software, it recognized the drive once and never again) I'm looking for a 2TB or 4TB drive that if the need be, a firmware update or something, I can flash it on my Mac. I don't think there is any drive software out there that is MacOS friendly. I sent my enclosure and drive back after getting the Studio and now planning my next move.

Also, in the Acasis enclosure, with both thermal pads stacked, I don't think it helped much, but the drive would stay around 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

And I'm running on and on here... that 990 is rated for like 7,500MB/s, so it's more than capable and a little future-proofing too.

 

[Earl Urley]

BTW, the Hyper HD5001GL-90 comes with a totally unmarked generic cable, it's supposed to be USB4 but the only identifying feature is a HYPER sticker affixed to one end.

It also thoughtfully comes with two thermal SSD-sized pads, and a spare rubber plug used to keep the SSD in place.

The Hyper logo in the middle blinks to indicate connection / transfer activity.

The instructions are totally threadbare- you are supposed to figure out yourself how to disassemble the enclosure (hint: use the thumb slot located at the opposite end from the USB4/TB port)

Tested with a known working Cable Matters USB4 cable with 40 Gb speed and 240W power delivery

 

[Loco Sock]

BTW, the Hyper HD5001GL-90 comes with a totally unmarked generic cable, it's supposed to be USB4 but the only identifying feature is a HYPER sticker affixed to one end.

It also thoughtfully comes with two thermal SSD-sized pads, and a spare rubber plug used to keep the SSD in place.

The Hyper logo in the middle blinks to indicate connection / transfer activity.

The instructions are totally threadbare- you are supposed to figure out yourself how to disassemble the enclosure (hint: use the thumb slot located at the opposite end from the USB4/TB port)

Tested with a known working Cable Matters USB4 cable with 40 Gb speed and 240W power delivery

What were your results, number-wise?

I also went with the Thunderbolt 3 cable from Apple when I had my 2017 iMac, but since I didn't need it any longer, was able to return it.

I have bought 2 CalDigit Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 Cables, since the price is really reasonable and they are Certified by Intel. I have one going from my Mac to my Display now, replacing the cable that came with the Display. I don't trust most cables that come with any product (HDMI, Ether, USB, etc) except for Apple and probably a couple of other vendors (like CalDigit).

 

[richpjr]

I picked up the Hyper enclosure and stuck my 2TB SN850 in it on my M1 Max Mac Studio and am getting:

I also picked up the Jeyi enclosure and a 4TB SN805x and am getting this:

I swapped SSDs in the enclosures and the numbers were about identical. I also tried swapping the Hyper, Jeyi, a Caldigit TB3 cable from my docking station and got pretty identical numbers. My conclusion: the Hyper and Jeyi performed the same with all cables and both drives on my Mac Studio. Since there is such a small increase from my SN850 to the SN850X I will be returning both the Jeyi and the SN850x as it was kind of an impulse Black Friday buy.

 

[masotime]

I picked up the Hyper enclosure and stuck my 2TB SN850 in it on my M1 Max Mac Studio and am getting:

Thank you for sharing! Could you also run an Amorphous Disk benchmark?

 

[richpjr]

Thank you for sharing! Could you also run an Amorphous Disk benchmark?

I already boxed up the Jeyi and the SN850x, but here is the Hyper with the 2TB SN850:

 

[mogens]

Thanks, what is the benchmark with the Jeyi and the SN850x in ADM.
I`ve just ordered that combo