Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Current best options for external thunderbolt SSD (for boot drive)
- Thread starter jackoatmon
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I've done a lot of research on this subject. First thing to keep in mind is if you get a drive or enclosure that has no daisy chain pass though, that's the end of the line. Secondly, you should try to get something that can be ungraded later or even now with a different drive. Thirdly, there is the noise factor. I have heard the Lacies's fan is a bit noisy and that the My Thunderbolt DUo by Western digital was fairly quiet. I chose that one. It has two drives per bay and even comes with an option for 2 Velociraptors. It also does have 2 TB ports on each cabinet. Lastly, they are extremely expensive. Especially the ones that come populated with drives. The prices will probably drop towards Spring when more options are available. people like OWC have some plans for enclosures that aren't ready yet.
The biggest advantage of this route though is the throughput on any drive will at least match what that same drive would get if mounted internally. Even SSD's. The downside again is that overpriced $1300 760 SSD Apple sells is easily matched with TB external gear by the time you are done. A single cheap goflex container as long as you don't need passthrough is probably a good way to go to get started. I plan on using 5-6 external TB drives in 3 Western Digital My Thunderbolt Duos. Hopefully that huge expense will be justified over time. I need to match the drives in my Mac Pro and SUB3 won't cut it.
The biggest advantage of this route though is the throughput on any drive will at least match what that same drive would get if mounted internally. Even SSD's. The downside again is that overpriced $1300 760 SSD Apple sells is easily matched with TB external gear by the time you are done. A single cheap goflex container as long as you don't need passthrough is probably a good way to go to get started. I plan on using 5-6 external TB drives in 3 Western Digital My Thunderbolt Duos. Hopefully that huge expense will be justified over time. I need to match the drives in my Mac Pro and SUB3 won't cut it.
You have got my curiosity with this I have a Lacie Thunderbolt Little Big 2T that I purch refurb. Model 9000107 http://www.macmall.com/p/LaCie-External-Hard-Drives/product~dpno~9105217~pdp.hcjebab
Never opened it, but I would think a SATAII as well. If I was to entertain the thought of SSD's in there would Samsung 830 256gb or 512gb SATAIII work?___ if so overkill?_______ suggestions, tips
What is the "T-Bolt" cable ?______
Of course i'd like to be able to just go out and buy that pre packaged 1tb model, or heck even a Pegasus but!!! Independently Broke! I plan on bargain shopping for deals on the SSD drives to do myself.
I have the Samsug 830 512gb in my 2011 MBP and that thing zips along nicely.
Thank You..
the t-bolt cable is this
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Apple%A...P&srccode=cii_45538312&cpncode=31-120920770-2
you can pull the drive in your lacie and put in any ssd if I recall your lacie is sata II .
the samsung 256 or 512 would run at about 275 write/ read but iops would be great.
here is a link for a great adapter
http://www.ebay.com/itm/WD-IcePack-...1?pt=US_Drive_Bay_Caddies&hash=item2a284adfbb
Oh.. Pftt the Thunderbolt Cable Duh (me)
"iops" meaning internal operating temperature.. as in no fan required?______ My MBP fan never comes on rarely, only under intense graphics. BTW I get 395 Write & 476 Read out of the 830 for peaks
Pardon my lack of knowledge but the part on ebay, this is going to serve what purpose Would I Mount the SSD in this tray which then mount the tray in the Lacie Aluminum housing. The Beefiness of this aluminum disperses any heat from the SSD?_________ Eliminating the need of a fan! Am I on track?______
If so, do they mount back to back?____________
All I need? Any other, better alternatives for SSD shopping 256 or 512?
I apologize for the questions . never did this type of project.
That link in the that you posted before, that shows (3) models, do you think that the base model, the non SSD version 2tb Mfr# 9000358 is a SATAIII like the SSD models shown. If so, then to pick up a a refurbished 2tb unit to take full advantage of the speed of SATAIII would be ideal then right.. ?_____ Would this be correct, to what anticipated advantage I wonder ?
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10549
I can relate my experience with 2 refurbished Lacie LBD (Little Big Disk) units I purchased a few months ago from MacMall. I have a 1 TB and a 2 TB hard disk refurbished unit. I disassembled both and installed SSDs inside them, and unplugged the noisy fan needed for the hard disks as received.
I usually run them in a RAID-0 configuration, and they work quite well, but i am not seeing the advertised speeds claimed for the current SSD retail units. I looked closely at the electronics, and there is what may be a revision difference in some of the chips, possibly firmware related, between my units, but they deliver similar performance with the same SSDs installed. The SATA controllers appear to be SATA-III devices in both units I have, but the system micro-controller firmware may be fine-tuned for best hard disk performance, rather than SSD performance, in these models.
There are some posters here who have shared their test results of their new, retail Lacie 1TB SSD units, and their results are very impressive and are better than those I measured. Of course, they paid more for their units since I already had the Crucial M4 SSDs I used. Starting from scratch, it would be about the same price to purchase the new 1TB SSD from LaCie as to purchase 2 500GB SSDs and a refurbished LBD to transplant in place of the hard disks. The probable boost in performance would make that the preferred purchase if you don't already have the SSDs.
You can configure them as RAID-0, RAID-1, concatenated JBOD, or simply as 2 individual disks. If you put a SSD and a Hard Disk in them, you could create a small, self-contained external DIY Fusion drive as well. All configuration is done using Apple RAID in Disk Utility, not hardware in the LBD. I also tried and failed installing bootable Windows from one of the drives, and the LBD did not have the required Thunderbolt EFI/Bios emulation to do so ... and LaCie makes no claims that it is Windows compatible, although I noticed they recently added a Windows driver for the LBD on their web site, but I have not tried it.
-howard
Last edited:
iops are the little read write tasks a hdd is about 1MBs an ssd is about 20 to 80MBs this is the real speed of an ssd not the big long writes or reads.
If you have a stock hdd in your mini and you attach an ssd via thunderbolt making a long copy will be limited to the speed of your stock hdd lets say 100MB/s so the big read write numbers of 400-500 on a sata III hook up only get taken advantage of if there is a second ssd . there are a few cases that are exceptions to this but for most users that is not important. the iops the little reads and writes of small files are the most useful boost of an ssd. in most cases. so adding the ssd as a sata II will limit your big files reads and writes but since iops are under 200MB/s on any ssd sata II does not limit them.
the adapter on ebay will allow easy mounting and will allow the fan to be detached. it is well worth the money they want.
I have read the newer lacie big disk is a sata III but I am not sure. If you own the lacie already do not worry about the sata III Sata II issue. I will try to show you a few iop tests and speeds in a few minutes. I am doing a clone which prevent me from doing the tests.
I should have said that I just purchased not "have" the Lacie Thunderbolt LBD 2tb
theoretically not in hand yet.
In fact I purchased the 1tb initially, with the idea of going the self SSD route so I have this coming today, April 17, 2013 @ $159 I then thought, if i didn't want to fuss with it wouldn't mind having the larger drive for the $60 more that's where the 2tb order came like an hour later.
The 2tb is being delivered today Wed April 17, 2013 current price @ $219
I have the 2m T-Bolt cable (thanks for educating me here) coming to keep the noise at a distance.
Decisions which to keep? or both! LOL I just have one MBP with T-Bolt, my iMac is a late 2009 pre T-Bolt
In fact I purchased the 1tb initially, with the idea of going the self SSD route so I have this coming today, April 17, 2013 @ $159 I then thought, if i didn't want to fuss with it wouldn't mind having the larger drive for the $60 more that's where the 2tb order came like an hour later.
The 2tb is being delivered today Wed April 17, 2013 current price @ $219
I have the 2m T-Bolt cable (thanks for educating me here) coming to keep the noise at a distance.
Decisions which to keep? or both! LOL I just have one MBP with T-Bolt, my iMac is a late 2009 pre T-Bolt
Here are some LaCie Little Big Disk test results:
1) 1 TB Hard Disk (2 x 500GB 7200rpm hard disks RAID-0)
2) 2 TB Hard Disk (2 x 1.0GB 5400rpm hard disks RAID-0)
3) 512 GB SSD (2 x 256GB SSD RAID-0)
Sorry, my notes don't say what brand SSDs were used in this test, but from the file-date they were probably OWC 6G SATA-III SSDs. I just tested a LBD which has a pair of OWC Electra 3G SATA-II SSDs and saw 270/330 MB/s speeds)
-howard
1) 1 TB Hard Disk (2 x 500GB 7200rpm hard disks RAID-0)
2) 2 TB Hard Disk (2 x 1.0GB 5400rpm hard disks RAID-0)
3) 512 GB SSD (2 x 256GB SSD RAID-0)
Sorry, my notes don't say what brand SSDs were used in this test, but from the file-date they were probably OWC 6G SATA-III SSDs. I just tested a LBD which has a pair of OWC Electra 3G SATA-II SSDs and saw 270/330 MB/s speeds)
-howard
Attachments
Thanks for that! Impressive on that 512 to!!!
This is my 2011 15" MBP with the stock Apple 6g 128SSD 8gb ram (cell pic)
![]()
This is the same but with (cheap f/Amazon) 16gb ram, and a Samsung 830 512gb SSD replacing the 128gb SSD
![]()
This is the Lacie 2TB Thunderbolt LBD out of the Box (faster write than the initial 128SSD stock Apple SSD, close to the same read)![]()
* This new drive had me worried, Desktop would not find it initially, despite checking connections, restarting, etc. I think I had some dust in the T-bolt socket from not using it… ever. I blew in there lightly, and took a little artist brush and loosened some dust particles.. took my rocket blower out from my camera gear gave a light puff of air in there to blow out the residue… plugged in the cable and the drive appeared!
NOW… what to do with the Lacie LBD 1tb that I ordered 1st and was also delivered, still sealed… hmmm, hmmmm? Keep, use, play with that… tear into that one, wallet says send back… sure I can use though?
So far this 2tb is pretty quiet… shocked, I had ear plugs ready based on reviews! ; ) Not under any heavy load yet though…
QUESTION….
Upon arriving back home and my MBP going to sleep as usual, got an error that the Lacie was not properly ejected… so it didn't go to sleep nor did it awake like my other drives… what's up with that?________ Suggestions, settings, or?________
This is my 2011 15" MBP with the stock Apple 6g 128SSD 8gb ram (cell pic)
This is the same but with (cheap f/Amazon) 16gb ram, and a Samsung 830 512gb SSD replacing the 128gb SSD
This is the Lacie 2TB Thunderbolt LBD out of the Box (faster write than the initial 128SSD stock Apple SSD, close to the same read)
* This new drive had me worried, Desktop would not find it initially, despite checking connections, restarting, etc. I think I had some dust in the T-bolt socket from not using it… ever. I blew in there lightly, and took a little artist brush and loosened some dust particles.. took my rocket blower out from my camera gear gave a light puff of air in there to blow out the residue… plugged in the cable and the drive appeared!
NOW… what to do with the Lacie LBD 1tb that I ordered 1st and was also delivered, still sealed… hmmm, hmmmm? Keep, use, play with that… tear into that one, wallet says send back… sure I can use though?
So far this 2tb is pretty quiet… shocked, I had ear plugs ready based on reviews! ; ) Not under any heavy load yet though…
QUESTION….
Upon arriving back home and my MBP going to sleep as usual, got an error that the Lacie was not properly ejected… so it didn't go to sleep nor did it awake like my other drives… what's up with that?________ Suggestions, settings, or?________
Last edited:
I just bought the Thunderbolt Buffalo ministation and planned to buy a Crucial M500 960 GB SSD in it. I guess that's not possible? If a SSD needs more power than how is it possible you fried the SSD with less power than it needs?
I "bricked" 2 Crucial M4 512GB SSDs using the Seagate GoFlex portable adapter attached to my MacBook Pro which was connected to AC power. I too suspect that the supplied power dipped too low while in operation. I don't think mine were "fried", I think they became so corrupted that all of the recommended reset techniques were unable to restore operation. I could still read the model information from the drives using System Information, so they weren't totally dead ... just really confused. I have had no problems with a smaller 256GB Crucial M4 on the GoFlex adapter.
It should be noted that Seagate does not sell any SSD modules (all are hard disk based) for use on the GoFlex adapters, and makes no claims that it will work with user installed SSDs on their adapters. It is too bad they don't recognize that there is a market for their GoFlex Thunderbolt adapters in SSD application and market a model designed for such use, perhaps with an empty user accessible SSD cartridge.
-howard
Last edited:
Yes you can, and no, it should not cause you any problems. While I decided to go the internal route, I purchased a Seagate GoFlex Desk 3.5" Thunderbolt Adapter (STAE122) (not the portable version) which I used to clone my internal hard drive. Before doing the actual swap, I used it as the primary boot drive (with cloned SSD) for over a week without issue. In combination with the SSD, it was super fast.
I use it for backing up my internal SSD boot drive and for hot swapping external boot drives. It comes with two thunderbolt connections allowing me to daisy chain from the MacMini to the Seagate Thunderbolt adapter to my Thunderbolt display. For my setup it works really nice.
It should survive that sleep/wake cycle without throwing off the error.
This may be related to your earlier experience where the drive was not recognized initially. If you have another cable, give it a try, or try the other thunderbolt port.
I have no issues with my stock LBD, 5big, or 2big drives surviving sleep/wake cycles. Just make sure your cables are good, you are running 10.8.2 or 10.8.3, and have all updates installed. Also make sure the drive is formatted with the current version of OS X, rather than a clone from an older version.
If you swapped in other drives, that may also be contributing to the problem, as not all devices may wake from sleep correctly.
Hi,
I'm looking at buying an iMac in the next few weeks and I currently have an OCZ Agility 3 240GB SSD. Would anyone be able to tell me if this is compatible with the Seagate Goflex Thunderbolt adaptor?
If so, is this the correct one?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thunderbo...es_HardDriveEnclosures_RL&hash=item2c6c7fadb2
thanks for the help.
I'm looking at buying an iMac in the next few weeks and I currently have an OCZ Agility 3 240GB SSD. Would anyone be able to tell me if this is compatible with the Seagate Goflex Thunderbolt adaptor?
If so, is this the correct one?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thunderbo...es_HardDriveEnclosures_RL&hash=item2c6c7fadb2
thanks for the help.
All has been fine with that issue.. it initially had that issue.. once, then never repeated. Thank You for responding on this.
----------
----------
New Question:
Are the only SATA III type set ups/housings that which come with the 512gb & 1tb SSD factory setup drives?________ Meaning all others are SATAII then?
Apparently, yes.
Not sure if the 2TB HDD configuration has SATA III. It does have a newer, different part number than the older 2TB configuration that was on the website.
I saw that... the most recent model 2TB #9000358, no specs anywhere revealing any info however.....
Well guys
I hope I did OK
I didn't have any SSD lying around, been checking the online prices, to do my own just seems ridiculous I did the eBay thing today, hoping that all is legit! I asked if refurbished, or used in anyway.. seller said no. His feedback shows other high end product sales.. But no box for the Lacie LBD 1TB SSD makes me wonder why I SAVE all that stuff!
Hoping it's a good buy I was hoping to pay around $500 - 600
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=161013066848&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123
I didn't have any SSD lying around, been checking the online prices, to do my own just seems ridiculous I did the eBay thing today, hoping that all is legit! I asked if refurbished, or used in anyway.. seller said no. His feedback shows other high end product sales.. But no box for the Lacie LBD 1TB SSD makes me wonder why I SAVE all that stuff!
Hoping it's a good buy I was hoping to pay around $500 - 600
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=161013066848&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123
Looks like you got a good buy ... congratulations!
The seller says the stand is attached, but it isn't in the sellers picture, and it is not attached when unboxed as I recall. It appears that the "tamper seals" are intact in the picture, so it hasn't been opened.
Good luck and enjoy a fast SSD drive...
Thank You I hope it works out well, price OK I guess
I also have the MacMall 1TB 9000106-R & the 2TB 9000107-R, what I wanted to do with the 1TB 9000106-R was place some SSD's in it, but don't have any laying around as I shopped very discouraging prices, not cost effective! I still have time to send back, but may still keep for later use SSD hopeful price drops.
The 2TB 9000107-R, correct my thinking if i'm wrong, thinking about keeping that as a RAID1 Time Machine dedicated 2nd drive, I set that up a few days ago running fine so far.
My plans for the 1TB SSD are for thousands of RAW image file edits that I need to do, mostly photography some video. The Samsung 830 512 that I put in my MBP SCREAMS but getting filled!
Thoughts for what I paid $159, keep the 1TB 9000106-R ?_____
I can just use that as another back up/send back and pocket the $
Thank You...
You could put larger hard disks in the 1TB LBD and use for backup, temp storage, transfer, or RAID-10 with your other LBD. You may find cheap SSDs down the road, and those dual drive thunderbolt enclosures are pretty useful.
I more than likely will do just that if i recall correctly, you have several of these as well : )
I have to say that so far while that fan IS noticeable not that bad so far. But I read a post, not here.. (I bookmarked and will dig up) of mods being done to these things. This guy being an electrical engineer did some testing, disconnected the fan on a few units because they bothered him, and the most/highest the internal temp rose was 3 degrees max, same tests, under load, fan to no fan. How true? .. Really needed or necessary? .
My MBP is completely silent, the fan rarely runs when I purchased the LBD's in anticipation of "NOISE" I ordered the long T-Bolt cable to keep them away. Once plugged in, they surprisingly still reside right next to my MBP, within 1ft.
I also have the LaCie Thunderbolt 1 TB SSD Little Big Disk and the fan sound is noticeable, especially after getting used to my perfectly silent 768 SSD GB IMac late 2012. It's kind of like the fan sound of my i7 2010 iMac when it's really being pushed to it's limits but it's not objectionable. It sure is super fast though.
Perhaps a 6 foot TB cable would be a good idea to place it further away, instead of just behind my iMacs where it lives now.
Perhaps a 6 foot TB cable would be a good idea to place it further away, instead of just behind my iMacs where it lives now.