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umbilical

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 3, 2008
1,328
362
FL, USA
I buy this NVMe with an enclousure to make TimeMachine Backups of my MacMini, this:


I prefer enclousures than "ready" to use hard drives and I like fast drives in case that I need move things quickly, but the point is:

I set TimeMachine to make hourly backups, so that can kill my NVMe? I don't feel the enclousure getting hot and works fine without any issue.

I like hourly backups, we never know! I feel safe but I don't know anything about NVMe's to be honest!
 
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Some things that can reduce NVME life:

1. The NVME itself, TBW values and reliability differ widely
2. Amount of free space - need ~30% free
3. The read/write ratio. Writes are what cause wear. Since TM primarily uses reads after the initial backup, assuming you don't change that many files, probably OK.

A 3-2-1 backup strategy would require 2 additional backups, not TM as TM backups tend to fail. A HD is actually better for TM backups because you don't need SSD speeds (runs in background) and as it is cheaper you can get longer backup history.
 
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A HD is actually better for TM backups because you don't need SSD speeds (runs in background) and as it is cheaper you can get longer backup history.
Both true, but SSD prices have really come down. I'm seeing 4TB SSDs for like $200 at this point. (I know, HDDs are like half that, but $100 isn't a ton of money to spend to get something much faster and totally silent).
 
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Both true, but SSD prices have really come down. I'm seeing 4TB SSDs for like $200 at this point. (I know, HDDs are like half that, but $100 isn't a ton of money to spend to get something much faster and totally silent).
exactly! that's my point, I love silent things, this mac mini is amazing in that deparment and this NVME, I can't hear anything! totally silent combo.

and yes the speed.

also I don't know if I'm wrong but I prefer enclousures, I don't like that HDs like WD books and closed drives, if this thing fails maybe I can do something due I have access to.
 
current state of my mac mini base model 256ssd, 1TB NVME with this enclousure:

 
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an actual system recovery via TM from a spinning HD is PAINfully slow.

Have you compared the times? Would be interested in seeing.

but SSD prices have really come down. I'm seeing 4TB SSDs for like $200 at this point.

SSDs definitely are the future. For now you can get 4x the storage for approximately the same price on an HD. Last 16 TB Ironwolf Pro that I bought, with a 5 year warranty, was $249.
 
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