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Samsung 990Pro 4TB (PCIe4.0x4)(NVM Express 2.0) in ACASIS 80Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure for Mac Mini M4 Pro?
- Thread starter Dutch60
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I use two TB4 Acasis enclosures (TBU405) with 2TB 990 Pro's for DAS cloning backups of the internal SSD. In my case it's a fairly quick process but they do heat up quite quickly and would not want to have attached for longer periods.
I also have a 4TB 990 Pro in an OWC 1m2 enclosure for TM backups and given the large heatsinks + TM speed, stays relatively cool.
I also have a 4TB 990 Pro in an OWC 1m2 enclosure for TM backups and given the large heatsinks + TM speed, stays relatively cool.
Which TB4 enclosure? Note that the Acasis TB501/Pro/etc (as in the original title of this thread) is a TB5 enclosure. Acasis also sells some Thunderbolt enclosures that are more TB3+ than TB4 as TB40x models. Both the TB501 Pro and the TB401 Pro and TB405 Pro include the RTL9210x chip but haven't seen any of these selling for close to 43 EUR. Their models in that price range generally don't include the RTL9210x. It's only needed for backwards compatibility to USB3.
Most true USB4/TB4 enclosures use the ASM2464PD chip, which doesn't normally need the RTL9210B chip. USB3 compatibility is already builtin to the ASM2464PD chip.
In any case if you are connecting a Thunderbolt/USB4 enclosure to a Mac with a Thunderbolt/USB4 port, any included RTL9210x chip won't be used (or at least ideally won't be used as otherwise you're losing 75% of performance). If connected via Thunderbolt/USB4, the SSD should appear to the Mac as if it is on the PCI bus as an NVMe device. In which case you will get SMART, TRIM, etc.
If your enclosure connects to the Mac via USB3 (because that is the port you used or because it unfortunately negotiates that connection), you most likely won't get SMART functions. I recall there is some aspect of this that Apple doesn't support but don't remember the exact limitation. The net result is that devices with an RTL9210x chip connected to a Mac via USB3 don't get SMART and unlikely ever will (smartmontools best hope here -- they did enable SMART to my old HDD connected via another chipset).
Note USB versioning terminology is confusing. The short of it is that USB 3.2 isn't necessarily faster than USB 3.0. It's mostly an updated spec with higher potential (optional) speeds. A device could be USB 3.2 but still only run at 5Gbps. Either way, Apple doesn't support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps) -- just up to USB 3.2 Gen 2 / 2x1 (10Gbps).
See: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/usb-3-2-explained
Hello everybody!
One question about boxes TBU405 or TBU405 Air
www.acasis.com
www.acasis.com
Are these both enclosures support trim in mac os when they connected to Thunderbolt port? Maybe anybody have this boxes in use, so can you check System Information wether trim enabled for this external disk or not? Like on the screenshot for internal disk of macbook.
Thanks.
One question about boxes TBU405 or TBU405 Air
Acasis 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure Compatible with Thunderbolt 4/3
Best M.2 NVMe SSDs List for the ACASIS 40Gbps Enclosure ACASIS The Most Cost-effective SSD Enclosure - TBU405Air This Acasis NVME M.2 enclosure offers lightning fast file transfer and storage at a fraction of premium models' price. Perfectly solves the memory limitation issue of Apple's M4 Mac...
www.acasis.com
Acasis 40Gbps Tool-free M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure Compatible with TB4/3
TBU405 VS TBU405ProTBU405 is base version (Tool-free Installation), while TBU405Pro (Tool-free Installation + Built-in Silent Fan) is an upgraded version of TBU405. The main difference is that TBU405Pro is additionally equipped with a built-in silent cooling fan. According to tests conducted by...
www.acasis.com
Thanks.
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This one
nl.aliexpress.com
Has the ASM2464PD chip and serious heatsink compared to others. Also in description says pci 4 so i hope it is and that my kingston nv3 works.
I have a theory: it's not only the controller that makes it work on m4 but the combo of which nvme and the controller together.
And yes is 3.2 2*2 to get 20 Gb/s but i was wondering if USB does smart at all? I thought my ssd sata to usb enclosures did but maybe drive dx can add a driver on it.
40Gbps M.2 NVMe USB 4.0 SSD Behuizing Thunderbolt USB-C SSD Case Compatibel met USB 3.2/3.1/3.0 Voor Macbook iPad iPhone Case - AliExpress 7
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
nl.aliexpress.com
Has the ASM2464PD chip and serious heatsink compared to others. Also in description says pci 4 so i hope it is and that my kingston nv3 works.
I have a theory: it's not only the controller that makes it work on m4 but the combo of which nvme and the controller together.
And yes is 3.2 2*2 to get 20 Gb/s but i was wondering if USB does smart at all? I thought my ssd sata to usb enclosures did but maybe drive dx can add a driver on it.
Dram or Dram-less cache.
I prefer Dram caching. More expensive but if interruptions happen it may keep saved data.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B27_j9NDPU3cNlj2HKcrfpJKHkOf-Oi1DbuuQva2gT4/edit?gid=0#gid=0
I hope whom ever has this link it keeps on going with new drives listed.
I did not realize how many newer drive dont have Dram cache. They use HMB.
I use Acsis TB4 Air version works good.
I prefer Dram caching. More expensive but if interruptions happen it may keep saved data.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B27_j9NDPU3cNlj2HKcrfpJKHkOf-Oi1DbuuQva2gT4/edit?gid=0#gid=0
I hope whom ever has this link it keeps on going with new drives listed.
I did not realize how many newer drive dont have Dram cache. They use HMB.
I use Acsis TB4 Air version works good.
If anyone wants to learn more or keep up with all solid-state drives this is a pretty good webpage.
https://www.thessdreview.com
https://www.thessdreview.com
Tried it and works. Only thing is that i couldn't erase as APFS on the m4 but on my 2012 MBP Mojave it erased fine and now works great on the m4.This one
40Gbps M.2 NVMe USB 4.0 SSD Behuizing Thunderbolt USB-C SSD Case Compatibel met USB 3.2/3.1/3.0 Voor Macbook iPad iPhone Case - AliExpress 7
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
Has the ASM2464PD chip and serious heatsink compared to others. Also in description says pci 4 so i hope it is and that my kingston nv3 works.
I have a theory: it's not only the controller that makes it work on m4 but the combo of which nvme and the controller together.
And yes is 3.2 2*2 to get 20 Gb/s but i was wondering if USB does smart at all? I thought my ssd sata to usb enclosures did but maybe drive dx can add a driver on it.
Hello everybody!
One question about boxes TBU405 or TBU405 Air
Acasis 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure Compatible with Thunderbolt 4/3
Best M.2 NVMe SSDs List for the ACASIS 40Gbps Enclosure ACASIS The Most Cost-effective SSD Enclosure - TBU405Air This Acasis NVME M.2 enclosure offers lightning fast file transfer and storage at a fraction of premium models' price. Perfectly solves the memory limitation issue of Apple's M4 Mac...Are these both enclosures support trim in mac os when they connected to Thunderbolt port?Acasis 40Gbps Tool-free M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure Compatible with TB4/3
TBU405 VS TBU405ProTBU405 is base version (Tool-free Installation), while TBU405Pro (Tool-free Installation + Built-in Silent Fan) is an upgraded version of TBU405. The main difference is that TBU405Pro is additionally equipped with a built-in silent cooling fan. According to tests conducted by...
Yes both should work equally well when connected to a Thunderbolt 3+ port. Main difference between the TBU405 Air and the other TBU40x (/Pro) models is that the former does not have the RTL9210x chip and so will not work with USB3-only connections. The TBU405 Air requires a Thunderbolt 3 or better connection (USB4-only hosts should also work but YMMV).
Then assuming a Thunderbolt 3+ connection, both will put a supported SSD on the PCIe bus of the host computer as an NVMExpress device. MacOS generally supports TRIM to NVMExpress devices.
However note that TRIM is handled by the SSD and so there can be incompatabilities between the SSD's TRIM implementation and MacOS. Some people had problems with macOS Monterey+ and Samsung 980 Pro+ (problem may have been resolved with Samsung 9100 Pro but I have no hard data on that).
The thing is the whole tech stack has to work together and it's a pretty complicated stack. That it works as well as it does as often as it does is almost a miracle. But then some combinations of hardware/software/devices/firmware/etc have issues and good luck from there...
I have a TBU401 Pro (almost the same internals as the TBU405 Pro though guessing the latter has some refinements) and can confirm it supports TRIM. Tested with Samsung 970 Pro 1TB and Seagate 530R 2TB SSD.
This one
40Gbps M.2 NVMe USB 4.0 SSD Behuizing Thunderbolt USB-C SSD Case Compatibel met USB 3.2/3.1/3.0 Voor Macbook iPad iPhone Case - AliExpress 7
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
Has the ASM2464PD chip and serious heatsink compared to others. Also in description says pci 4 so i hope it is and that my kingston nv3 works.
I have a theory: it's not only the controller that makes it work on m4 but the combo of which nvme and the controller together.
And yes is 3.2 2*2 to get 20 Gb/s but i was wondering if USB does smart at all? I thought my ssd sata to usb enclosures did but maybe drive dx can add a driver on it.
It is possible to do SMART over USB3 but that is not generally supported under macOS. In some situations DriveDX/smartmontools can make it work. Smartmontools (the underlying drivers of DriveDX) makes it work for my SATA HDD. Last I heard there are no drivers to make it work from macOS to a RTL9210x driving an NVMe SSD. Not sure the situation for an NVMe sitting on the other side of a ASM2464PD connected through USB3.
Yes I have these for various SSDs.... Crucial/990 pro/Lexar etc. I have a M1 Studio Ultra which has TB4 ports.
The fan is silent..... the enclosure barely warm......and all are very very fast.....and the Lexar 8TB the fastest. I'm not going to go to TB5 because that would mean going to a M3 studio ultra and as of now macOS Tahoe and I'm completely happy with macOS Monterey 12.7.6. You have to go to macOS 14 or later to use TB5.
Just my two cents. I own the acasis TB5 ssd enclosure and use it with a WD_BLACK SN850X 8TB drive and a M4Pro Mac mini. I am very pleased with this setup. You have to decide if it is worth the investment. It sure is exceeding TB4 limits.
I just bought a Kingston NV3 500Gb NVME drive. It fails repeatedly with errors in the Ugreen enclosure I just bought. I suspect it's the drive not the enclosure.This one
40Gbps M.2 NVMe USB 4.0 SSD Behuizing Thunderbolt USB-C SSD Case Compatibel met USB 3.2/3.1/3.0 Voor Macbook iPad iPhone Case - AliExpress 7
Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
Has the ASM2464PD chip and serious heatsink compared to others. Also in description says pci 4 so i hope it is and that my kingston nv3 works.
I have a theory: it's not only the controller that makes it work on m4 but the combo of which nvme and the controller together.
And yes is 3.2 2*2 to get 20 Gb/s but i was wondering if USB does smart at all? I thought my ssd sata to usb enclosures did but maybe drive dx can add a driver on it.