Thunderbolt 4 & NVMe M.2 External Storage: Read/Write Speeds?

[F-Train]

This post by @tlindaas in another current thread shows a significant increase in read and write speed when two enclosures, each connected to its own Thunderbolt 3/4 port, are joined in RAID 0: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...use-with-the-mac-studio.2337454/post-31045523

The computer was a 16" M1 MacBook Pro. The two enclosures were Acasis and the SSDs were Gen 4 Sabrents.

Note what he says about read and write speed, two posts down from the link, when the drive has been working for a long time.

 

[F-Train]

Benchmarks are well and good, but I thought that I'd time a real-life copy from the Samsung 980 Pro to my 2018 Mac mini internal drive.

Hardware was the same as for the benchmark tests above:
2018 Mac mini 6 core i7, Thunderbolt 3 port
TekQ Cube Thunderbolt 3 aluminium enclosure containing a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro SSD formatted APFS
Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable (0.8m) connecting the two

I wanted to time copying of a large number of small files. I have Spitfire Audio's full BBC Symphony Orchestra library on the 980 Pro SSD. The library is 635GB. I copied the Woodwinds directory (see screen capture below), which consists of sounds from the orchestra's woodwind instruments (flutes, piccolo, oboe, clarinets, bassoons, cor anglais). The directory is 150GB and contains 4,485 files. That works out to an average of 33.4MB per file. I determined the number of files via the Mac Terminal command ls | wc -l. Mac right-click "Get Info" showed the same number of "Items".

To copy the directory, I dragged it from Finder to my desktop. I timed the copying with the iPhone stopwatch.

It took 90 seconds to copy the directory, which works out to 1.67GB per second. I repeated the test with the BBC Percussion library, which is 85GB. The transfer rate was the same: 1.67GB per second.

The tests that @Baja63 showed in post #43 suggest that the Studio Max, when it arrives, may result in somewhat faster performance. It's certainly the case that my 2TB Studio Max drive will be significantly faster than my 2018 Mac mini 512GB drive. Regardless, I'm satisfied that the 980 Pro, as an external drive, will be quite fast enough for how I use a computer. I'm intrigued by the idea of setting up two enclosures in RAID 0 (see post #51 just above), but in my case I doubt that I'd see a practical benefit.

 

[F-Train]

Art Suwansang has published a video on his ArtIsRight YouTube channel that implements the kind of solution that I talked about in post #1 of this thread, but have since rejected. He's repurposed an external GPU enclosure (an Akitio Node) as an enclosure for M.2 NVMe SSDs. The carrier/adapter/card is a Sonnet M.2 4x4 (US$400), on which he's mounted four 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSDs in RAID 0.

Below is a screen capture from his video that shows the read and write speeds that he's getting with Blackmagic's Disk Speed Test: read 2445MB/s, write 2065MB/s. Normally, I would expect higher speeds from RAID 0. However, as discussed in post #35, Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSDs, when connected via Thunderbolt 3, show poor write speeds compared to other M.2 NVMe SSDs. RAID 0 does appear to have roughly doubled his EVO Plus write speed to 2065MB/s. However, there's another problem. I'm sure that there's only one Thunderbolt 3 cable running from his Akitio enclosure. This means that the four SSDs, including in RAID 0, are limited by the throughput of a single Thunderbolt 3 port. It appears that that will cap real life speed at around 2700MB/s. This may explain Suwansang's read speed, unimpressive for RAID 0, of 2445MB/s. With a single Thunderbolt 3/4 connection, I'm skeptical about whether it's possible to do better than the results that @Baja63 shows in post #43: 2735MB/s read, 2775MB/s write.

I should point out that Suwansang is not presenting this as an ideal solution. He's repurposing components that he already owns for use with his Mac Studio Ultra. From scratch, I think that it makes more sense, both financially and in terms of performance, to purchase two Thunderbolt 3 enclosures, connect them to separate Thunderbolt 3/4 ports, and set them up in RAID 0. This solution would also be far less bulky. @tlindaas shows his results from using two enclosures in RAID 0, each containing a 4TB Sabrent SSD, in the link in post #51: read 4330 MB/s, write 5390 MB/s.

This is the full video:

 

[indiekiduk]

For speed test info to be useful at all we need to know the model of Mac, the port used, the kind of caddy, the model and size of SSD in particular if it is single sided or double sided and now it seems even the brand of cable used.

 

[F-Train]

For speed test info to be useful at all we need to know the model of Mac, the port used, the kind of caddy, the model and size of SSD in particular if it is single sided or double sided and now it seems even the brand of cable used.

Read the thread. That information, or much of it, is supplied for the tests discussed. If you want more detailed info on Art Suwansang's test (post two above), watch his video. If you want detailed info on specific SSDs, look up the specs.

This is the second sentence in the post only two up from yours:

Hardware was the same as for the benchmark tests above:​

2018 Mac mini 6 core i7, Thunderbolt 3 port​

TekQ Cube Thunderbolt 3 aluminium enclosure containing a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro SSD formatted APFS​

Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable (0.8m) connecting the two​

 

[Gr1f]

Hmm... I think I might do this with a couple of spare 1TB 970 Pros I will have once I get the Maxed out Ultra. So the general consensus is that if I get myself 2 x TB4 enclosures and attach them to 2 of the Studio's ports I should be able to Raid0 them and get close to 5,000 MB/Sec?

Any suggestions on a couple of enclosures? It might be worth making sure each enclosure can take 2 NVMe also.

 

[Ploki]

Dual NVMe enclosures are few and inbetween, also pretty pricey

 

[F-Train]

Hi @Gr1f

There are a good number of written and YouTube reviews on available Thunderbolt 3 enclosures. Some of the options are mentioned in posts in this thread. As @Ploki says, there are only a few that take more than one M.2 NVMe SSD. As far as I know, all of the enclosures that take two or more SSDs require mains rather than bus power. I'd suggest looking at specs carefully. Some enclosures offer performance that is slower than what the enclosures mentioned in this thread offer. Also, have in mind that the enclosure has to act as a heat sink.

I'm using a TekQ Cube, which comes from Taiwan. I'm happy with it. If I recall, it was the first one on the market back in 2018. At the time, AnandTech published one or two articles about TekQ's enclosures. The Cube is still sold on Amazon, but in 2022 you're unlikely to come across discussion about it, and I don't know if there have been enclosure improvements in the last four years. Except for OWC and Sonnet, it seems to be an area where there's a fair amount of product turnover/"refreshing". That said, a lot of the enclosures since the Cube, at least in overall design, look an awful lot like copies of the Cube.

 

[Ploki]

I have the AliExpress JEYI, which iirc has the same circuit board (and also enclosure) as the Cube, and they both date back to around the same period

 

[handheldgames]

I'm also looking to repurpose hardware from a 2012 Mac Pro tower for use with my Mac Studio Ultra.

With that said,
Mac Studio Ultra 64GB / 1TB (retail)
Sonnet Breakout Box 750
Highpoint 7101a-1
1TB Sabrent Rocket - AFPS format (existing drive with data)
1TB Samsung 970 Pro (existing drive with data)

Sabrent Rocket 1TB Drive

Samsung 970 Pro 1TB

I'm also waiting for a Sonnet Breakout Box 550 to arrive to see if there are any variances in Thunderbolt Controller performance between the implementations. While the Sonnet claims to have the JHL7440 controller in it's published specifications, the JHL6540 appears to be the onboard solution.

 

[Ploki]

how is it possible that 970 EVO non-plus performs so much better than the Plus version is beyond me

 

[Pressure]

how is it possible that 970 EVO non-plus performs so much better than the Plus version is beyond me

Because sequential read and write speeds are basically useless in normal workloads?

 

[F-Train]

Because sequential read and write speeds are basically useless in normal workloads?

Do you know what the issue is that he's talking about?

 

[Ploki]

Because sequential read and write speeds are basically useless in normal workloads?

Maybe, but real-world performance reflected sequential r/w in my practical use.
That's why i noticed, tested, and replaced with 980 Pro.

 

[handheldgames]

Maybe, but real-world performance reflected sequential r/w in my practical use.
That's why i noticed, tested, and replaced with 980 Pro.

The 970 EVO PLUS has had hardware revisions that affect its performance. Check out this post over on reddit: Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSD Hardware Revisions: Does It Matter?

Besides increasing the 970 EVO PLUS SLC cache from 42GB to 115GB, Samsung also started using the controller used in the 980 Pro, making newer versions of the drive faster. The only downside is it generates a bit more heat, which could be a problem for the small Thunderbolt NVME solutions without airflow.

 

[F-Train]

Besides increasing the 970 EVO PLUS SLC cache from 42GB to 115GB, Samsung also started using the controller used in the 980 Pro, making newer versions of the drive faster. The only downside is it generates a bit more heat, which could be a problem for the small Thunderbolt NVME solutions without airflow.

I tested a 2TB 970 EVO Plus that was purchased directly from Samsung last month. See post #35 and following. Heat was not an issue, and "faster" is not the first word that comes to mind

I've sent it back and purchased a 980 Pro. My write speed doubled (post #37).

 

[handheldgames]

I tested a 2TB 970 EVO Plus that was purchased directly from Samsung last month. See post #35 and following. Heat was not an issue, and "faster" is not the first word that comes to mind

I've sent it back and purchased a 980 Pro. My write speed doubled (post #37).

Good move on your part.

 

[F-Train]

The fellow who made this new video tested two RAID 0 configurations with a Studio/Max. He used USB 3.2 SSDs. These are screen captures from the video:

Two 1TB Samsung T7 SSDs using two ports

Two T7 Samsung SSDs and a 1 TB SanDisk Extreme using three ports

This is the full video:

 

[F-Train]

Speaking of T7 SSDs, Samsung released a new version at NAB with shock, dust and water protection. It's called T7 Shield. At B&H the 2TB is only US$10 more than the standard T7 ($240 vs $230). The 1TB is $20 more ($135 vs $115).

[EDIT: Price seems to be the same from Samsung itself, B&H, Best Buy and Amazon]

The 35 second ads are sort of cute:

Shock

Dust

Water

 

[aurora_sect]

Those look great! Looks like they are already in stock except for 1TB in blue or beige.

 

[F-Train]

There are already a few reviews of the T7 Shield on YouTube. Here are two screen captures from Apple Insider's video.


Read and write speeds:

[EDIT: See the test with a Mac Studio in post #74 below]

A T7 Touch and a T7 Shield, not much extra bulk:

 

[handheldgames]

There are already a few reviews of the T7 Shield on YouTube. Here are two screen captures from Apple Insider's video.


Unsurprisingly, read and write speeds are comparable to the standard T7:

View attachment 2001379



A T7 Touch and a T7 Shield, not much extra bulk:

View attachment 2001380

Performance on those drives is equivalent to an Apple AHCI PCIe 2.0 x2 SSD from 2013. Back in the day, x2 topped out ~750 MB/s and x4 around 1500 MB/s.

 

[lcubed]

Performance on those drives is equivalent to a Apple AHCI PCIe 2.0 x2 SSD from 2013. Back in the day, x2 topped out ~750 MB/s and x4 around 1500 MB/s.

it's a USB drive on a port that doesn't support gen2.
you shouldn't expect Thunderbolt speed on that port.

 

[F-Train]

This shows write and read speeds from a Samsung T7 connected to a base Studio Max. It's a screen capture from the video linked in post #68. The test was done with the Blackmagic Disk Speed app at 5GB stress.

Write: 912MB/s
Read: 737MB/s

 

[F-Train]

Those look great! Looks like they are already in stock except for 1TB in blue or beige.

Yes, I think that this new version of the T7 is an attractive option for a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) drive that offers shock/dust/water protection. My experience with T7 drives is that they're reliable, don't have heat/throttling issues and are plenty fast enough for most purposes. Most people are likely to evaluate the new T7 against the drives below, although there are other options. Prices are for 2TB in USD:

Samsung T7 Shield $240
SanDisk Extreme Portable v.2 $240
LaCie Rugged SSD $400