USB on M1 Macs isn't actually 10Gb/s? (Also definitely not USB4)

[joeriggs]

I wonder if the M2 macs are affected too

They are: Using the same drive and cable on each and going directly into each computer:

16" M2 MBP (OS 13.4) - 725 MB/s
16" Intel 2019 MPB - 980 MB/s

 

[iPaulie81]

I find that deleting lot of larger files from my 1tb Samsung T7 SSD takes much longer on my M1 Pro Machine compared to my Intel Machine. Is it related to the M1 Chip or could it be something else?

 

[EugW]

I find that deleting lot of larger files from my 1tb Samsung T7 SSD takes much longer on my M1 Pro Machine compared to my Intel Machine. Is it related to the M1 Chip or could it be something else?

I can’t remember for random speeds but for sequential speeds, I believe my 2017 iMac is about 20-25% faster than my M1 Mac mini.

 

[ubercool]

Is anyone willing to test the new HyperDrive Next USB4 enclosure ($120)? Supposedly, essentially the same as TB4. 😏

HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure

Introducing the world’s fastest 40Gbps USB4 SSD Enclosure. The HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure unlocks increased productivity by working directly from your SSD. Experience lightning-fast 40Gbps transfer speeds and seamless compatibility with M.2 NVMe SSDs. The easy snap-in installation...

www.hypershop.com

 

[sauria]

Is anyone willing to test the new HyperDrive Next USB4 enclosure ($120)? Supposedly, essentially the same as TB4. 😏

HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure

Introducing the world’s fastest 40Gbps USB4 SSD Enclosure. The HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure unlocks increased productivity by working directly from your SSD. Experience lightning-fast 40Gbps transfer speeds and seamless compatibility with M.2 NVMe SSDs. The easy snap-in installation...

www.hypershop.com

Sure, if you were sending them out to test.

 

[ubercool]

I passed on the HyperDrive and bought an Acasis instead. I put in a Silicon Power 4TB SSD. Here's the DiskMark test with my MBP M1 Max. It's definitely the fastest drive I have by a long shot. It even beat my WD Black 4TB drive in a Konyead enclosure.

 

[mogens]

I passed on the HyperDrive and bought an Acasis instead. I put in a Silicon Power 4TB SSD. Here's the DiskMark test with my MBP M1 Max. It's definitely the fastest drive I have by a long shot. It even beat my WD Black 4TB drive in a Konyead enclosure.

View attachment 2250465View attachment 2250466

Interesting. I think there's a problem with AmorphousDiskMark and WD 850X 4TB. I get the same low write results.
When I test in Blackmagic Disk Speed Test and AJA System Test I get about 2800 mb/s in both read and write.
I've done some real world tests writing from the acacias TBU405 to the internal disk and it's blazing fast.

 

[vanc]

I have a Lexar SL600 1TB external SSD which supports USB 3.2 Gen2. Connected to my MBP 16' M1 Pro and the connection speed was right at 10Gbps.

Speed test result looks normal as well.

 

[ubercool]

Interesting. I think there's a problem with AmorphousDiskMark and WD 850X 4TB. I get the same low write results.
When I test in Blackmagic Disk Speed Test and AJA System Test I get about 2800 mb/s in both read and write.
I've done some real world tests writing from the acacias TBU405 to the internal disk and it's blazing fast.

Unfortunately, I failed to test the WD Black with Blackmagic, and now it’s used as a Carbon Copy Cloner disk so it’s set to read-only. 🤔

 

[MK500]

I ordered one of the Acasis (JHL7440) enclosures. Any recommendations on current 4TB SSD? There are so many options. My use case is a large Apple Photos library on 14” M1 Pro.

 

[theorist9]

I ordered one of the Acasis (JHL7440) enclosures. Any recommendations on current 4TB SSD? There are so many options. My use case is a large Apple Photos library on 14” M1 Pro.

I just searched for "JHL7440" at acasis.com, and got five results, none of them specifically labled as JHL7440. So I'd suggest you go to their website, find your specific product, and check the SSD recs they give at the bottom. [If you don't see any, email Acasis.]

As an example, here is one of the hits. For this one, the 990 Pro is probably the best best, since it is avail. in 4 TB, and should give great performance (plus it's currently $360 on AZ, as comparared with $503 for the Seagate).

 

[whodiini]

I got the SN850X when it was cheaper. Been working great on my mac. I have 3 Acasis externals and using a 4 TB SN850X, and two P31Gold 2 TB. All working flawlessly,

 

[MK500]

As an example, here is one of the hits. For this one, the 990 Pro is probably the best best, since it is avail. in 4 TB, and should give great performance (plus it's currently $360 on AZ, as comparared with $503 for the Seagate).

Thanks! I went with the 990 Pro and will post results. My Acasis model is TBU405 with the fins on top, but without fan.

 

[TechnoMonk]

OK, this is interesting. I am considering buying a MBA/16GB RAM/512 SSD/, as a transition machine, to sort of replace my late 2018 MBP i9/32GB RAM/VEGA20 – and my thought was to keep all my heavy video and capture one stuff on an external OWC TB3 Express 2TB SSD. That way, I can stick with 512GB SSD on the MBA. However, if the USB ports are slower than on my MBP 2018, that won't work, as it will be too slow.

Does anyone have an external SSD that sustains read speeds of around 1.000 Mb/sec, that can test this? (Samsung T7, Sandisk Extreme Pro etc.)

I use a Sandisk Pro 2 TB I bought in Costco for 110$. It gets me 1000-1100 MBps. I have a thunderbolt quad slot m.2 enclosure that is 40 Gbps.

 

[MK500]

Acasis working well with 4TB 990:

 

[dono42]

Migrating to a M2 pro Mini and have 2 Samsung 860 EVO 1TB that I want to connect via USB 3.1 gen 2. I purchased the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual Mini and had all of the speed (reduced to 5Gb/s) issues in this thread. The OWC technical support acknowledged the chip incompatibility and issued a RMA. I read some good references to Oyen and purchased this, connects at 10Gb/s, bonus it has a hub.

MiniPro RAID V4 USB-C (10Gbps) Dual Bay

Check out the deal on MiniPro RAID V4 USB-C (10Gbps) Dual Bay at Oyen Digital

oyendigital.com

 

[Frieg]

Necroposting!

Do we still have this problem with the M4 Generation?!

I have a 16 inch M4 pro and recently bought the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Mini enclosure because I had an old Samsung 870 EVO 1 TB lying around I once had in my 2012 MBP.

When I connect the case I get the dreaded "limited to 5 Gb/s" and only reach 480 read and 380 write. Should be both over 500.
Does the advertised USB 3.2 10GB/s still only work on Intel MacBooks and we still have the 5Gb/s bug on M4?!

 

[EugW]

Do we still have this problem with the M4 Generation?!

I have a 16 inch M4 pro and recently bought the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Mini enclosure because I had an old Samsung 870 EVO 1 TB lying around I once had in my 2012 MBP.

When I connect the case I get the dreaded "limited to 5 Gb/s" and only reach 480 read and 380 write. Should be both over 500.
Does the advertised USB 3.2 10GB/s still only work on Intel MacBooks and we still have the 5Gb/s bug on M4?!

No problem here with the M4 Mac mini. USB 3 works at 10 Gbps USB 3 speeds, and USB 4 works at USB 4 speeds.

Make sure you have good cables and compatible hardware.

 

[JSRinUK]

Necroposting!

Do we still have this problem with the M4 Generation?!

I have a 16 inch M4 pro and recently bought the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Mini enclosure because I had an old Samsung 870 EVO 1 TB lying around I once had in my 2012 MBP.

When I connect the case I get the dreaded "limited to 5 Gb/s" and only reach 480 read and 380 write. Should be both over 500.
Does the advertised USB 3.2 10GB/s still only work on Intel MacBooks and we still have the 5Gb/s bug on M4?!

I don’t know if this is helpful, but I use Crucial X9Pro external SSDs with my Mac Studio (M4 Max). The SSD is only rated at "1,050MB/s”. Using the rear TB5 ports, it achieves ~ 1000MB/s according to Amorphous DiskMark. On the front USBC ports, it achieves ~ 800MB/s.

 

[Frieg]

I guess you both didn't quite get the memo what the problem of this thread is about. if interested take your time to read the details about this

 

[dmccloud]

I don’t know if this is helpful, but I use Crucial X9Pro external SSDs with my Mac Studio (M4 Max). The SSD is only rated at "1,050MB/s”. Using the rear TB5 ports, it achieves ~ 1000MB/s according to Amorphous DiskMark. On the front USBC ports, it achieves ~ 800MB/s.

That is by design. The front ports on the Mac Mini are not Thunderbolt ports, only the three ports on the back of the device.

 

[Frieg]

OK i "solved" the "mystery" aka the typical Apple-patheticness by myself with an easy test:

I connected a dell dockinstation to the MacBook and the OWC to the dock and voila, the OWC reports with "up to 10Gb/s"

If I connect it again to the Macbook directly, I'm back to "limited to 5GB/s"

So here we are, the 4th Apple Silicon Generation and they couldn't care less so far to resolve this annoying bug.

 

[ubercool]

Here's a different test using an Acasis Thunderbolt 5 enclosure and an 8TB WD_BLACK SN850X SSD. I am comparing my 2023 MacBook, which has Thunderbolt 4 ports, with my Mini m4 Pro, which has Thunderbolt 5 ports.

Thunderbolt 5 is significantly faster, 2810 MB/s vs. 4605 MB/s write.

 

[Frieg]

That's not the point of this thread. The point is that Apple has a bug (or they are just lazy, or don't want to implement the standard) with USB 3.1 Gen 2 10 Gb/s / USB 3.2 10 GB/s since the M1. Devices with this specification are limited to 5 GB/s, same devices are fine on an Intel Mac or Windows devices.

 

[snakes-]

That's why people buying usb 4 enclosures or TB4-TB5 stuff. For them the problem is solved. But the bug is here you're right. Even my Samsung t7 is 100 mb/s slower as on my 2016 MacBook pro.
TB5 is too expensive right now I will switch to usb 4 drives end of the year. This have a good price/speed ratio.