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So I just tested this on my M4. I didn't do a lot of testing, but I get the impression the rear Thunderbolt 4 ports may be a bit faster than the front USB 3.2 ports, despite all of these drives being USB 3.2.
Something to keep in mind about the twin front ports. On my M2 Mac Studio Max, which has 4 TB ports in the back and 2 USB-C 3.2 port in the front, I have come to find the 2 front ports are split off from 1 USB 10Gb/s controller, so R/W speeds with both ports in use can at times be 10-20% less what a single 10Gb/s port can do. I had planned to pair up 2 Samsung T7 Shield 4TB drives and run them as a 8TB RAID pair off these ports and hopefully get at least R/W comparable to what a TB port can produce. Now instead I have a OWC TB hub with 3 TB ports, using 1TB port to feed it, and hook them up to this. Speeds are a bit faster off the Hub at 850-900 Mb/s vs 750-800 MB/s with the front ports.

Would not be surprised to see the M4 Mini use this same setup for the front ports.
 
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Something to keep in mind about the twin front ports. On my M2 Mac Studio Max, which has 4 TB ports in the back and 2 USB-C 3.2 port in the front, I have come to find the 2 front ports are split off from 1 USB 10Gb/s controller, so R/W speeds with both ports in use can at times 10-20% less what a single 10Gb/s port can do. I had planned to pair up 2 Samsung T7 Shield 4TB drives and run them as a 8TB RAID pair off these ports and hopefully get at least R/W comparable to what a TB port can produce. Now instead I have a OWC TB hub with 3 TB ports, using 1TB port to feed it, and hook them up to this. Speeds are a bit faster off the Hub at 850-900 Mb/s vs 750-800 MB/s with the front ports.

Would not be surprised to see the M4 Mini use this same setup.
Yeah, it would make sense they would behave differently than the rear Thunderbolt ports. However, just to be clear, when I did the testing above, only one of the front ports was populated. I deliberately kept one port empty just in case. But when I discovered they may be slower, I moved the testing to the rear ports.
 
I'm just seeing this now and it looks like they are out of stock. If I were to buy an Mini M4 Pro that has the TB5 ports along with this enclosure and the Samsung SSD 990 PRO 4TB I would get the 6K read/write speeds they are advertising in their test results? Sounds like that's twice as fast as the other option I'm looking at in my posts above. Does anyone have this in the field yet hooked up to an Mini M4 Pro?
They are too new to even have been shipped yet, the site probably just want the product page up first, so list it as out of stock.

The speed is not surprising, competing makers also show similar speed with the same JHL chip.
 
I put it on the top of MacStudio, which acts as a larger heat sink

I have been doing the same, until this afternoon . . . I was concerned that the aluminum-on-aluminum contact was gana scratch my Lovely Beast.

Previously. my Externals have been hovering ~42C

So--after a deep-clean of my Workspace this morning--I attached 4x felt pads to bottoms of both my TBU405's, and my Maiwo K1695

IMG_3621.jpeg


I was like "No_Scratch == Yay!"

Unfortunately, these little buggers soon gots-some-hots!

Screenshot 2024-11-17 at 15.08.42.png


So, I divested these units of their felt-pads...

IMG_3622.jpeg


I let things simmer-down for a while, then captured the temps:
Screenshot 2024-11-17 at 15.18.32.png


I ain't in Rocket Science, but I do understand when Less is More (and I see no scratching on Her lovely surface) ;)
 
I got the Qwiizlab ES40UR enclosure today (without a drive to put in it). Chip is confirmed to be ASM2464PD. It is extremely robust, very heavy and well built. Includes extra screws, extra screw mount for SSD, screwdrivers, USB 4 cable, two thermal pads for the SSD + two thermal pads for the controller chip, and soft bag. I put some coins in the fins to illustrate the depth of the fins.

IMG_5945.jpeg

IMG_5952.jpeg

IMG_5953.jpeg

IMG_5954.jpeg

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Guys the SN850X 8TB on Amazon is now lowered to $599. This is incredibly hard to resist.
You can also get 2 x SN850X 4 TB at SanDisk.com for additional discount. The Samsung 990 Pro is supposed to use a bit less power, but this deal is very tempting.

Getting two of them is probably overkill, but I can use the second one as a fast backup. I don't think I'll see as good of a deal for the Samsung 990 Pro by Black Friday.

EDIT:

This video shows the 4 TB one to be double-sided. I wonder if that would be a problem for an external enclosure.


Here's the Qwiizlab enclosure showing the depth of the SSD slot:

IMG_5959.jpeg
 
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Just received the OWC Express 1M2 enclosure this evening. Added a WD SN770 2TB drive and copied over my data. Black Magic showing read and write speeds > 3000MB/s. Copied about 180GB of data and it remained just warm to the touch, not hot in the slightest.
Impressed with this combination.
 
Just received the OWC Express 1M2 enclosure this evening. Added a WD SN770 2TB drive and copied over my data. Black Magic showing read and write speeds > 3000MB/s. Copied about 180GB of data and it remained just warm to the touch, not hot in the slightest.
Impressed with this combination.
Did it slow down at all during that transfer? I’m also curious about the latency. Could you run AmorphousDiskMark?
 
Did it slow down at all during that transfer? I’m also curious about the latency. Could you run AmorphousDiskMark?
No signs of slowdown although the copy was from another external drive in an older USB 3 enclosure so it's max speed was the limiting factor of around 1GB/s. I'll share benchmark screens in the morning. 👍
 
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Latest ADM's for my units:

Maiwo-K1695_1GiB.png

Acasis-TBU405_1GiB.png

Oh
Maiwo-K1695_4GiB.png

Acasis-TBU405_4GiB.png


I don't tax 'em like I probably could, but I just can't regularly muster the brain-energy to conduct major re-imaging of all my Projects.

My two TBU405'a cost me USD88 each (DS from Acasis), and my Maiwo (DS from Ali) cost me USD50. Each of the SkH 2TB P31's cost me ~USD120

Phenomenal little External Creatures ;)

For comparison, this is what the 2TB internal storage is like on my BTO '23 M2 Studio:

AP2048Z_1GiB.png

AP2048Z_4GiB.png


I don't really (subjectively) notice the difference between Int&Ext.
 
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This video shows the 4 TB one to be double-sided. I wonder if that would be a problem for an external enclosure.


Here's the Qwiizlab enclosure showing the depth of the SSD slot:

View attachment 2452939
Uh oh. Somebody on another forum says his 4 TB SN850X - double sided - does NOT fit in most of his external enclosures, because it's too thick. I don't know what enclosures he has, but nonetheless, I'd prefer to stick with single-sided especially since I will be using more than one enclosure.
 
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This video shows the 4 TB one to be double-sided. I wonder if that would be a problem for an external enclosure.
From Qwiizlab:

Dear Customer
Yes, it supports double-sided SSDs. And we recommend that you use the brands and models listed as below.

As for M.2 SSD, it supports both SATA and NVMe PCIe protocols up to 8TB. Verified M.2 SSD models are listed as below (to be updated):

Samsung: 990 Pro/990 EVO/990 EVO Plus, 980 Pro/980, 970 Pro/970 EVO/970 EVO Plus/970
Western Digital: Black SN850X/SN850/SN770/SN750, Blue SN5000/SN570/SN550, Green SN350, Red SN700/SA500
Seagate: BarraCuda Q5/510, FireCuda 520/510, IronWolf 525
Crucial: P5/P5 Plus, P3/P3 Plus, P2/P2 Plus, T500
fanxiang: S500/S501, S690, S880
Kingston: NV3, NV2, NV1, DC1000B, KC3000, A400
Lexar: NM620, NM710/NM790, NM800 Pro
Sabrent: Rocket 4 Plus/Rocket Q/Rocket
SanDisk: Extreme Pro M.2/Z400S/X400
SK Hynix: Platinum P41, Gold P31
Silicon Power: A60, UD90, US75
acer: FA100, Predator GM7000
Teamgroup: MP33/MS30
PNY: CS2130/CS1030

Best Regards

Customer Support Dept.
Shenzhen Qwiizlab Technology Limited
 
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OWC Thunderbolt 5 drive is a disappointment for sustained large file transfers.


It starts out at around 5.3 GB/s, but seems to have a relatively small cache so after a few seconds, it drops down to 1.8 GB/s.

Also, it has a permanently attached Thunderbolt 5 cable.
 
OWC Thunderbolt 5 drive is a disappointment for sustained large file transfers.


It starts out at around 5.3 GB/s, but seems to have a relatively small cache so after a few seconds, it drops down to 1.8 GB/s.

Also, it has a permanently attached Thunderbolt 5 cable.
thanks. I think I'll wait for USB4 version 2 and see how it performs.
 
Also, it has a permanently attached Thunderbolt 5 cable.
If it's anything like the older RJ45 10GB OWC TB3 Network Adaptor then if you pop the case, it's just a normal cable which would be replaceable with the same plug end shape (or smaller).
 
If it's anything like the older RJ45 10GB OWC TB3 Network Adaptor then if you pop the case, it's just a normal cable which would be replaceable with the same plug end shape (or smaller).
Yes we will be offering replaceable cables that users can install. Inside is a connector.
 
Yes we will be offering replaceable cables that users can install. Inside is a connector.
If I recall correctly, Thunderbolt actually mandates this? You cannot solder one end of the cable permanently onto a board, it has to be an actual plug going into an actual port. Products like this OWC just hide this port/plug inside the chassis for better protection of that specific area.
 
Hi there !

Here I am hesitant about my base iMac M1 model (with thunderbolt port) :

Enclosure :
Acasis TBU405 (JHL7440)
Qwiizlab ES40UR (ASM2464PD)

NVMe :
SN850X 4TB (TLC & DRAM)
SN770 2TB (TLC without DRAM)
P3 Plus 4TB (QLC without DRAM)

Note : If you have better recommendations, I'm interested :)

My use : file storage with some 4K video viewing. No video/3D editing, Boot OS/Apps.
My wish : ~ W 2500MB/s, efficient in flow even after being half filled, "cold" and silent.

My questions :
1. Will speed be significantly impacted with encrypted APFS ?
2. Do my iMac ports need to be up to date ? If yes, how ? I am currently running the latest version of Sequoia.

TY ! And sorry for my English who's not my native language.
 
Amazon black friday deals on SN850X is on:
8TB $550
4TB $250
2TB $125

In the space of a month or two, the 8TB went from $750 to $650, to $600, and now $550, lol.
 
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Amazon black friday deals on SN850X is on:
8TB $550
4TB $250
2TB $125

In the space of a month or two, the 8TB went from $750 to $650, to $600, and now $550, lol.
I just ordered the 4 TB Samsung 990 Pro. I’m in Canada and got it for CA$380, but at Amazon USA it’s US$260.

Pricing on the DRAM-less Samsung 990 EVO Plus is strange. Currently it is more than the 990 Pro, but even when the EVO Plus was on sale for much cheaper, it was still more expensive than the 990 Pro is now. Maybe the EVO Plus will get a better sale next week? I was considering one for a Time Machine drive, but not at those prices. Or else, it would be nice to see the Lexar NM790 go on sale for cheap. I’d consider that one too for the Time Machine drive, despite the fact it uses a less well known controller and somewhat controversial memory.
 
Got the 990 Pro 4 TB for my M4 Mac mini.


Orico M2PV-C3 USB 3.1 Gen 1 10 Gbps enclosure

BlackMagic_Orico.png

ADM_Realtek RTL9210B-CG : Apple M4.png

These USB 3 speeds are from a Thunderbolt 4 port in back. I got slower speeds from the USB 3 port in front.


Qwiizlab ES40UR USB 4 40 Gbps enclosure

BlackMagic_Qwiizlab.png

Samsung SSD 990 PRO 4TB : Apple M4 - 3.png

When I first plugged it in, it only negotiated at USB 3 speeds, but that was because I was using a USB-C cable from one of my USB 3 drives. The enclosure's LED was white, indicating USB 3. Then I swapped over to a Thunderbolt 4 cable and the LED turned green and gave these numbers.

Actually, the first run of Amorphous Disk Mark was a couple hundred MB slower, with slower random too so I wonder if it was doing something at first mount.

The Qwiizlab housing never gets super hot, but it is a bit warm even at idle. I'll have to download an app to check internal temps. Which one do you recommend?
 
The Qwiizlab housing never gets super hot, but it is a bit warm even at idle. I'll have to download an app to check internal temps. Which one do you recommend?
I see the same behaviour with the OWC 1M2. It never gets hot but still feels when warm when the Mac should really be sleeping. I'm wondering if this is due the chipset used as these enclosures use the same ASMedia chipset. USB 3.2 enclosures on the same Mac do not exhibit this behaviour.
 
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I see the same behaviour with the OWC 1M2. It never gets hot but still feels when warm when the Mac should really be sleeping. I'm wondering if this is due the chipset used as these enclosures use the same ASMedia chipset. USB 3.2 enclosures on the same Mac do not exhibit this behaviour.
After waking the Mac mini from sleep, I installed Macs Fan Control which showed the Samsung 990 Pro temperature to be idling at 35 C inside the Qwiizlab enclosure. I think it was at this temp or close to it during sleep, since the enclosure was not cold.

I then let Black Magic Speed Test run for a few minutes and then AmorphousDiskMark and the temp gradually went up to 40 and dropped back down a bit. However, now it's doing nothing and idling at 40 C. At some point I'll have to do a proper stress test on it, perhaps when I'm transferring my Photos Library over.

IdleTemp-AfterSleep.png

IdleTemp-AfterBenchmarks after a few mins.png

With these temps, the enclosure feels lukewarm to the touch, not hot.

EDIT:

Now it's up to 42 C, but I haven't actually been using it. So, in other words, the temperature has climbed from 39-42 during idle over the last 20 mins. This is likely longer than is needed for drive cleanup, so I'm thinking it's just idle heat generation, probably more from the ASM2464PD chipset than the SSD I'm guessing. I'll keep Macs Fan Control in the task bar and we'll see how high it goes.

Anyhow, it's good to see that TRIM is automatically enabled on this drive.

TRIM.png
 
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