Time Machine SSD For New iMac

[Buadhai]

I bought an iMac for my daughter and her sons for Christmas. I want to order an external SSD for them to use as a Time Machine backup drive. They live on Saipan, so I’ll need to find something that can be shipped to US Zip Code 96950. (It ain’t easy....)

I think 1TB would be enough. I’d prefer USB-C as I suspect those ports will be unused.

TIA

 

[ght56]

How much data are they currently using? 1TB could be very sufficient or it could be completely insufficient. Brand-wise, any reasonable SSD (pre-configured external or a 2.5-inch SATA internal SSD that you put into an external enclosure) will do. This could include brands like Samsung, SanDisk/Western Digital, Crucial, Intel, ADATA, etc.

 

[Buadhai]

The machine has 256GB storage. I doubt they’ll ever use that.

I’ve had horrible luck with both Seagate and WD drives. But I really know nothing about other brands.

I'm also unsure about what drives can be successfully formatted as APFS.

 

[Buadhai]

Will this do:

SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD - Up to 1050MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2 - External Solid State Drive - SDSSDE61-1T00-G25
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[Ifti]

Will this do:

SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD - Up to 1050MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2 - External Solid State Drive - SDSSDE61-1T00-G25​

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This is what I use for my TM backup. Perfectly fine.

 

[Buadhai]

This is what I use for my TM backup. Perfectly fine.

Perfect. Thank you.

 

[JR17358]

The machine has 256GB storage. I doubt they’ll ever use that.

I’ve had horrible luck with both Seagate and WD drives. But I really know nothing about other brands.

I'm also unsure about what drives can be successfully formatted as APFS.

Another vote for the SanDisk Extreme only I have the 2TB version. I have it partitioned into 3 partitions - a 500GB APFS for Time Machine backups, a 500GB ExFat for compatibility with Windows, and a 1TB MacOS Journaled for extra data and other purposes (image library etc). The drive works fine off the Macbook Pro USB-C port and also off an iPad Pro with USB-C. Not so good off an iPhone though - I think the power requirements are too great (or perhaps some other parameter is - the phone doesn't see the drive but I really don't care that much).

Time Machine will eventually use up all the space you give it but I think it's excessive in the number of backups it makes so I don't have automatic backups set to run - if I feel the need for a backup (because of changes I've made) I run a manual backup.

 

[Ifti]

I also have the 2TB Extreme Pro version, although I leave the entire drive for Time Machine. I did have a 500GB partition for SuperDuper, but I felt placing all types of backups on one drive wasn't the wisest thing to do - if the drive fails then all backups fail with it!
Like the above I also feel auto backups are excessive, and I run manually as and when I feel I need to...

Hence I use my 2TB Extreme Pro for Time Machine only, and will likely use a different drive when SuperDuper is supported on Big Sur.....Most likely the 1TB version of the Extreme Pro.

I also use my NAS just to backup my documents and important files.

 

[Phil77354]

I'm somewhat surprised to see the SanDisk recommendations here. In other similar discussions in these forums, the Samsung portable SSD T7 has received high reviews and seemed to be the consensus. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with the SanDisk, just pointing out that the Samsung is also a very good choice.

I purchased the 1TB for myself recently. Pricing on Amazon is very similar to the SanDisk, perhaps only slightly more expensive.

 

[ght56]

The machine has 256GB storage. I doubt they’ll ever use that.

I’ve had horrible luck with both Seagate and WD drives. But I really know nothing about other brands.

I'm also unsure about what drives can be successfully formatted as APFS.

1TB should be plenty sufficient. WD and SanDisk are the same company now, so I will make recommendations for other companies than Seagate, WD, and SanDisk.

If you want cost efficiency, a Crucial BX and a basic SATA enclosure is a solid choice. All you have to do is drop the SSD inside the enclosure.

Crucial BX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5-Inch Internal SSD, up to 540MB/s - CT1000BX500SSD1, Solid State Drive

Ever wonder why your phone responds faster than your computer? It's because your phone runs on flash memory. Add flash to your laptop or desktop computer with the Crucial BX500 SSD, the easiest way to get all the speed of a new computer without the price. Accelerate everything.

www.amazon.com

ORICO 2.5'' USB C External Hard Drive Enclosure, SATA 3.0 to USB 3.1 Gen2 6Gbps Case for 2.5 Inch HDD/SSD Support Max 6TB with UASP Tool Free(2189C3)

ORICO 2.5'' USB C External Hard Drive Enclosure, SATA 3.0 to USB 3.1 Gen2 6Gbps Case for 2.5 Inch HDD/SSD Support Max 6TB with UASP Tool Free(2189C3)

www.amazon.com

If you want something pre-assembled and with a bit nicer fit and finish, the Samsung T5 is hard to beat for this application (there are no real benefits to the faster T7 here)

SAMSUNG T5 Portable SSD 1TB - Up to 540MB/s - USB 3.1 External Solid State Drive, Black (MU-PA1T0B/AM)

The SAMSUNG T5 Portable SSD has the latest in SAMSUNG V-NAND flash memory technology. Its portable design, blazing fast transfer speeds of up to 540 MB/s, shock resistance, and secure encryption make it the best portable SSD on the market.

www.amazon.com

As for APFS compatibility, any of these drives can be formatted to APFS - none of them will come formatted APFS (most will be formatted in ExFAT, with the exception of G-Technology products and select Mac-oriented products) and will need to be formatted to APFS using the Disk Utility.

 

[joecatz1]

maybe a dumb question but how do you partition an SSD 2tB extreme to run 500 as a time machine backup for one mac, 500 for another mac, and 1tB for standard external drive?

 

[Buadhai]

Thanks to all. I ended up ordering the San Disk SSD mainly because it would ship to Saipan.

Aside: Even though Amazon said "free shipping", I was charged $14.00 for delivery. This to a US Postal Service PO Box in a US territory where US Domestic Postal rates apply. This is the first time Amazon has done this to me. Next time I’ll look elsewhere.

 

[JR17358]

maybe a dumb question but how do you partition an SSD 2tB extreme to run 500 as a time machine backup for one mac, 500 for another mac, and 1tB for standard external drive?

This is not too different than what I did. I created an APFS for the entire drive (use Disk Utility to do this) - which then unlocked the ability to create different partitions in that 2T APFS space. Make two partitions 500GB and give them two different names. A MacOS Journaled partition type would be fine for both of these. Then create a 1TB MacOS Journaled partition for common mass storage.

When you set up Time Machine for the first Mac point it to one of the two 500GB partitions - that Time Machine instance will take over that partition. Then do the same thing on the second Mac but point that Time Machine to the second 500GB partition, which will take over the second 500GB partition. Both Macs will be able to see the common 1T partition and Time Machine will leave that alone.

 

[Ifti]

I still use HFS+ as and where I can, especially for Time Machine. Moving your TM backups from one drive to another is not possible when using an APFS volume, whereas with HFS+ its as simple as a copy and paste, then directing TM to the new drive, and it'll continue where it left off......

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/migrate-time-machine-backups-to-new-drive-on-big-sur.2273799