Satechi's New Accessory Lets You Add Up to 8TB of Storage to Mac Mini

[MacRumors]

Accessory maker Satechi has announced that it has released a new NVMe SSD enclosure that is specially designed for the latest Mac mini.

The slim aluminum enclosure is the same size as the Mac mini models with M4 and M4 Pro chips, allowing it to sit atop the computer. It connects to the Mac mini with an included USB 4 cable, offering data transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps.

The enclosure can hold up to an 8TB NVMe SSD, and it has a hidden compartment for storing the braided USB 4 cable. In addition, Satechi says it has integrated cooling vents and a thermal pad, for peak performance without thermal throttling.

While the enclosure matches the look and size of the latest Mac mini, it can be used with a wide variety of Apple devices, including MacBooks and iPads.

In the U.S., Apple charges $2,400 to upgrade a Mac mini to 8TB of built-in storage, so using external NVMe storage is a much cheaper option. Satechi's enclosure is available starting today for $119.99, and customers can receive an additional $20 off using code LIMITED20 for a limited time. You have to provide your own NVMe SSD, with 8TB options available for as little as $500 to $700 depending on sales.

Article Link: Satechi's New Accessory Lets You Add Up to 8TB of Storage to Mac Mini

 

[miric]

Oh really? Aluminum? Where's aluminum? Outer case? What about that black internal part? Is it plastic as usual? How is thermal dissipation organized? It does not convince me. I've just imagined inserting something like Kingston KC3000 there and giving it a proper load. How quickly will it degrade, or will the internals melt? Those SSDs look strange on their promotional photos. Maybe without chips they remain cooler 😂

 

[Rychiar]

I wish this was out before I got my bottom mount one that blocks the damn wifi

 

[dwhittington]

I wish a manufacturer would simply put a NVme drive bay in a keyboard enclosure.

But I guess if they did, some yahoo would try use a kvm with it. 🤣

Great to have expansion options. But, I’ll stick to paying the ridiculous prices for internal storage.

 

[kegan forbes]

nice idea but ill stick with the one I got from Best Buy for $35 that works just as good

 

[Newbie67]

What makes this different from the bottom mounted unit? I’ve had reoccurring issues with mine ranging from loss of signal if it is moved to suspected WiFi issues

 

[bpb]

What makes this different from the bottom mounted unit? I’ve had reoccurring issues with mine ranging from loss of signal if it is moved to suspected WiFi issues

The bottom mounted unit is blocking the wireless antennas. The top mounted one isn't.

 

[svish]

Enclosure looks nice. It fits well with the mini but even with the initial $20 discount it is on the costlier side. But it is definitely better than spending money on the very costly memory upgrades from Apple.

 

[Populus]

Oh really? Aluminum? Where's aluminum? Outer case? What about that black internal part? Is it plastic as usual? How is thermal dissipation organized? It does not convince me. I've just imagined inserting something like Kingston KC3000 there and giving it a proper load. How quickly will it degrade, or will the internals melt? Those SSDs look strange on their promotional photos. Maybe without chips they remain cooler 😂

I’ve had the same thought, tbh.

The article says Satechi includes a thermal pad to better dissipate the heat, but I only see black plastic on the inside, and the thermal pad, to be effectively dissipating the heat, should be in contact with the aluminum top case.

 

[nocsi]

$120 for a fancy nvme enclosure. But satechi does know how to make products that appeal to the aesthetic base

 

[Plutonius]

Cooling of external SSDs can be a big issue. Looking at the enclosure, I'm somewhat skeptical of its cooling ability.

 

[CalMin]

Interesting and very cute. I bought the OWC 1M2 when I had a Mac mini and while that thing had all the thermals and all the speed it was probably overkill. Worse, aesthetically it looks like a piece of dystopian military hardware on my desk, so I would have much preferred the look of this thing.

 

[d3vilsadvocate]

Wasted opportunity imo, they could have gone with 2x slots instead of hiding that cable. Ain't no one going to use that...

 

[arkitect]

Not sure if I'm hallucinating, but wasn't this Satechi ad published yesterday?

 

[satchmo]

Why not just put the previous Satechi stand and hub with ports and SSD on top of the Mac mini?

Instead they want to sell you with an additional enclosure so it'll look hideous? Ew.

 

[ronno]

Y’all love to complain, but this looks nice to me. And it’s not going to block the antennas in the bottom of the mini.

 

[boswald]

Y’all love to complain, but this looks nice to me. And it’s not going to block the antennas in the bottom of the mini.

I think it looks great.

 

[Maxis]

VS

 

[ctyrider]

I wish a manufacturer would simply put a NVme drive bay in a keyboard enclosure.

But I guess if they did, some yahoo would try use a kvm with it. 🤣

Great to have expansion options. But, I’ll stick to paying the ridiculous prices for internal storage.

Why in the heck would you want a drive bay in a keyboard enclosure? It would require a keyboard to be tethered by a thick TB3/USB4 cable.

 

[ctyrider]

Y’all love to complain, but this looks nice to me. And it’s not going to block the antennas in the bottom of the mini.

You can just get an OWC Envoy Express enclosure, which is tiny and can be attached to the back of your display completely out of sight. I got mine on sale for $60, half the price of this Satechi thing.

 

[platinumaqua]

At least this is USB4 (Thunderbolt 3) instead of the slower USB 3.1 Gen 2 which are the norm these days.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

I like that it hides the Apple logo.

 

[armhol]

Can I use this enclosure as my Boot drive and bypass the internal SSD altogether? (MiniPro)

 

[bcomer]

I use two of these providing up to 3GB/sec when connected to a TB4 port. It is all aluminum that provides an excellent heat sink.

OWC Express 1M2 USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure

Bus-powered NVMe M.2 SSD enclosure to build a portable USB4 drive for storage, backup, audio, design, and photography workflows.

eshop.macsales.com

 

[ChrisA]

$120 for a fancy nvme enclosure. But satechi does know how to make products that appeal to the aesthetic base

The enclosure works at 40 gigabits per second. $120 is a good price for that. Many of the cheaper ones are and much slower. This is about the same price as OWC's competing enclosure.

I think the enclosure needs to be on top, heat needs to flow upward into the air.