Fastest External SSD Drive?

[PTVMan]

I plan to do a full bootable image of my 16" MacBook Pro using Carbon Copy Cloner and will occasionally need to boot and work from the clone. Under that scenario it seems I will need a really fast drive. Does anyone have a recommendation for the fastest external SSD drive that uses Thundebolt 3?

 

[W3tz]

USB-C Samsung T7: 1 GB/s.
Other faster options will do a lot more $

 

[mlourenco9]

I plan to do a full bootable image of my 16" MacBook Pro using Carbon Copy Cloner and will occasionally need to boot and work from the clone. Under that scenario it seems I will need a really fast drive. Does anyone have a recommendation for the fastest external SSD drive that uses Thundebolt 3?

I use Samsung T5 2TB. It’s perfect.

 

[sharpimage]

Samsung X5

 

[PTVMan]

Is the T7 overkill vs. the T5?
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Samsung X5

So you think the $220 for 500GB is worth it?

 

[Clix Pix]

Samsung X5 or Samsung T7. Both are fast and for me, yes, it is worth it. The X5 actually takes advantage of Thunderbolt 3, whereas the T7 plugs into one of the USB-C ports but isn't actually Thunderbolt 3.

 

[sharpimage]

So you think the $220 for 500GB is worth it?

That wasn't the question asked was it. I have a T5 1TB and a WD 1TB SSD - both are underwhelming when compared to the internal ssd. If you want the fastest with thunderbolt 3 then the X5 is your option.

 

[Fishrrman]

Alternative:
Buy an nvme "blade drive" (doesn't have to be "the fastest", just about any one will do)
and
Buy a USB3.1 gen2 enclosure. ($30-60 take your pick)

Put the drive into the enclosure.
Erase it with disk utility.
Create your cloned backup this way.

This should give you a USB3.1 gen2 drive with read speeds about 965MBps and writes above 850MBps. Total $$$ spent will be $150 or less for 1tb, less for 512gb.

These run "on the warm side", but will probably be cooler than the X5, which gets almost too hot to hold under heavy usage.