I bought a Western Digital 2TB G-Drive R-Series SSD. It comes with a 5-year warranty. It’s built really well, it’s really fast, and I have not had any problems. I chose this over the Samsung T5 because of the longer warranty. The read/write speeds seem to be the same.
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Recommendation on a good, reasonably priced portable SSD for new MBP.
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Clix Pix
macrumors Core
The only thing I don't like about the G-Drive R series SSDs is that they are provided with really short cables. I find myself switching out the cables and using one from my T5s when I need to plug in a G-Drive one. Otherwise, no issues here, I really like them, but still prefer my T5s.
Yeah, the short cord is a little annoying, especially when my mbp is on a raised stand..I have been meaning to pickup a longer one. The extra few years of warranty is really nice, though.
Clix Pix
macrumors Core
Yes, my MBP is on a raised stand, too -- that is why I prefer longer cables. I don't like the thing dangling in mid-air! You can get more cables online from Amazon, too, but since I already have them for my T5s just as easy to use those.
What's the running temperature like? Is the drive hot if you use it continuously? I'm on the lookout for external SSD attached to an iMac (for gaming) and my choice is between Samsung T5 or a DIY SSD (Samsung Evo 870/Sabrent + external case with heatsink).
Yes, I would imagine it will get hot if you are using it continuously. I don't know the running temperature, but I just transferred 600GB to mine, and it got pretty hot..but it cooled down quickly. Mine isn't used continuously..I plug it in every few days for an hour or two. The drive has what looks like a good chunky heatsink attached to it.
Don't they all get hot, though? I chose the G-Drive because of the longer warranty. I figured, if Western Digital is slapping a five year warranty on the drive, it must be very reliable.
I have the G-Technology 1TB G-Drive mobile SSD R-Series Drive. 50/50 split for windows/mac. There is a 500GB also. It looks amazing and plugged in for time machine it gets normally warm
Yeah, its really nice for an external drive, I didn't expect that..the materials and build quality. It feels high-end.
Glad to know a little about how this performs with Time Machine. I am thinking about buying another 2TB for a Time Machine Backup plugged in 24/7.
lambertjohn
macrumors 68000
Got the Lexar SL100 today. Overall, happy with it as (anecdotally) seems a bit faster than the T5 while doing some copying of data over.
Same size as T5. Comes with short cables, but OK as I have the longer Samsung cables that I can use.
Speed test not hitting the theoretical max. Was seeing speeds of about 650-680Mbs for both read and write. Again, OK with it as the most intensive thing I will be doing with it is running some VMs off of it, and those seemed to start up quicker than off the T5. BTW: the drive is formatted as APFS encrypted, which might be impacting speed.
For the price I paid, no complaints.
Same size as T5. Comes with short cables, but OK as I have the longer Samsung cables that I can use.
Speed test not hitting the theoretical max. Was seeing speeds of about 650-680Mbs for both read and write. Again, OK with it as the most intensive thing I will be doing with it is running some VMs off of it, and those seemed to start up quicker than off the T5. BTW: the drive is formatted as APFS encrypted, which might be impacting speed.
For the price I paid, no complaints.
Had a couple of smallish Samsung T3 and T5s but wanted more space and flexibility. I thought I would outsmart, outperform, and outvalue everyone by buying one of the NVMe to USB-C cheap enclosures when they first hit the market then save by using a cheaper/higher capacity bare NVMe (which I would be able to reuse in the future in a desktop etc). I was ok with the 1GBps promised speeds, still better than external SATA SSDs.
It was a disaster. Despite the case having a heatsink, it overheated and throttled like crazy, both the NVMe and the chipset/enclosure. Using it with a spare Samsung Pro 960 didn't help either.
I ended up buying a (now larger) Samsung T5 again, just waited for the correct discount.
Samsung T5 (as much as the older T1 and T3) is both pleasing to the eye and robust in operation and feel. If you are bothered with the Samsung text you can always customise it with a sticker or engraving (there might be shops who sell already customised versions). Its body is aluminium (T3 was half plastic, which I still prefer), so it is not too heavy (it is supposed to be an external device, you do not want something heavy hanging in the air by accident or if you are short in space). If you have concerns about it scratching your expensive MacBook Pro (who cares about the drive itself anyway ?) you can consider an ugly rubber case or dress it with some coating material or just leave it in its rather nice bag.
It was a disaster. Despite the case having a heatsink, it overheated and throttled like crazy, both the NVMe and the chipset/enclosure. Using it with a spare Samsung Pro 960 didn't help either.
I ended up buying a (now larger) Samsung T5 again, just waited for the correct discount.
Samsung T5 (as much as the older T1 and T3) is both pleasing to the eye and robust in operation and feel. If you are bothered with the Samsung text you can always customise it with a sticker or engraving (there might be shops who sell already customised versions). Its body is aluminium (T3 was half plastic, which I still prefer), so it is not too heavy (it is supposed to be an external device, you do not want something heavy hanging in the air by accident or if you are short in space). If you have concerns about it scratching your expensive MacBook Pro (who cares about the drive itself anyway ?) you can consider an ugly rubber case or dress it with some coating material or just leave it in its rather nice bag.
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Clix Pix
macrumors Core
Nope...... I do not use my T5s as boot up drives, nor do I keep them plugged into the machine all the time. I plug them in when I need to use them for some particular purpose, then when finished, unplug them again. I have heard of people velcroing their external drives to the back of iMacs and such, though.....
robvas
macrumors 68040
Remember than USB 3.0 devices can draw up to 900ma of power and most NVMe drives are capable of pulling in the 1,000-1,500ma rang
Still happy with it.
Have not done any speed tests since day one, as not seeing any speed degradation. Then again, I'm only using the Lexar about once a week to move stuff to it. And about only once a month to run my Windows VM off it.
Personally, it would come down to price for me, which ever is cheapest at the time, as believe both work well for my uses. One could always go T5, as Samsung is pretty close to gold standard for flash storage (I've got a 7.5yo Samsung internal SSD that I repurposed as external and still going strong), but even then, the Lexar uses Micron flash, and I have not heard anything negative re: Micron.
How's that for a non-answer? 😛
CoastalOR
macrumors 68040
I can't find a "SanDisk Extreme Ultra" to check out the specs. I've checked Amazon & SanDisk. Would you happen to have a link?
Sorry, it is called the Extreme Pro. Here is a link ... https://shop.westerndigital.com/pro...isk-extreme-pro-usb-3-1-ssd#SDSSDE80-500G-A25
[automerge]1581280854[/automerge]
Here is a link to Amazon ...
[automerge]1581280854[/automerge]
Here is a link to Amazon ...
SanDisk 500GB Extreme PRO Portable External SSD - Up to 1050MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.1 - SDSSDE80-500G-A25,Aluminum Enclosure–Transfer Speed Up to 1050MB/s*
Create at the speed of life. The SanDisk Extreme PRO portable SSD leverages our lightning-fast, in-house NVMe technology to dramatically increase transfer speeds to up to 1050MB/s**, letting you move files faster and edit right from the drive. Its ruggedized(1) case with up to 2-meter drop(4) pro...
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