Gaming on thunderbolt ssd, hdd, etc

[helplol]

Hi!

I have a 2016 MacBook Pro with touch bar but with limited storage options I'm looking to buy an external form of storage (or an internal one I can buy an enclosure for) for gaming. Only problem is, I'm not very knowledgeable about ANYTHING to do with hard drives or ssd's or anything like that, and I don't want to break the bank...

can anyone tell me any affordable ssd's or hdd's or any other form of storage that I can use to play games on my Mac, preferably one that uses a thunderbolt port and isn't too expensive?

 

[Howard2k]

"uses thunderbolt" and "isn't expensive". Those two don't go together too well.

I don't think drive seek times affect gaming anywhere near as much as CPU, video, network etc. I have a spinning platter in my PS4. So likely any USB3 HDD will work, but you could consider USB attached SSD.

Any specific games?

 

[helplol]

"uses thunderbolt" and "isn't expensive". Those two don't go together too well.

I don't think drive seek times affect gaming anywhere near as much as CPU, video, network etc. I have a spinning platter in my PS4. So likely any USB3 HDD will work, but you could consider USB attached SSD.

Any specific games?

Yeah I figured hahaha, thats why I had to turn to forums Again not knowing much about storage tech I couldn't quite understand the jargon I was seeing so I just thought I should ask more knowledgable people. I guess thunderbolt isn't a must, but because I've only got thunderbolt ports on my Mac I didn't want to get a USB port because the adaptor I have might ruin the quality a little, so I figured a direct connection might be better.

Off the top of your head, if you were in my position, what drives would you consider? Storage doesn't have to be too large, 1tb or under will do. The games I want to run are nothing serious, a couple of examples would be FIFA or GTA

I have considered using an internal drive with an enclosure, any ideas how that might work out? Sorry for all of these questions by the way

 

[leman]

Samsung T3 works great for this purpose. I keep my Steam Library on it.

 

[Howard2k]

Yeah that's exactly what I would do. Buy an external drive with an enclosure.

Do you have a backup drive already? You could consider getting a larger HDD and splitting it into two, one partition for Time Machine and one partition for game.s That's what I'd do.

Would I get SSD? Likely not, but I wouldn't rule it out.

You'll likely get better performance from a powered 3.5" external drive than a USB powered 2.5" drive, but either will work. 2.5" drives that are USB powered are far more convenient.

Or go with SSD. Just be aware that SSD drives will not store data perpetually. If you don't plug them in now and then they can lose their data. It's a little different to an HDD. It might take a year or two, but SSD is not good for archival (ie, long term backup). Again, if it's plugged in regularly, non-issue.

 

[helplol]

Samsung T3 works great for this purpose. I keep my Steam Library on it.

I saw those as well, specifically the T5, but the prices were a little steep so I was keeping it aside as an option but looking out for others that might also work. If I can't find anything, I guess I might have to go with the T5
[doublepost=1536816954][/doublepost]Here's a few of the ones I've been looking at, which option would you guys recommend out of these ones?

Option 1:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LaCie-STEV2000400-Thunderbolt-Portable-Resistant/dp/B01GHCUAKO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536816652&sr=8-1&keywords=lace+thunderbolt&th=1

I don't think that one is suitable for gaming though, but I can't tell

Option 2:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Fi...=UTF8&qid=1536816733&sr=8-3&keywords=firecuda

I would probably use this in an enclosure, but again idk if it will be good for external gaming use

Option 3:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-Passport-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B01LQQH8E2?th=1&psc=1

I would probably have to get an adapter but I don't mind

Option 4:

I just take it and buy the Samsung T5, which isn't really ideal because of the cost, but if theres no other option

I'm open to any other suggestions as well!

 

[iMacDragon]

The 1tb rugged will be annoyingly slow loading games etc because it's not an SSD, but it would be 'usable', but the thunderbolt would be useless as a) it's thunderbolt 2, so would not work as in on 2016 model, and b), there'd be negligeable speed gains over usb anyway as it's mechanical drive, so it won't even get close to saturing a usb 3 connection.

Thunderbolt for storage is only really worth it if going SSD, where it can potentially go much faster than a usb drive could. but any such drives are very expensive, and honestly, probably not worth it for your use cases.

Any 3.5" drive is generally speaking not good, as you would need a powered external case, so would need two adapter points and extra cabling.

For best speed something like the t5 or sandisk equivalent really is probably the best bet, they're only USB, but they'll still be way way faster than any mechanical drive.

But if on a budget, and can put up with loading times of a mechanical drive, something like the 2tb my passport portable is probably an 'acceptable' solution.

 

[chabig]

I saw those as well, specifically the T5, but the prices were a little steep so I was keeping it aside as an option but looking out for others that might also work. If I can't find anything, I guess I might have to go with the T5.

The T5 is awesome. I have one on my Mac Mini. The 500GB size was recently on sale for $120. Keep your eyes open.

 

[Painter2002]

I saw those as well, specifically the T5, but the prices were a little steep so I was keeping it aside as an option but looking out for others that might also work. If I can't find anything, I guess I might have to go with the T5
[doublepost=1536816954][/doublepost]Here's a few of the ones I've been looking at, which option would you guys recommend out of these ones?

Option 1:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LaCie-STEV2000400-Thunderbolt-Portable-Resistant/dp/B01GHCUAKO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536816652&sr=8-1&keywords=lace+thunderbolt&th=1

I don't think that one is suitable for gaming though, but I can't tell

Option 2:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Fi...=UTF8&qid=1536816733&sr=8-3&keywords=firecuda

I would probably use this in an enclosure, but again idk if it will be good for external gaming use

Option 3:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-Passport-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B01LQQH8E2?th=1&psc=1

I would probably have to get an adapter but I don't mind

Option 4:

I just take it and buy the Samsung T5, which isn't really ideal because of the cost, but if theres no other option

I'm open to any other suggestions as well!

I personally would go with option 4. Unfortunately like others have said, "cheap" and "thunderbolt/fast" drives don't go together. When you are looking at speeds and storage size options the T5 is the probably one of the best deals. I have a 500GB T5 that I got on sale on Amazon for $125.

The alternative is to buy an enclosure and throw in a fast SSD, but the combined cost of the external storage drive and a good USB-C enclosure will end up costing you more than the same size specced T5, and likely will have slower load speeds.

 

[helplol]

Thank you all for your replies! I've just decided to take the most popular advice and buy the T5 rather than risk it with other drives that aren't much cheaper anyways.

If anything I'll buy an adaptor thunderbolt cable to use with the drive so I can get a direct connection to my mac.

Thank you guys so much for your replies once again! Much appreciated!

 

[iMacDragon]

Thank you all for your replies! I've just decided to take the most popular advice and buy the T5 rather than risk it with other drives that aren't much cheaper anyways.

If anything I'll buy an adaptor thunderbolt cable to use with the drive so I can get a direct connection to my mac.

Thank you guys so much for your replies once again! Much appreciated!

The t5 is not a thunderbolt drive, so no adapters or anything would be of use.

It IS a very fast usb C drive, though. And comes with both A-C and C-C cables, so will natively plug in.

 

[IngerMan]

I just got an email from B&H on deals and could not resist purchasing the T5 500GB for $99 delivered.

update: of course I then just checked Amazon and it is $99 as well, I have to pay taxes at Amazon though.