Recommended External SSD Drives?

[A1MB1G]

I currently run a 2020 iMac which I bought refurbisheed from the Apple Store at a really good price but it only came with 256GB of SSD storage. I'm looking to expand this to 1TB or 2TB for downloads which I then eventually move over to my NAS which has 12TB of storage in a RAID setup.

Any good recommended SSD external drives for the iMac? Not sure whether my iMac is compatible with USB 3.1 or USB3.2 etc. Any recommendations/suggestions? Not looking to spend a fortune as it'll only be used as a temporary storage location for downloads.

 

[satcomer]

Depends are you looking massive space or quickest speed?

 

[DesertNomad]

OWC Envoy FX which is Thunderbolt or USB-C 3.2.

OWC 2.0TB Envoy Pro FX Thunderbolt (40Gb/s) + USB... at MacSales.com

TB3ENVPFX02 2.0TB OWC Envoy Pro FX Thunderbolt (40Gb/s) + USB 3.2 (10Gb/s) Bus-Powered Portable NVMe SSD External Storage Solution. The fastest, most compatible portable drive ever made that works with yesterday's, today's and tomorrow's Thunderbolt and USB computers and devices.

eshop.macsales.com

For Thunderbolt only, you can go with the SX model

OWC 2.0TB Envoy Pro SX Thunderbolt (40Gb/s)... at MacSales.com

TB3ENVPSX02 2.0TB OWC Envoy Pro SX Thunderbolt (40Gb/s) Bus-Powered Portable NVMe SSD. Super-fast Xtremely portable Thunderbolt/USB4 SSD for daily storage and backup to production-level audio, design, and photography.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[Fishrrman]

OPTION 1:

A USB3 drive.
You could get a 2.5" SATA "bare" SSD (many available).
Then get a USB3 2.5" enclosure (many available, make sure it supports UASP).

Or... get a "pre-assembled" drive such as a Samsung t5, etc.
(although I prefer to put my own drives together).

Either should give you read speeds in the 420MBps range.

OPTION 2:

A USB3.1 gen2 drive.
Get an "nvme" blade SSD (many available)
Then get a USB3.1 gen2 enclosure for it.

There are also a few USB3.1 gen2 pre-assembled drives, such as the Samsung t7.

Either should give you read speeds in the 800MBps range.

I'd go with option 2 these days.