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Best external ssd
- Thread starter FyerFyer
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You should not rely on the security features of drives. Even microsoft stopped using the built-in drive encryption in favor of software encryption by default.
Apart from this, the compatibility of the drive mostly depends on the file system that you use.
Apart from this, the compatibility of the drive mostly depends on the file system that you use.
I can't speak to experience with your phone, but I use a Samsung T5 with all my Mac devices (ranging from a 2012 Mac mini to a 2019 iMac 27). it came with both USB-C and USB-A cables for compatibility. Cost about $50 USD for the 500GB model
Mmm interesting, thanks, can you recommend a security software for the drive?
Ah cool, thanks, Ill have a look at them
This depends on your preferences.
Some people like to rely solely on open source software. In this case, you could try veracrypt. This is also one of the few options that are available on multiple platforms.
If you are staying inside the apple ecosystem, you can also use encrypted APFS.
I also recommend the Samsung T5 (I have two of them). However, $50 US for the 512GB model seems to low. Perhaps a special sale? B&H not long ago was selling them for $99.00 US.
Yeah it was a sale price...
Edit: wow, I didn’t realize how much of a sale that was. Probably should’ve bought more
Edit: wow, I didn’t realize how much of a sale that was. Probably should’ve bought more
How about the newly released Samsung T7 - would that be worth the higher price?
There is another thread on this subject, but it hasn't received much attention:
forums.macrumors.com
I'm also interested in opinions here regarding the T5 vs T7, for use with my iMac, either for additional storage space, or to use as a Time Capsule drive. My iMac has internal SSD but my external drives have always been spinning drives until now, I think it is time I started to use SSDs for all storage.
It looks to me as if the T5 has been out for a couple of years, and is well liked. My own use wouldn't necessarily benefit from higher transfer speeds, my interest is more along the lines of getting the best reliability. So, with that in mind, would a 2+ year old and proven product be more reliable, or the latest and greatest??
There is another thread on this subject, but it hasn't received much attention:
Samsung T5 or T7 for iPad Pro..
I am looking to create a setup better suited to video editing large files from 4K and RAW footage. I have just replaced my iPad Pro 11 (2018) 64gb with an iPad Pro 11 (2020) 256gb to give more onboard space for holding files. I am now looking for a suitable external HDD that will plug directly...
forums.macrumors.com
I'm also interested in opinions here regarding the T5 vs T7, for use with my iMac, either for additional storage space, or to use as a Time Capsule drive. My iMac has internal SSD but my external drives have always been spinning drives until now, I think it is time I started to use SSDs for all storage.
It looks to me as if the T5 has been out for a couple of years, and is well liked. My own use wouldn't necessarily benefit from higher transfer speeds, my interest is more along the lines of getting the best reliability. So, with that in mind, would a 2+ year old and proven product be more reliable, or the latest and greatest??
How about the newly released Samsung T7 - would that be worth the higher price?
There is another thread on this subject, but it hasn't received much attention:
Samsung T5 or T7 for iPad Pro..
I am looking to create a setup better suited to video editing large files from 4K and RAW footage. I have just replaced my iPad Pro 11 (2018) 64gb with an iPad Pro 11 (2020) 256gb to give more onboard space for holding files. I am now looking for a suitable external HDD that will plug directly...
I'm also interested in opinions here regarding the T5 vs T7, for use with my iMac, either for additional storage space, or to use as a Time Capsule drive. My iMac has internal SSD but my external drives have always been spinning drives until now, I think it is time I started to use SSDs for all storage.
It looks to me as if the T5 has been out for a couple of years, and is well liked. My own use wouldn't necessarily benefit from higher transfer speeds, my interest is more along the lines of getting the best reliability. So, with that in mind, would a 2+ year old and proven product be more reliable, or the latest and greatest??
as Long as you buy the t5 new and not used it is definitely at least as reliable as the t7. IMO get the t7 if you do lots of large file transfers or use it to do video encoding/exporting on the disk. Even if you use it as a boot disk, on windows at least, you won’t notice a difference between a sata or nvme ssd.
Thanks - I had not had the time yet to compare specs, so the T5 and T7 are different types of SSD? I'm guessing that is the reason for the difference in transfer speeds?
Yes, NVME vs SATA so you get around 500MB on the T5 vs 1000 on the T7. The T7 touch is nice for it’s fingerprint reader but I wouldn’t trust it for very sensible data - although definitely more convenient than entering a password.
Got it, I'll have to consider whether or not it's worth paying a bit more to get the faster speed and the USB 3.2 capability, thinking ahead to what I might want to be using it with in the future, assuming that these drives last a few years and by that time I may have a new iMac.
Thinking further about this - I don't really need a portable drive, I'm really only needing a desktop external drive for storage (if not backup). So should I also be considering an SSD drive (Samsung 860? 970?) that might be less expensive?
Forgive the very fundamental questions, I haven't researched these alternatives seriously before. Not sure what thread here might be the best place to find a discussion that has gone through the various pros and cons.
Forgive the very fundamental questions, I haven't researched these alternatives seriously before. Not sure what thread here might be the best place to find a discussion that has gone through the various pros and cons.
I am not sure what exactly you need. You say you need an external drive or not? For internal, I personally would go for a 970 evo or evo plus, even if you probably won't notice a difference. However I don’t know what kind of drives your iMac supports, I doubt it supports nvme drives, but you gotta check that first. If you want lots of storage on the cheap go for Samsung 860 evo (NOT QVO) or Crucial MX500.
Sorry if I was not clear. I don't want to modify my iMac (late 2014, 27") or replace the internal drive. It already has an SSD (500 GB), but it is getting full and that is largely why I want to get an external drive, to supplement what is built into my iMac.
I'm only looking for an external drive, and from this point on I only want to get SSD's. I don't care if it is 'portable' or not. It looks like the Samsung T5 and T7 are both very good, but it simply occurred to me that since those are 'portable' drives, perhaps there are other less expensive SSD external drives that are not 'portable' and would also be good choices.
Or perhaps the simple answer is that essentially any external SSD is 'portable' simply because they are so small?
Exactly, the 860, 970 and MX500 are all internal. You can buy a enclosure for them but you basically negate the cost savings. The T5 is the best choice for you.
Thanks. Back to the T5 or T7, and I decided to order a T7, 1GB size, just put the order in at Amazon.
Hah! You are right, of course! 1 TB!
(I remember when I was first using the Mac Plus, no internal HD, it was a big deal to get a 20MB external hard drive, and if memory serves me correct the cost was about $1000!!)
Out of curiosity, why aren't you just putting it on iCloud? I ask because I am considering a new MacBook Air, and wondering if I should get 512 SSD as opposed to another 256 SSD like I have now. Discovered I am using only about half of the 256 because I am saving most things to iCloud.
Well, that is a very good question, and I guess the best I can say is that I just haven't made that transition to not having everything in 'my own possession and control'. Although my other equipment (iPhones and iPads at least) are all backed up to the cloud and I don't give it a second thought.
I'm not saying my approach is the most sensible! I do have a large iTunes library of music that is mostly my own CDs copied into my Music library, that is a bit over 1 TB by itself on a separate hard disk (3 TB), so this T7 won't be big enough for that. A year or two from now, I'll probably get a 2 TB SSD and start retiring these spinning disks altogether.