External SSD enclosure to get the most out of MBP 2016

[tomviolence]

Hi all,

I’m looking for an external SSD enclosure for my Samsung 850 EVO (2.5 inch) that is in my current MBP, to work with my soon to arrive 2016 MBP. Can anyone recommend one to get the most out of the SSD and the Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type C) ports of the 2016 MBPs? Looking for maximum speed.

Much obliged.

 

[Weaselboy]

I'm using this one from Inatech with that same SSD and it works perfectly with my 2016 13" MBP.

 

[thedeske]

I'd be looking for a way to connect a Samsung 960 to the new 3.1 gen2 port.
I think we're in a fuzzy time when external cases for this are not yet ubiquitous.
I also wonder if Samsung will offer it in anything other than M2. No problem if
a 2.5 form factor is too big or outdated.

The T3 is proving a point in 6G. Small externals are here, and at 4tb in such a tiny pkg,
what will they release next?

 

[inmotionnow]

+1 for the Inatech one mentioned by @Weaselboy. My MX300 that was previously in my 2009 MBP works perfectly in there. Just make sure you buy the right cable for it. A lot of cables on Amazon with USB-C actually run on USB 2.0 speeds. I got so frustrated that I ended up just buying the TB3 Belkin cable from Apple (currently 25% off). This is compatible with both USB-C and TB3 devices so super versatile.

 

[unagimiyagi]

Hi what are the max speeds you are seeing with this enclosure?

 

[Weaselboy]

Hi what are the max speeds you are seeing with this enclosure?

With a Samsung EVO in that enclosure I am seeing about 400 R/W using the Blackmagic app.

 

[anson42]

I usually use USB 3 OWC external drive enclosures to great effect, and they're cheap:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ES2.5BU3S/

I picked up a USB-C to USB 3 micro B cable from monoprice to avoid using an adapter. With a bargain basement 512GB SSD I get about 250MB/s read/write speeds. Clearly no EVO.

OWC recently announced this dual bay dock that supports USB 3.1 speeds with a USB-C jack:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MEMDC2KIT/

I'm seriously considering this for a SSD-based RAID backup. Two 1TB SSDs in RAID1 configuration would work nicely. Comes with an 18" USB-C cable and is bus-powered but includes a wall wart in case the source does not have enough juice.

 

[sbrown02]

I'm using this one from Inatech with that same SSD and it works perfectly with my 2016 13" MBP.

If you don't mind saying what SSD brand/model are you using with it and what read/write speeds are you seeing? I ask because I recently picked up a Mushkin Reactor 1TB SSD and paired it with a TechOrbits USB type C to Sata III cable connected to my 2016 15" MBP over USB C, but the speeds I'm seeing are less than I expected.

For example, with Blackmagic Disk Speed test I'm getting 385 Read and 325 Write while on UserBenchmark.com (http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Mushkin-Reactor-1TB/Rating/3583) others are averaging 490 Read and 400 Write. I'm wondering if it's the TechOrbits cable that's the problem as this drive gets good reviews from others.

Any insights or learnings from Weaselboy or others is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Weaselboy]

If you don't mind saying what SSD brand/model are you using with it and what read/write speeds are you seeing? I ask because I recently picked up a Mushkin Reactor 1TB SSD and paired it with a TechOrbits USB type C to Sata III cable connected to my 2016 15" MBP over USB C, but the speeds I'm seeing are less than I expected.

For example, with Blackmagic Disk Speed test I'm getting 385 Read and 325 Write while on UserBenchmark.com (http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Mushkin-Reactor-1TB/Rating/3583) others are averaging 490 Read and 400 Write. I'm wondering if it's the TechOrbits cable that's the problem as this drive gets good reviews from others.

Any insights or learnings from Weaselboy or others is appreciated.

Thanks

I'm using that enclosure with a Samsung EVO 850 drive and I get about 400W/400R using the Blackmagic test.

The Blackmagic app uses incompressible data for the test, so drives that don't do particularly well with incompressible data will often test a little slower with that app than other apps that use compressible data.

 

[Outrigger]

To really take advantage of SSD, you would need to put it in RAID 0, or else, you're not really going to pass the 400 limit.

 

[sbrown02]

Thanks for the responses Weaselboy and Outrigger. I picked up the Inatech enclosure and it's doing better R/W speeds (closer to the 400/400 you stated) than the Sata III cable I had, so I'll stick with the Inatech.