I have a CalDigit TS3+ that I use with my current 2019 intel MacBook Pro. I'm upgrading to an M4 po Mac Mini. Attached to the CalDigit is: ethernet, USB hubs, Samsung 34inch Thunderbolt 3 monitor. I also have a OWC Envoy Express Thunderbolt 3 enclosure with 2 TB drive that has 3100/1500 MB/s read/write speed. Based on this (not getting any new displays), there's no reason to upgrade to a TB 5 dock or TB 5 drive enclosure correct since the drive isn't fast enough for TB5 anyway? I should have no issues with backward compatibility from TB5 to tb3 correct?
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Thunderbolt 3 on Mac mini m4 pro
- Thread starter UNCMo96
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If none of your devices support TB5 then no need to update hardware/cables and yes it’s backwards compatible with previous TB versions.
I haven't tried.. have the display through the dock and I have the enclosure direct to the mac for convenience
Ok. I see in the original post that you did not say the SSD enclosure was connected to the dock.
If you plan to connect the SSD to the dock when you upgrade to M4 Pro Mac mini, then the following question needs to be answered:
Does the write speed decrease significantly if it is connected to the dock with the display? If not, then getting a new dock probably won't improve much.
1500 MB/s is ≈ 12 Gbps. A better NVMe connected with Thunderbolt 3 can do ≈22 Gbps. Maybe something about the Thunderbolt 3 controller of the SSD enclosure causes your NVMe to be slower than expected? It might behave differently in a Thunderbolt 5 enclosure. Check the specs of the NVMe to see what it's supposed to get when connected without Thunderbolt.
A Thunderbolt 3 dock can do ≈25 Gbps max of normal data. Thunderbolt 3 has 40 Gbps total minus display data.
4K60 without DSC is ≈ 16 Gbps leave 24 Gbps for normal data.
5K60 without DSC is ≈ 28 Gbps leave 12 Gbps for normal data.
6K60 with DSC is ≈ 15.4 Gbps leaves 24.6 Gbps for normal data.
CalDigit TS3+ has a PCIe Ethernet controller: 1 Gbps.
USB is 4 Gbps (USB 3.0), 7.9 Gbps (from the USB 3.1 gen 2 port), or 9.7 Gbps (from downstream Thunderbolt port).
The CalDigit TS3+ has 2 separate USB 3.0 controllers, a USB 3.1 gen 2 controller for the USB 3.1 gen 2 port and the adjacent USB 3.0 port, and a USB 3.1 gen 2 controller for the Thunderbolt port.
All USB ports connected to the same controller share bandwidth with each other.
https://www.caldigit.com/ts3-plus-interface-bandwidth-allocation-and-diagram/
In a Thunderbolt 5 dock, all USB is usually connected to the USB 3.1 gen 2 controller (9.7 Gbps) of the Apple Silicon Mac using USB tunnelling. Therefore all USB devices share 9.7 Gbps.
A Thunderbolt 5 dock might use a USB adapter for Ethernet so that the dock and most of its features can be connected to a USB host that does not support Thunderbolt/USB4.
A Thunderbolt 5 dock can have PCIe lanes to connect a NVMe device (like a SSD enclosure) or to connect a PCIe Ethernet adapter.
If you upgrade the drive enclosure to TB5, you could see up to 7GB/sec on benchmarks. However, will that accelerate any of the work you are doing? These days most of my work is bound by other things so I haven't upgraded beyond TB3/etc. I am sure the opposite for others.
Given how fast even baseline computers are for most of the work most people do, I only recommend upgrading a working device if it's the bottleneck for their work. And then only if the upgrade addresses that actual bottleneck. A lot of work isn't bound by sequential I/O so a doubling there won't make a noticeable difference outside benchmarks. On the other hand, some people's work depends on sustained I/O. Then it only makes sense to replace with a storage device that is particularly good at that.
P.S.Most reports only show the OWC Envoy Express benchmarking at ~ 1.5GB/sec so it is likely the 3100MB/sec read you measured was not real performance to the drive. Or if those were the ratings of the NVMe in your enclosure rather than the measured performance to the drive, they are a little low by modern standards. To see TB5 speeds you would have to replace both the enclosure and the NVMe inside it. But as above, that only makes sense if you are or will be bottlenecked by the drive.
Thanks for the all the info. When I get the new mac mini I'll have to blackmagic the drive and see what configuration works best. I do 90% photography (one of the reasons I'm getting a new mac mini is that the MBP seems to be choking with all the AI stuff in newer versions of my photography apps) so I suspect the current speeds are fine. Part of why I have the drive direct to the MBP is that sometimes I do take my computer and drive with me together.
