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UnluckyXIII

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Hey,

I'm hoping to get some advice on what would be the "best" SSD to pair with the UGREEN Maxidok Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station?

The drive will be used for Time Machine and as additional off-device storage, additionally what minimum size would people advise?

Link to the dock;- https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FRM8Q873?

TIA
 
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The drive will be used for Time Machine and as additional off-device storage, additionally what minimum size would people advise?
First, I don't advise using one device for both Time Machine and "additional off-device storage" since the "additional" stuff won't be backed up.

But, as far as size for Time Machine I recommend 2x to 3x the size of the drive(s) being backed up - so 2TB to 3TB for your 1TB internal. And if you insist 😉 on using it for "additional storage" too, add in however much of that you want.
 
First, I don't advise using one device for both Time Machine and "additional off-device storage" since the "additional" stuff won't be backed up.

But, as far as size for Time Machine I recommend 2x to 3x the size of the drive(s) being backed up - so 2TB to 3TB for your 1TB internal. And if you insist 😉 on using it for "additional storage" too, add in however much of that you want.

Yeah I realise it's not ideal, maybe I need to revisit the idea, and how I look to manage my data as just the drive for Time Machine (if going 4TB as can't get 3TB) will cost between £400-500...

I'll still need something to move completed projects onto so they aren't cluttering up my internal drive, so I'll need to have a think about how I go about that.

One option might be a larger more traditional mechanical drive and use that for Time Machine with the NVMe drive used to drop projects onto so they aren't on my main drive but sill backup on Time Machine (that's if time machine would allow that).
 
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One option might be a larger more traditional mechanical drive and use that for Time Machine with the NVMe drive used to drop projects onto so they aren't on my main drive but sill backup on Time Machine (that's if time machine would allow that).
That's exactly how I do my own computer. I have 512GB internal storage, 4TB Thunderbolt SSD for data, and 8TB hard drive for Time Machine.

The only limitation for Time Machine compatibility, is that you must use APFS for your SSD - not exFAT. That's not an issue if the storage is dedicated to the Mac though; the purpose behind exFAT is if you need it to be cross-compatible between Mac and Windoze.
 
I would wait. I just spent £960 on 4 WD Black 2TB M2 NVME drives for my NAS. That would have easily got me 4 4TB drives last November..
 
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