SSD Recommendation?

[lsamberg]

My wife got her new M1 MPB today. I want to upgrade her Time Machine disk. Currently on her old MBP she is using a 1TB spinning drive for TM with a 500GB internal drive. Her new MBP has 1TB internal so I want to get a 2TB drive for ™ – and I want it to be an SSD to get rid of the constant clicking.

So. Recommendations? External SSD (i.e. with enclosure) or Internal SSD with USBC to SATA Cable? Any brands to focus on other than the obvious (WD, Samsung, Crucial)? Any brands to avoid?

Any data based on experience is welcome. Thanks.

[jec0047]

Lots of people are really amped up about the Samsung T7 SSD’s.

[LuisMartinez]

I have t5, 1tb no issues …

[Katie]

I bought this one very recently, as per advice I got in here . I used Carbon Copy Cloner. It went off smoothly. 2T As soon as it shows up, I’ll add it. SeaGate $59 . Amazon.
I apologize. It is still not loading. $59.99

[Seagate Portable 2TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PS4, & Xbox -

[neonate]

Check out this thread also.

SSD drive recommendations?

Hi MPU Fam, Because our internet is so unbearably slow that it’s unreasonable to do any kind of online backup (like iCloud or whatever) for photos, we back all our family photos up to an external hard drive then, on a monthly basis I copy it to what I call the traveling drive and take it in to my office, where I keep yet another external hard drive whose only purpose is host a redundant copy of my family photos. Why? In 2005, I had a hard drive die on my computer during the last week of the se…

[lsamberg]

Thanks – but looking for SSD
Besides the noise, I am hoping that Time Machine will actually run faster on the M1 Pro than on her old 2014 MBP.

[glenthompson]

Just bought a Samsung T7 to use as a boot drive for my Mac Mini file server. It fixed a host of issues I was having.

[ACautionaryTale]

If it’s just for TimeMachine, you may be able to get an older T5 for less than a T7.

[Katie]

@lsamberg

Thanks – but looking for SSD
Besides the noise, I am hoping that Time Machine will actually run faster on the M1 Pro than on her old 2014 MBP.

I think I needed 40 minutes but I used Carbon Copy Cloner. The MB M1 Pro will likely Zoom! Are SSD’s more expensive?

[jec0047]

@Katie

Are SSD’s more expensive?

Oh yeah.   

[webwalrus]

Another vote for a Samsung. I love my T5, and I’ve used their internal SSDs too. Good stuff.

@Katie

Are SSD’s more expensive?

About $250 to $300 for a 2 TB SSD, as opposed to your $60 spinning disk.

[Katie]

Ah, it sounds shoddy when you say it like that. LOL! It didn’t make any noise that I heard. It’s pretty safe though, isn’t it? I’m using Carbon Copy Cloner.

[webwalrus]

Not shoddy - just different tech. No spinning platters in an SSD, so no whirring or noise at all.

Personally, for backup I prefer cheap spinning disks like you have. More storage for the way less money.

[anon41602260]

T5s and T7s here. Rock solid performance from all of them.

[tjluoma]

@ACautionaryTale

If it’s just for TimeMachine, you may be able to get an older T5 for less than a T7

Yes, I was about to say the same thing

I wouldn’t bother with the T7 for Time Machine. T5 will be fine. I just bought one of these for my son’s MacBook Air:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T5-Portable-SSD-MU-PA2T0B/dp/B073H4GPLQ/

[rkaplan]

This is either a briliant solution or I am missing something really obvious

I need to set up Bootcamp on an external volume on one of my computers. I am thinking of using a USB 3.0 thumb drive - $38 for a 2Tb drive and USB 3.0 speeds.

Am I missing something? What extra benefit is there from an SSD at a higher price?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09G9YQ8ZN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[lsamberg]

Thanks all. It tempting to continue with spinning drives since they are so much less expensive, but moving to an SSD feels like the right thing to do right now. It is quieter (since the machine is in the same room that I spend hours a day on Zoom calls) and although I haven’t compared, undoubtedly more power efficient.

The T5 sounds like a reasonable compromise (although still a lot more money).

[lsamberg]

Speed for one thing. 2Mbps transfer vs. a few hundred.

[ChrisUpchurch]

@rkaplan

What extra benefit is there from an SSD at a higher price?

External SSDs generally have much faster read and write speeds than thumb drives. The one you linked to doesn’t even quote read and write speeds, but consider The Wirecutter’s pick for best thumb drive:

At an average speed of 230 MB/s, this is a full 100 MB/s faster than any other drive we tested.

Compare that to their SSD recommendation:

the My Passport SSD gave us sequential read and write speeds (transferring largish files one after another, similar to when you’re backing up your laptop’s main drive) of 913.6 MB/s and 949.6 MB/s, respectively.

That’s more than 3x the speed. That’s a difference that you will definitely feel for a drive that you’re booting off of.

[rkaplan]

@ChrisUpchurch

External SSDs generally have much faster read and write speeds than thumb drives. The one you linked to doesn’t even quote read and write speeds, but consider The Wirecutter’s pick for best thumb drive:

I believe that refers to a classic USB 2.0 thumb drive

If I understand the Amazon listing correctly, it is a USB 3.0 drive offering 2 Megabit read speed (write speed not specified). That is what got my interest. Might this indeed be comparable to something like a T7 SSD at lower price and smaller form factor? Or is there a gotcha I am missing?

Actually maybe I have the answer… It is Megabits, not megabytes per second. So it’s is probably close to the 230 MB/s range that you quote.