NVME ssd drives for 2019 imac

[andygo]

I fancy an external ssd drive, but have read that the NVME drives are faster. Are they available as an external drive to hook up via thunderbolt/usb c connection?

If so, what should I be looking for please?

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Yes not worth it though just get a std sata3 one you really dont need to write.data faster on a day to day basis imho

[mmm-five]

Only the OP will know their use case, so I'm not sure how anyone can simply say you don't need the extra speed.

I use a relatively small & fast SSD (1TB and about 2400mbps) for working on large files quickly (about 5gb) - and for rapidly pulling in assets for previewing. But I will offload that to large HDDs in a TB3 enclosure, where the regular backup process will then replicate the changes to other drives. I also use this when I need to be mobile, as it gives me a fast backup between main machine & portable machine (or client machine).

SATA3-connected ones tend to deliver 500-600mbps read speeds.

• USB 3.0 (or 3.2 Gen 1 as it's now called) will max out at about 600mbps
• USB 3.1 (or 3.2 Gen 2 as it's now called) - about 1200mbps
• Thunderbolt 1 - about 1200mbps
• USB 3.2 (or 3.2 Gen 2x2 as it's now called) and Thunderbolt 2 - about 2400mbps
• Thunderbolt 2 - about 2400mbps
• Thunderbolt 3 - about 5000mbps

The correct NVMe one, in the correct enclosure, connected via TB3 can deliver speeds similar to (and sometimes in excess) of Apple's internal ones (over 2500mbps read). For example:

• this Sandisk Extreme Pro can deliver over 1000mbps via USB-C (USB3.1/or 3.2 Gen 2)
• this Lacie professional one can give you almost triple that - at over double the price

Be warned though that the faster, USB3.2 Gen 2x2 and Thunderbolt devices/enclosures tend to be significantly more expensive than USB 3.0/3.1 ones.

Only you know what you actually need/want.

Edited by mmm-five on Tuesday 16th June 13:57

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Its been shown many times that for even demanding workloads you wont notice the difference between sata3 nvme 3.0 and 4.0 only when you go running synthetic benchmarks do you see it.

Any of them if using a decent drive will run rings around mechanical storage.

If your editing 8k raw footage then maybe but then really you should be using a better machine as the disk wont be holding you up

[andygo]

Thanks for all the help chaps. I'll get a 'normal' SSD drive, saves me a few bob.

Putting it in a car context, it's like chipping a car, you might not need it, might not notice it, but maybe nice to have, lol!

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Exactly my machine has a 1 tb nvme because it looks better on the MB but a 2 tb sata ssd hidden away to store my games and stuff on then a mechanical just as a backup for photos etc

[Trustmeimadoctor]

What size you after?

[andygo]

One gb min.

[mmm-five]

andygo said:

One gb min.

I assume you mean 1TB (1000GB), but you can either buy a plug & play one like those linked in my earlier post, or build your own with separately purchased NVMe enclosure and m2 NVMe SSD.

Probably about £100+ for the NVMe SSD (e.g. this Crucial one) and £10-£100 for the enclosure depending on what quality/speed/connection you go for.

USB-connected enclosure for a 2.5" SATA SSD will be the cheapest (e.g. this Sabrent SATA one).

A USB-C or Thunderbolt enclosure for an m2 NVMe will be more expensive e.g. this Sabrent m2 USB-C one) - as will the SSD.

Plug & play USB-C one for about £120-£150 all in (e.g. this ADATA one or this 500mbps Samsung T5).

Edited by mmm-five on Monday 6th July 18:56

[andygo]

Der, sorry, yes 1 TB.

With the imminent advent of Big Sur, I was thinking of installing something like this instead of my fusion drive and do a clean install, something which I haven't done for about 4 years. :


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sabrent-Internal-Maximum-...

Might need something like this to comply with he 2280 standard though - all seems to be a grey area for the unitiated:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07LGF54XR/ref=sspa_dk... t

Edited by andygo on Monday 6th July 17:48

Edited by andygo on Monday 6th July 17:49

Edited by andygo on Monday 6th July 17:51

[mmm-five]

Your iMac should have Thunderbolt 3, so you can take advantage of the higher speeds of those SSDs...assuming you use the correct enclosure (PCIe 3.0 or PCIe 4.0)...otherwise you risk falling back to USB3.1 Gen 2 speeds (10gbps or about 1000mbps from the SSD) - and if you're going to do that you might as well buy Sabrent's own external plug & play 1TB SSD.

Be careful when searching though, as the Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C connectors are identical - and some drives will say Thunderbolt 3 'compatible' when they just mean you can use the same TB3/USB-C connection...but don't provide the 40gbps speed.

I haven't seen any what I'd call cheap Thunderbolt 3 enclosures though (I'm waiting for my OWC Envoy Express to ship in August - $90 plus taxes/duty when it gets to the UK). There is a WAVLINK one at a semi-reasonable prices of £118, but I have no direct experience of it.