Update on SSD swapping in Buffalo MiniStation TB

[dawindmg08]

Hi all,

I'd love to swap out the horrid 5400rpm drive in our Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt enclosure. I've been following a lot of the threads on here about it BUT most of them are old so I wanted to know if anyone had some fresh intel -- namely if any current SSD drives over 250GB meet the power requirements? It seems like some 512GB drives cause the Buffalo to disconnect because they're drawing too much power, would love to know if that's still the case or have their been improvements with some brands and their power draw?

Current options I'm looking at:

• OWC 480GB Mercury ($195) or Mercury Extreme ($258) -- pricey, but good brand
• Samsung 512GB 850 PRO Series ($221) -- someone in one of threads had success with this brand, maybe due to lower power consumption?
• SanDisk X300 512GB ($134) -- cheapest option, possibly slower than Samsung? Haven't heard anything about their SSDs but use their CF cards all the time.

TIA!

 

[campyguy]

Find and PM Doward - I've never interacted with him, but I do know that he modded his TB with a 7200RPM drive then later installed a 840 EVO. I bookmarked his relevant YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSMCgDvqLX3ABtYc1SbPUyPUU5sk545Jb

My two cents, go with the 850 EVO over the 850 Pro. I use lots of both - the Pro works great for an OS drive, and the EVO goes head-to-head with the Pro for storage for a lot less coin. You'll never get optimum read/write speeds out of the TB enclosure as it's TB1 - I have one of those Buffalo drives too and absofrickinlutely hate that it's such a dog and apparently looks to be a PITA to open up, and I wouldn't waste the extra money for a Pro when I know the EVO is a better fit, cost-wise.

Good luck opening that enclosure up, and keep the cursing to a dull roar! :evil grin: Use the cost difference between the Pro and EVO to get a good bottle of Irish Whiskey - I think you'll need it!

 

[dawindmg08]

Thanks for the note and the tip about the EVO! That looks like a great option, and if there's no big difference with read/write speed because of the Thunderbolt 1 connection then I might as well use the cheaper drive.

There's several videos about opening the Buffalo (I did watch Doward's), looks annoying but not impossible. It's just double-stick-taped in there so it's a bitch to loosen up.