Fast and best NVME SSD to be used with a Multi-Port Dock with Mac Mini ?

[marcusalwayswins]

Hi Guys,

I am planning to take a Multi-Port Hub/Dock to use it with the Mac Mini. I will get a Hub which has a slot for NVME SSD also. Any suggestions on a NVME SSD which has good reading and writing speed and can be put in the slot of the Hub/Dock and can be used with the Mac Mini ?

 

[rich32gb5s]

I would say the WD black range is a good bet...example https://amzn.eu/d/319NaqY . Obviously you will need a 40gb/s caddy to take full advantage of speed which are quite pricey at the moment. YouTube videos on the subject are very informative.

 

[phrehdd]

It would be a shame to spend on an SSD for top speed only to find your Hub does not support that speed. As an example, look at OWC's dock that has thunderbolt ports yet the internal drives are much slower. Review the hub/dock and find out the real specs of the internal drive options. Also, check reviews to see if some SSDs do better than others as well as if there is any heat issues and sustained high speed for larger files.

I went another route. I opted for a hub that has nothing but Thunderbolt and USB 3.2 ports.

On one of the Thunderbolt port I hung a Sabrent 2 terabyte SSD drive. I get results that are quite useful for my purpose as the hub is not problematic where speed is concerned. (I have 4 other devices on that hub at the time I did this speed test.)

 

[rich32gb5s]

It would be a shame to spend on an SSD for top speed only to find your Hub does not support that speed. As an example, look at OWC's dock that has thunderbolt ports yet the internal drives are much slower. Review the hub/dock and find out the real specs of the internal drive options. Also, check reviews to see if some SSDs do better than others as well as if there is any heat issues and sustained high speed for larger files.

I went another route. I opted for a hub that has nothing but Thunderbolt and USB 3.2 ports.

On one of the Thunderbolt port I hung a Sabrent 2 terabyte SSD drive. I get results that are quite useful for my purpose as the hub is not problematic where speed is concerned. (I have 4 other devices on that hub at the time I did this speed test.)

You should get around 2700 mb/s or slightly more on this setup (based on an M2 machine), which is close to a 512gb upwards installation. You only get (still fast) 1500 mb/s on a 256gb internal which would make this setup more attractive and an upgrade in speed if anything.

I was looking at this option initially but decided to take the increased 1TB internal @ 6000mb/s just to stop thinking about it.

 

[phrehdd]

You should get around 2700 mb/s or slightly more on this setup (based on M2 machine), which is close to a 512gb upwards installation. You only (still fast) 1500 mb/s on a 256gb internal which would make this setup more attractive and an upgrade in speed if anything.

I was looking at this option initially but decided to take the increased 1TB internal @ 6000mb/s just to stop thinking about it.

I have a Studio Max with 1TB for the very same reason. I do hang other items on that hub as mentioned including a Time Machine drive, an encrypted data store drive for sensitive docs etc., art projects and more.

 

[marcusalwayswins]

It would be a shame to spend on an SSD for top speed only to find your Hub does not support that speed. As an example, look at OWC's dock that has thunderbolt ports yet the internal drives are much slower. Review the hub/dock and find out the real specs of the internal drive options. Also, check reviews to see if some SSDs do better than others as well as if there is any heat issues and sustained high speed for larger files.

I went another route. I opted for a hub that has nothing but Thunderbolt and USB 3.2 ports.

On one of the Thunderbolt port I hung a Sabrent 2 terabyte SSD drive. I get results that are quite useful for my purpose as the hub is not problematic where speed is concerned. (I have 4 other devices on that hub at the time I did this speed test.)

Can you please post the name of the HUB you went for ? I was looking for a Hub where the SSD can be fit internally like can be inserted in it in the slot they give.

 

[marcusalwayswins]

I would say the WD black range is a good bet...example https://amzn.eu/d/319NaqY . Obviously you will need a 40gb/s caddy to take full advantage of speed which are quite pricey at the moment. YouTube videos on the subject are very informative.

Can this SSD be fitted into the Internal Slots that come in Most of the Hubs ? Or will I have to buy a separate Casing for this ? Or does it work in both the cases ?

How is this different from the Samsung EVO series ?

 

[phrehdd]

Can this SSD be fitted into the Internal Slots that come in Most of the Hubs ? Or will I have to buy a separate Casing for this ? Or does it work in both the cases ?

How is this different from the Samsung EVO series ?

You might want to check out warranties for each, throughput speeds and refer to the comments on each. Not the 5 star but look more towards 2,3 and 4 star and see why they don't score 5 stars.

 

[phrehdd]

Can you please post the name of the HUB you went for ? I was looking for a Hub where the SSD can be fit internally like can be inserted in it in the slot they give.

The unit I use is strictly for external items to be attached. I like the option of being able to disconnect and easily lock up non Mac internal drives. I opted for the CalDigit Element. It is as straight forward as one can get. Reminder, like any of these hubs, they can run warm to hot at times.

Image below is not mine but shows Thunderbolt on one side and USB 3.2 on the other side.

 

[StoneJack]

For external use any SSD you want.
For external boot drive WD is preferred

 

[Fishrrman]

Bear in mind that if you use a hub, the speed of an individual drive connected to it will be limited by the number of OTHER devices connected to the hub.

The hub must "share the bandwidth" between all the devices.

Seems to me if you want the fastest possible speed from an nvme/thunderbolt combination, you'll probably want to connect it directly to the USBc/tbolt port on the Mac itself.

 

[marcusalwayswins]

Bear in mind that if you use a hub, the speed of an individual drive connected to it will be limited by the number of OTHER devices connected to the hub.

The hub must "share the bandwidth" between all the devices.

Seems to me if you want the fastest possible speed from an nvme/thunderbolt combination, you'll probably want to connect it directly to the USBc/tbolt port on the Mac itself.

So if I get a Gen 3 NVMe SSD with a casing in which i can fit the NVMe SSD and connect it directly to the Port of the Mac Mini that would be much faster is it ?

 

[phrehdd]

So if I get a Gen 3 NVMe SSD with a casing in which i can fit the NVMe SSD and connect it directly to the Port of the Mac Mini that would be much faster is it ?

This gets a little bit messy.

Not all NVMe SSD perform the same even if in the same "class."
Not all enclosures when compared, perform the same when connect directly to a Mac whether Thunderbolt or USB4/3.2.
Not all hubs perform the same with one drive hanging on it or multiple devices.

Considerations might also include sustained rates of transfer. A 1 gig file might be very fast but when opt to transfer or copy a 30 gig file it might start fast then slow down for the majority of the operation. The latter may be the SSD itself or the enclosure or likely a combination of both.

Perhaps if you have time, you can visit Youtube and look up NVMe enclosure comparisons, hub comparison etc.as well as makes of NVme SSDs.

 

[adamcarvell]

CalDigit Element i was looking at buying that one so I I hang three drives of the thunderbolt 4 ports the 40gb is split between the three?.

 

[phrehdd]

CalDigit Element i was looking at buying that one so I I hang three drives of the thunderbolt 4 ports the 40gb is split between the three?.

There is one connection going to your computer so it is a *shared* line. Are you running continuously all devices? Any hub would have the same issue as exactly one cable goes between the computer and the hub. Remember, 40gb is a theoretical limit. I'll just say I was able to watch a media file (movie) while doing a back up to another dry and didn't have any issues as neither will take up the theoretical limits on their own or together.

 

[marcusalwayswins]

This gets a little bit messy.

Not all NVMe SSD perform the same even if in the same "class."
Not all enclosures when compared, perform the same when connect directly to a Mac whether Thunderbolt or USB4/3.2.
Not all hubs perform the same with one drive hanging on it or multiple devices.

Considerations might also include sustained rates of transfer. A 1 gig file might be very fast but when opt to transfer or copy a 30 gig file it might start fast then slow down for the majority of the operation. The latter may be the SSD itself or the enclosure or likely a combination of both.

Perhaps if you have time, you can visit Youtube and look up NVMe enclosure comparisons, hub comparison etc.as well as makes of NVme SSDs.

Also is thing true ? that If I want to use these NVMe SSD with the Mac Mini and if I want to plug them directly in to the USB-C Port of the Mac Mini after being fitted into a enclosure. And if I have the 256GB SSD Mac Mini no matter how much fast the external NVMe SSD is I will not get read and write speeds faster than the Internal SSD speed of my Mac Mini ?