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Anyone using the ext T3&T5 USB-C SSDs with your MBP? Are they worth it?
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I bought the 500GB T5 for $99. It was a good sale and still on sale. I like that it came with both USB C to USB C and USB C to USB A. When I am out in the field and need to transfer large files to another person computer I have both cables needed. Also I can use it on my 2015 iMac that is not USB-C. MBP gets read write over 500mbs and even the iMac using USB A cable gets over 400 mbs
I have T3 & T5s. they seem to work fine with both Mac and windows systems. They are slower than the 2018 MacBook Pros internal drive at around 450 MB/sec depending on if your files are large or small, large is faster. But for an external drive that is fast enough.
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I also have a T3 and a T5. Great drives, work very well with both Windows and MacOS
Edit: Use them primarily for archiving photos libraries and video.
Edit: Use them primarily for archiving photos libraries and video.
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That's a good price for the 500GB. The $227 for the 1TB is a good deal as well. I paid $265 for the 1TB back in early August.
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I have both the T3 and the T5 and they are terrific! Right now I am still using 2015 MBPs with the USB-A ports, and the supplied cables are perfect for this. Eventually I will be purchasing a 2018 MBP and the transition will be so easy because I've got the files stashed in the drives and it will be a simple matter of swapping cables when I need to put files into the new machine, both at the time of initial setup and later on. I use my T3's and T5's for current backup and also what I call "supplementary drives" so that I do not need to keep a lot of files on my internal 512 GB SSD. This system has worked out well for me. On a monthly basis I sort through files that have been added during a particular month and shift anything I don't need immediate/instant access to off to the supplementary drive. It only takes a couple of minutes to plug in the external SSD and retrieve whatever file it is that I need. These drives, especially the T5, are very fast and are really small, making them quite useful for taking along when traveling, too.
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Just bought the 500GB T5 at Best Buy today for $99. Using it as a Time Machine of my 2016 rMB hooked to the LG 4K. I have to say it's very fast. Doing the first backup and in 5 minutes already over 10GB backed up, compared to maybe less than 2GB on my older HDD that I used to use. So definitely worth for any use. Might even buy another one for personal use.
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Thank you so much for the reply guys! Question for those of you using it for backup (especially Time Machine) - isnt it a waste or even bad for the drive to use it for backups (read somewhere that SSDs have limited number of data it can go through).
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They work well and they are rather affordable. They will also be fine for backups, but a regular old HDD is a more economical option.
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Yes. 4TB passport will cost the same $99 and makes for a good time machine drive.
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I use Samsung T5 2 TB with my MacBook Pro and Dell XPS. I also use Samsung T3 1 TB with PS4 Pro.
T3 with PS4 Pro definitely improves loading times on games like Witcher 3 and Batman Arkham Knight.
T5 keeps my Steam Library (both MacOS and Windows), Logic Pro X Sound Library, aircraft maintenance database of a work software and some ISO & setup files I keep with me for IT support. I also plan to use it as a cache drive with Final Cut Pro. Before, when I used mechanical hard drives, these processes were nigh impossible. Now, it provides a quite smooth experience which was not possible on the mechanical drives I used to have.
They are also quite small and easy to move around even when on use due to having no moving parts inside. I recommend these devices to anyone who could use similar to my use cases. For regular storage of documents, music, photos and videos, a compact 2.5" mechanical hard drive will do just fine as a much budget friendly price.
T3 with PS4 Pro definitely improves loading times on games like Witcher 3 and Batman Arkham Knight.
T5 keeps my Steam Library (both MacOS and Windows), Logic Pro X Sound Library, aircraft maintenance database of a work software and some ISO & setup files I keep with me for IT support. I also plan to use it as a cache drive with Final Cut Pro. Before, when I used mechanical hard drives, these processes were nigh impossible. Now, it provides a quite smooth experience which was not possible on the mechanical drives I used to have.
They are also quite small and easy to move around even when on use due to having no moving parts inside. I recommend these devices to anyone who could use similar to my use cases. For regular storage of documents, music, photos and videos, a compact 2.5" mechanical hard drive will do just fine as a much budget friendly price.
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For anyone who has a Microcenter store in their area, that is another good source for purchasing the T5.....
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Another vote for the T5. I got the 500GB for about $115. Totally been worth it. I use it extensively for managing photos while editing/culling photos from photography sessions. It’s really fast and been reliable since I’ve had it.
I don’t use the T5 though for Time Machine, I have a separate, older drive for backup.
I don’t use the T5 though for Time Machine, I have a separate, older drive for backup.
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Agreed. Time Machine itself operates too slowly to appreciate the speed of the external SSD. I, too, use a mechanical drive for that.
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What is your workflow/process for culling photos on the T5?
Do you have the drive formatted as HFS+, APFS or some other format?
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Time Machine throttles to a slow speed to keep the load on system resources low, befitting of a background task. If you want TM to run at full speed, say for a full backup, you can turn the throttle off on a temporary basis. If you always want TM to run fast then you can set it to do so.
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