Samsung Portable SSD T5 revealed

[Rockadile]

Does someone have IOPS random read/write performance benchmarks for any Samsung Portable SSD T5 (and specially the 2TB model)?

They talked about 2MB random performance here if that is what you were looking for.
http://www.storagereview.com/samsung_portable_ssd_t5_review

"Moving on to 2MB random performance, the 2TB Samsung T5 hit 404.32MB/s read and 400.26MB/s write, which was another significant step up from the T3’s already impressive 318.95MB/s read and 158.28MB/s write. The SanDisk Extreme 510 was able to reach speeds of 270MB/s read and 159MB/s write, while the WD Passport SSD recorded 255MB/s read and 359MB/s write. The T5 500GB model again posted a dip in writes with 103.79MB/s; however, it had slightly better reads at 418.46MB/s."

 

[Marx55]

They talked about 2MB random performance here if that is what you were looking for.

Thanks. That is useful, but I was really looking for true IOPS (measured in K or similar, not MB/s or similar). As shown here for Samsung 960 Pro:
http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/product/consumer/960pro.html

 

[bsmr]

Just bought the T5 SSD.

One simple question... What's the best filesystem to choose? Use it with exFAT and Samsung Software to encrypt/lock, or is it better to format it as HFS+ and use Filevault?

Wanna go the right way before putting data on the disk...

EDIT: Or should I wait until release of High Sierra and take the new file system?

 

[EugW]

Just bought the T5 SSD.

One simple question... What's the best filesystem to choose? Use it with exFAT and Samsung Software to encrypt/lock, or is it better to format it as HFS+ and use Filevault?

Wanna go the right way before putting data on the disk...

EDIT: Or should I wait until release of High Sierra and take the new file system?

If you want to encrypt, stay away from the new APFS for now. Lots of people have had problems with encryption.

exFAT is cross-platform with Windows and Mac, while HFS+ is Mac-only (unless you run third party file system software on your Windows machine). If only for Mac, then stick with HFS+, since it behaves better for Mac app compatibility for obvious reasons.

 

[Fishrrman]

"One simple question... What's the best filesystem to choose?"

If the drive is to be used primarily with the Mac, HFS+ with journaling enabled.

Far fewer potential problems that way.

 

[Clix Pix]

I agree with the others -- if your household is solely or primarily Mac and you'll be using the T5 with just Macs, then definitely choose HFS+ with journaling; if there is a mix of Macs and Windows devices in the house, then stick with exFAT. I've been using the Samsung T series of external SSDs for several years now and since there are only Macs in the household, first thing I do is to reformat a new SSD (or any external drive that hasn't come specifically formatted for the Mac already). I don't use the Samsung encryption so I wipe that off when erasing the drive. Since HFS+ will continue to be compatible with the new APFS formatting, I don't plan on redoing all of my external drives, but probably in the future when I purchase new ones, I would then format those to APFS if need be.

 

[Strelok]

The biggest issue with exFat is that it doesn’t have journaling, so there’s a higher chance you could lose your data. I would go with either HFS+ or NTFS, whichever you have more devices of. Then use a program like paragon to use it on the unsupported OS.

 

[ZapNZs]

Just bought the T5 SSD.

One simple question... What's the best filesystem to choose? Use it with exFAT and Samsung Software to encrypt/lock, or is it better to format it as HFS+ and use Filevault?

Wanna go the right way before putting data on the disk...

EDIT: Or should I wait until release of High Sierra and take the new file system?

HFS+ with FileVault

 

[bsmr]

Ok - so no AFPS?

When using HFS+.... What should I use???
- Master Boot Record
- GUID
- Apple Partition Table

 

[ZapNZs]

Ok - so no AFPS?

When using HFS+.... What should I use???
- Master Boot Record
- GUID
- Apple Partition Table

Avoid APFS for the time being, IMO. It will be a great file system, but it is still currently in its infancy.

HFS+/GUID/FileVault2 if you want encrypted for Mac-only access. This combination is secure, reliable, and predictable.

 

[matreya]

Disk Utility from the current GM candidate doesn't allow you to format T5s as APFS anyway ....

 

[lobo1978]

Disk Utility from the current GM candidate doesn't allow you to format T5s as APFS anyway ....

Yes, I don't think Apple will allow problems with user data by releasing unbaked solution. They could risk class action suit if we start loosing data because of APFS. I am not worried in that matter. They will rather not let you do it (opposite to Microsoft who will/has gladly use users to crowd-test their crap).

We are not appreciating how Apple is ahead of curve (and bold) with this new file system (not talking about increased safety in times of ransomware). You have to have expertise to mess with user data - and you have MacOSX for free!

Other file formats are now legacy if you switch to SSD. Let's see when MS will start developing their own file system for windows (they will rather not...)

 

[ZapNZs]

Let's see when MS will start developing their own file system for windows (they will rather not...)

Microsoft has ReFS. Like Apple, it's been a phased release, with certain features/options not present on initial releases (like APFS, IIRC it also incorporates metadata checksums). Microsoft has been moving extremely slow on this, and if/when it will replace NTFS is still not clear, nor is the upgrade path for current Win 10 Users.

My hope is that either APFS gets ReFS/NTFS read/write capability, ReFS/NTFS gets APFS read/write capability, or both. I've always considered a huge weakness of HFS+ and NTFS is their lack of write compatibility with the other (I don't consider HFS+' experimental NTFS write capability stable enough to be considered compatible.)

 

[lobo1978]

Microsoft has ReFS. Like Apple, it's been a phased release, with certain features/options not present on initial releases (like APFS, IIRC it also incorporates metadata checksums). Microsoft has been moving extremely slow on this, and if/when it will replace NTFS is still not clear, nor is the upgrade path for current Win 10 Users.

My hope is that either APFS gets ReFS/NTFS read/write capability, ReFS/NTFS gets APFS read/write capability, or both. I've always considered a huge weakness of HFS+ and NTFS is their lack of write compatibility with the other (I don't consider HFS+' experimental NTFS write capability stable enough to be considered compatible.)

You are very right about compatibility. I'd rather they come to one/standard solution so we don't have to bother.

I did not know about ReFS though. Anyway OS developers really have to follow after hardware.

 

[AG Palo Alto]

I just bought this one too. Love the look, love the size...but I cannot partition the drive, nor can I encrypt it. Were you able to do this????
[doublepost=1505331874][/doublepost]

I was able first to repartition the drive using the command line tool 'diskutil' with just HFS+ filesystems in the partitions. Then once partitioned, I was able to get Disk Utility to reformat the partitions as APFS encrypted. Here is the command I used. Note that your sizes and device name may vary. Check the disk number that it shows up as in Disk Utility first.

sudo diskutil partitionDisk /dev/disk2 2 GPT HFS+ Partition1 200G HFS+ Partition2 300G​

You'll be prompted for your password (your account password, not the disk password). This doesn't create encrypted filesystems yet, but once I had it in this state, I was able to use Disk Utility to format and select APFS encrypted as the filesystem type. I think the key problem was that the partition table was not initially GPT, but I am not sure. Good luck.

 

[metter]

Not only do you need to format it correctly, you also need to change partition table to GUID in Disc utility. I'm not at my computer right now so I can't give clear instructions, but it should be under erase or partition as an option.

Edit: I assume it comes standard as MBR partition table, but it may already be GUID. Just check so you don't have to do everything all over again . The default file system from the factory is ExFAT if I recall correctly.

Can you kindly provide instructions on getting the T5 to get CCC to work on it please? A little bit lost here

 

[Fishrrman]

metter wrote:
"Can you kindly provide instructions on getting the T5 to get CCC to work on it please? A little bit lost here"

Do this:
1. Connect t5
2. It should be "in Mac format" (Mac OS extended with journaling enabled). If it's not, use Disk Utility to erase it to this format.
3. Open CCC
4. Accept CCC's defaults for now
5. Select your source drive (internal) from the leftmost popup (drive icon)
6. Select your target drive (t5) from the popup menu to the right of the source
7. Click the clone button.

If CCC asks if you wish to clone the recovery partition also -- YES you want to do this.

Let CCC be while it copies the drive.
How long it actually takes depends on how much is on your source drive.

HOW TO TEST THE CLONE:
1. Power down -- all the way off
2. Press the power on button
3. IMMEDIATELY hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN
4. The Startup Manager will appear
5. Select the icon for your external drive with the pointer and hit return
6. The Mac should boot from the t5
7. When you get to the finder, it will look EXACTLY LIKE YOUR INTERNAL DRIVE
8. Go to "about this Mac" (apple menu) to be sure that you're actually booted from the clone.

 

[metter]

Thank for your detail directions. Appreciate that. when i proceed with CCC, it said the destination disk may not be bootable. I proceed to copy and will try to reinstall the High Sierra and see if that will let me boot from the SSD. Thank you again for guidance. I will let you know the outcome.
[doublepost=1517295351][/doublepost]

Thank for your detail directions. Appreciate that. when i proceed with CCC, it said the destination disk may not be bootable. I proceed to copy and will try to reinstall the High Sierra and see if that will let me boot from the SSD. Thank you again for guidance. I will let you know the outcome.

I ccc the the internal hard disk to the t5. It works without having to reinstall the OS. However, each time, I have ti press the option button. Is there a way to redirect to reboot from the t5 and not having to press option each time?

Note. The boot up time does not improve dramatically but the access to the application improves.

 

[Fishrrman]

metter wrote:
"I ccc the the internal hard disk to the t5. It works without having to reinstall the OS. However, each time, I have ti press the option button. Is there a way to redirect to reboot from the t5 and not having to press option each time?"

1. Open System Preferences
2. Click "startup disk"
3. Click the lock icon at the bottom and enter your password
4. Do you see an icon for the t5 (it may be named differently)?
5. If so, click it so that it's selected (that's how you designate the boot drive)
6. Close System Preferences
7. Shut the Mac down.
8. Reboot.
9. Does it start automatically from the t5 drive now?

 

[metter]

metter wrote:
"I ccc the the internal hard disk to the t5. It works without having to reinstall the OS. However, each time, I have ti press the option button. Is there a way to redirect to reboot from the t5 and not having to press option each time?"

1. Open System Preferences
2. Click "startup disk"
3. Click the lock icon at the bottom and enter your password
4. Do you see an icon for the t5 (it may be named differently)?
5. If so, click it so that it's selected (that's how you designate the boot drive)
6. Close System Preferences
7. Shut the Mac down.
8. Reboot.
9. Does it start automatically from the t5 drive now?

Thank you for getting back. Unfortunately I cannot see an icon for the T5. I cannot select it from the dialogue box. There is a button Target Disk Mode, not sure what that will do. Any suggestions please?

 

[user1234]

Thank you for getting back. Unfortunately I cannot see an icon for the T5. I cannot select it from the dialogue box. There is a button Target Disk Mode, not sure what that will do. Any suggestions please?

If you are cloning a High Sierra installation running on an APFS volume you need to format your T5 with APFS to be able to boot from it. This can also be easily done with disc utility

 

[Fishrrman]

Open questions for anyone who has the t5:
- Does it come with proprietary software installed?
- Does it come with a factory-installed custom partition that cannot be removed using Disk Utility?
- If so, is there Samsung software available to REMOVE that partition?

 

[Clix Pix]

I've got a couple of T5s and had no problems in erasing and reformatting the disk; it was easier than on the earlier T1, where there was some hassle with their encryption software that was included; on the T3 and T5 they don't require the user to set up a password and all that before being able to do anything else. I simply plugged in the T5 and opened Disk Utility, erased and reformatted without any issues.

At the time I got my T5s I reformatted them to HFS+ journaling; later, after I updated to High Sierra and my computers were converted to APFS I tried to convert the external SSDs too, but couldn't do it then. I haven't attempted to do it since then, as I wasn't sure Apple had fixed it so that we can convert external SSDs now.

 

[user1234]

Open questions for anyone who has the t5:
- Does it come with proprietary software installed?
- Does it come with a factory-installed custom partition that cannot be removed using Disk Utility?
- If so, is there Samsung software available to REMOVE that partition?

I can't remember if there was anything on the drive but I just erased it immediately and formatted as APFS. There is no custom partition as far as I can see.

 

[metter]

Thank you guys for your experience. So far I have manage to CCC from the hard dish to the T5. But High Sierra Start up do not offer the T5 icon to be part of the start up disk. Not sure what I can do to rectify that.