How Do I Cope With Mac mini M4 Dismal 256GB Storage?

[Steve686]

Which enclosure do you run and how hot does it get?

I haven’t yet decided whether to get the fast but hot 990 Pro, or the sometimes slower but cooler 990 EVO Plus.

The Acasis TB4 enclosure. It's the one with 4 screws, not 1 or 2.

Copy/Paste this on Amazon:

ACASIS 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure, TBU 405 for M1 M2 Pro/Max, Compatible with USB4/3.2/3.1/3.0/2.0​

It doesn't get too hot to touch or anything like that. Maybe as hot as an iPhone fast charging.

 

[Pagemakers]

Here's my suggestion: Keep the NAS for backups, that's great you've got that! Then get maybe a 1 or 2 TB external SSD to store active projects and frequently-accessed files on. Of course this is just how I do it, and what works for me might not work for you. Just one way to go about it.

I too am unsure about a M4 mini with 256GB and external 1TB drive or just buy the Mini with 1TB

I’m an average non-gaming user. Would I notice any difference between 1TB internal or 1TB external in normal daily use?

 

[EugW]

I’m an average non-gaming user. Would I notice any difference between 1TB internal or 1TB external in normal daily use?

For speed? No.

However, some people may find 256 GB restrictive, but YMMV. Here is the storage usage in my house:

240 GB - Me, with Photos Library on external drive*
900 GB - Me, with Photos Library on internal drive
120 GB - Wife
60 GB - Kid 1
55 GB - Kid 2 <— This machine has a 1 TB SSD! 🤪

*For my new M4 Mac mini, I went with 512 GB storage as obviously 256 GB is just not enough for me. I will be getting an external Thunderbolt 4 SSD. 1 TB internal just wouldn’t be helpful for me. Either I need 512 GB + external drive, or else I need 2 TB, but a 2 TB internal drive is too much of a ripoff.

Note that we have a 2 TB family iCloud account though. We have our Photos Libraries in iCloud, but I also keep all the originals locally on my Mac, hence my big Photos Library size.

 

[rm5]

I too am unsure about a M4 mini with 256GB and external 1TB drive or just buy the Mini with 1TB

I’m an average non-gaming user. Would I notice any difference between 1TB internal or 1TB external in normal daily use?

Likely not. External is going to be a bit slower, but it really doesn’t matter. It sounds like you aren’t doing anything too crazy.

 

[EugW]

Likely not. External is going to be a bit slower, but it really doesn’t matter. It sounds like you aren’t doing anything too crazy.

10 Gbps USB 3 is slower but 40 Gbps USB 4 / Thunderbolt 4 is not.

 

[CharlesShaw]

Since you are in the 14 Day return period

My in-store receipt says I have until January 8th to return mine. Is that the same for the pre-ordered ones that were delivered on Friday?

 

[JamesMay82]

I would have a Samsung t7 SSD or similar. One for photos and one for video etc and then I would have a raid set up backing them and internal drive over Time Machine.

My only experience with nas was the old time capsules which left a bad taste. I’m sure new systems are amazing but can never bring myself to try them again.

 

[macfacts]

Go into the app settings and increase the cache size ( https://www.groovypost.com/howto/change-vlc-streaming-buffer/ )

 

[Cosmo M3]

I just transferred 135GB of videos from my internal storage to the external M.2 SSD using the OWC 1M2 enclosure and the speeds were blazing fast on TB4/USB4 using the rear USB-C ports. 3100mbps+ both read and write, which is crazy fast, but your YMMV based on what M.2 NVME SSD you use. I used the one that came with my OWC 1M2, which is the Aura Ultra IV 1TB, but something solid like the Samsung 990 series is another good pick.

The enclosure does get warm though, but this is completely normal.

 

[EugW]

I just transferred 135GB of videos from my internal storage to the external M.2 SSD using the OWC 1M2 enclosure and the speeds were blazing fast on TB4/USB4 using the rear USB-C ports. 3100mbps+ both read and write, which is crazy fast, but your YMMV based on what M.2 NVME SSD you use. I used the one that came with my OWC 1M2, which is the Aura Ultra IV 1TB, but something solid like the Samsung 990 series is another good pick.

The enclosure does get warm though, but this is completely normal.

l've been following the pricing of the Samsung 990 Series. The 990 Pro is the fastest and has DRAM so it would remain fast in an enclosure, but it runs kinda hot. The 990 EVO is lower end and can be slower. However, they just came out with the 990 EVO Plus which while isn't as consistently fast as the 990 Pro, it's considerably faster than the 990 EVO and runs much cooler than the 990 Pro. So, I've been looking to get the 990 EVO Plus for the Qwiizlab ES40UR enclosure (which like the OWC 1M2 is built like a heatsink with fins). Unfortunately, the 990 EVO Plus just came out recently and it actually costs significantly more than the higher end 990 Pro. Here's hoping that the prices drop soon, perhaps on or before Black Friday. In the meantime I'll just keep using my Samsung T7 Shield.

 

[MrGimper]

Hynix P31 is a good drive too. I had that in a 40gbps enclosure and it got 3200 read and write.

Usually gets cheap on Prime Day/Black Friday.

I bought 5x 1TB ones for my ESXi server lab @ £45 each , and 2x 2TBs for general use @ £75 each.

 

[TracerAnalog]

I picked up a Mac Mini M4 with all the excitement for fun, for my work desk, and also to run my Plex server. I currently have a Synology NAS running Plex but sometimes movie playback stutters.

The obvious solution to the mini's poor storage is an external hard drive. But what about using the NAS with 10gbe connection?

How would you handle storage?

I'm thinking of putting my photo library on the NAS (1tb), keep my documents folder on the mini synced with either One Drive or Synology Drive (50-100gb), and other projects like editing movies will either be Synology or external drives.

Will 10gbe be fast enough for editing movies (just home videos)? or should I just plan on external?

Any other tips to keep this small storage working for me? I was too cheap to upgrae the storage.

Go for a 4Tb SSD via TB. A NAS is overcomplicated and slower.

 

[EugW]

Hynix P31 is a good drive too. I had that in a 40gbps enclosure and it got 3200 read and write.

Usually gets cheap on Prime Day/Black Friday.

I bought 5x 1TB ones for my ESXi server lab @ £45 each , and 2x 2TBs for general use @ £75 each.

Unfortunately, Hynix doesn't make 4 TB NVMe SSDs. Otherwise I'd buy a Hynix Gold P31 in a heartbeat. Low power consumption, decent performance.

 

[phrehdd]

NAS can work but if there is a disconnect for a moment, you might find a second "library" created by your system. I think just an external drive or DAS is a good fit.

 

[EugW]

NAS can work but if there is a disconnect for a moment, you might find a second "library" created by your system. I think just an external drive or DAS is a good fit.

I was using a NAS (Gigabit) but there are extra issues, like Photos not liking its file system. And yes, if there is any problem with the network, you lose access to your data. It's cheap enough these days and much easier to just use external APFS formatted SSDs, at least if it's not shared data.

 

[phrehdd]

I was using a NAS (Gigabit) but there are extra issues, like Photos not liking its file system. And yes, if there is any problem with the network, you lose access to your data. It's cheap enough these days and much easier to just use external APFS formatted SSDs, at least if it's not shared data.

I have a serious of videos that have resized on a 2 terabyte external SSD drive for a over 3 years with no issues. I have a few external drives with one as stated, another for TM, and a 3rd akin to the NAS for very important docs (redundancy).

 

[840quadra]

I have had zero issues with running a TB3 M.2 enclosure at a relatively slow 1600 MB/ speed for what you are talking about doing. I had an M1 13” MBP with an 2TB drive and that enclosure acting as a server for a period before I picked up my M4 Pro Mini today.

Have only done some test runs on a few devices simultaneously in my house, but no issues so far. Even with this slower speed, the read in MBps is far, far higher than any of the wifi clients being served in my house.

For doing work in FCPx, I am absolutely looking forward to getting a TB5 enclosure for this machine however.

 

[Donka]

Any advice on choosing an external NVMe drive for the Mac? Is a DRAM enabled drive preferable for external use in an TB enclosure?

 

[EugW]

Any advice on choosing an external NVMe drive for the Mac? Is a DRAM enabled drive preferable for external use in an TB enclosure?

Yes for performance and consistency, but they also run hotter. I’m leaning toward DRAM-less but it depends on pricing.

 

[magbarn]

Yes for performance and consistency, but they also run hotter. I’m leaning toward DRAM-less but it depends on pricing.

Does MacOS support HMB like windows does on external SSD's? That helps significantly with dramless SSDs. If it's not supported then I'm getting a DRAM drive.

 

[EugW]

Does MacOS support HMB like windows does on external SSD's? That helps significantly with dramless SSDs. If it's not supported then I'm getting a DRAM drive.

HMB not supported.

 

[paronga]

I just transferred 135GB of videos from my internal storage to the external M.2 SSD using the OWC 1M2 enclosure and the speeds were blazing fast on TB4/USB4 using the rear USB-C ports. 3100mbps+ both read and write, which is crazy fast, but your YMMV based on what M.2 NVME SSD you use. I used the one that came with my OWC 1M2, which is the Aura Ultra IV 1TB, but something solid like the Samsung 990 series is another good pick.

The enclosure does get warm though, but this is completely normal.

Hay mate, thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.

I am looking at buying the OWC 1M2 drive that you have, but in 4TB either with the Aura Ultra IV or with my own m2 SSD.

For myself, I am intending to boot off the 4TB drive and have it so that everything is just on the external and not boot into the native storage. Coming from Mac Pros and the early days of small ssd for os and large externals for user files, I have no desire to go back to that. I want everything on one large ssd.

I will be buying the base model Mac mini with 256gn storage.

Using the OWC 4TB Aura Ultra IV, will there be any issues running it as the boot drive?

As far as I can tell, I want a USB4 40GBps and an ssd with dram. Does the Aura Ultra IV have dram?

What other ssd recommendations would people have for a 4TB NVMe drive for OS use in an external enclosure?

Thanks fam!

 

[Le Big Mac]

For my M2 I bought the Satechi dock and put a 2TB NVME drive in it to supplement the 512GB internal. All my media are on the external . . . so far so good.

Not sure if Satechi will be introducing a specific dock for the M4 mini, but it blends seemlessly with the M2.

 

[EugW]

For my M2 I bought the Satechi dock and put a 2TB NVME drive in it to supplement the 512GB internal. All my media are on the external . . . so far so good.

Not sure if Satechi will be introducing a specific dock for the M4 mini, but it blends seemlessly with the M2.

Note that the M4’s cooling vents are in the base, so a recessed dock to hold the base of the Mac mini cannot be included. Furthermore, the WiFi daughter board and the WiFi antennae are in the base.

 

[waloshin]

Which enclosure do you run and how hot does it get?

I haven’t yet decided whether to get the fast but hot 990 Pro, or the sometimes slower but cooler 990 EVO Plus.

I use the OWC Express 1M2 my LITEON CA3-8D256 NVME runs at 42 C under load the exclosure is a bit warm, but that is telling me it is working to dispute heat.