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Need tiny usbC flash drive

soundsystem00

soundsystem00

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 15, 2016
69
6
i need the smallest flash drive for usb C. I want to expand my MacBook Pro memory. I’d like it to just be a tiny nub on the side of it. There are many USB drives but no usb C ones that I can find.

Does anyone know what that is or know where to find it?
 
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The OP is looking drive to leave plugged in all the time.

Right now no one makes the little drives in USB-C like the USB-A drives, at least that I can find.

Anything like a dock or drive that I have plugged into my MBPro get warm or even HOT to the touch. That tells me a lot of power is being wasted and I would not want it plugged in while on battery.
 
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poorcody said:
I've been looking for one of these for a while... best I can tell, no one makes them. I can't figure out why.
Click to expand...

USB-A has a plastic block in the USB connector that prevents upside-down insertion. This plastic block happens to be slightly larger than a microSD memory card, so for USB-A it is trivial to include memory in the USB-A connector itself. A protrusion isn't needed at all, except for a minimal physical handle to pull the drive.

In fact there are minimal adapters for you to insert your own microSD card.

upload_2018-8-28_13-35-51.png


The USB-C connector has no room for anything like that. I won't be so short-sighted as to say it's impossible to make a nearly flush USB-C drive, but it will require special engineering because it won't be able to use typical memory packaging or typical consumer type memory density. Who knows when or if that will happen, and if it does, what the price will be like.
 
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ActionableMango said:
The USB-C connector has no room for anything like that. I won't be so short-sighted as to say it's impossible to make a nearly flush USB-C drive, but it will require special engineering because it won't be able to use typical memory packaging or typical consumer type memory density. Who knows when or if that will happen, and if it does, what the price will be like.
Click to expand...

Bingo. It maybe could be done with custom flash memory packaging to confirm to the connector shape, but my guess is the prospective market isn't big enough to justify the design/tooling costs to begin production.

Maybe someday, but improbable anytime soon.
 
i hear you about seeking compactness.

although neither of these 2 options are exactly what you have specified, i went with getting both of these:

There are incredibly small devices for their work horse capabilities.

Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD, as with 1TB and TimeMachine capable , and with its ultra portability its always in my bag.
Unknown.jpeg


and the
Sandisk DualDrive TypeC Thumb Drive, as it was the smallest most versatile USB Drive with huge capacity
DualDrive_TypeC-front.png.thumb.319.319.png
These are incredibly small devices for their work horse capabilities.
 
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I use one of these Sony drives. USB-C on one side and Type A on the other side. The whole drive is the size of USB-A tip that’s usually inserted into the plug and it’s also made from metal.

f3d6eb2f4de21fc5adac6dd973b3b3c7
 
Yes it does warm up a little with larger transfers but does not affect performance.
 
Thank you guys! I love the stuff that I have been seeing.

I figured that they did not exist because of the small size. Yeah, I just want something that is small and can stay in.
89a296fa-2766-4037-a95b-fb39b6e4e865_1.18119a7d70257f157813f91f1140b4fe.jpeg

But check that out! That could stay in all of the time, yeah? walmart.com just wants 40 bucks for that.

I have a 256GB macbook pro and it is a good amount of memory but there have been several times that I have ran out of space. I am a DJ and dabble in producing. Also I am a graphic artist and just overall cluttery guy.

niji said:
i hear you about seeking compactness.

although neither of these 2 options are exactly what you have specified, i went with getting both of these:

There are incredibly small devices for their work horse capabilities.

Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD, as with 1TB and TimeMachine capable , and with its ultra portability its always in my bag.
View attachment 778439
Click to expand...

Yes I was looking at that! I need an SSD external for video editing and that seemed perfect.. I read somewhere that external drives never last more than a couple years and SSDs have a shorter lifespan. Sounded like a bs article because I had an old seagate external for 5+ years and it was still working fine until I finally lost it.

Worth it?
 
soundsystem00 said:
Thank you guys! I love the stuff that I have been seeing.
Yes I was looking at that! I need an SSD external for video editing and that seemed perfect.. I read somewhere that external drives never last more than a couple years and SSDs have a shorter lifespan. Sounded like a bs article because I had an old seagate external for 5+ years and it was still working fine until I finally lost it.

Worth it?
Click to expand...

hi
it would not be surprising if any SSD (portable or fixed within a computer) becomes less reliable over time. it may be its inherent problem.
but still, the Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD, as with 1TB and TimeMachine capable , and with its ultra portability allowing it to be always in my bag, is a clear winner.
its so so fast.
and not expensive.
it literally has changed how and when i backup my data, and made the entire process to be effortless.
with this portable SSD i can begin to trust and really use apple's iCloud as a great sync system and not worry that my data is really backed up off-line yet still always with me (since the device is so small).
 
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Most USB-C storage solutions are either expensive, slow or both. I use a XT-XINTE NVMe PCIe to USB 3.1 Gen 2 SSD Enclosure for NVME / M.2 / 2280 / M-Key SSDs



s-l1600.jpg

Search on ebay.com for "NVMe USB". I use this enclosure together with a Samsung 970 EVO 500 GB NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD (MZ-V7E500BW). The read and write speed is ≈ 1 GByte/s via USB-C and ≈ 450 MByte/s via USB 3.0. If you need an additional cable, i recommend cables such as the
Belkin USB-IF Certified 3.1 USB-C (USB Type C) to USB Type C Cable
or the
Syncwire USB-C to USB-A (model SW-TC066) for older USB 3.0 Macs.

I bought all items on ebay from reputable sellers (big chains).
 
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niji said:
with this portable SSD i can begin to trust and really use apple's iCloud as a great sync system and not worry that my data is really backed up off-line yet still always with me (since the device is so small).
Click to expand...

How are you addressing the "thief steals your bag with both your computer and your backup" recovery scenario?
 
i would need to resort to TimeMachine images on my apple Time Capsule which is being used as well, or, my "oldish" LaCie orange rubbered brick that I backup manually to about every month or just before i go on an overseas business trip.
 
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Good, then you have a multi-tiered strategy which should cover you pretty well. Might want to consider something for the "home burns down while you're out for dinner" scenario. I use a cloud service for that layer. Bonus is it also gets updated anytime you're on the Internet while traveling.
 
deeddawg said:
Good, then you have a multi-tiered strategy which should cover you pretty well. Might want to consider something for the "home burns down while you're out for dinner" scenario. I use a cloud service for that layer. Bonus is it also gets updated anytime you're on the Internet while traveling.
Click to expand...

in the home-burns-down event, i resort to my every 3 or 4 months last archive that i keep in our country cabin.
 
deeddawg said:
Good, then you have a multi-tiered strategy which should cover you pretty well. Might want to consider something for the "home burns down while you're out for dinner" scenario. I use a cloud service for that layer. Bonus is it also gets updated anytime you're on the Internet while traveling.
Click to expand...
What about the layer for when the power grids are knocked out in an apocalypse and the servers crash??? Probably manually back everything up on paper in that case... (the thought of that sounds like a nightmare, LOL):D
 
Painter2002 said:
What about the layer for when the power grids are knocked out in an apocalypse and the servers crash??? Probably manually back everything up on paper in that case... (the thought of that sounds like a nightmare, LOL):D
Click to expand...
That's really more a business-continuity plan than a disaster-recovery plan. Two different things. :p

Still -- If the grids are out, the data on your local NAS (TimeMachine) or external TM backup drive or local computer should be retained just fine. I presume anyone with a NAS also has it on a UPS, and the two are connected so the UPS can signal the NAS that it's on battery, allowing for a graceful power-off.

Though if there's a EMP event, my computer data is not going to be high on my priority list. :cool:
 
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