Best External SSD for VIs

[slinky005]

I have a Mac mini 2019.
Using the philosophy of keeping OS separate from samples I want to use the Mac as my Vienna Ensemble Server machine.
I have a Samsung T5 SSD and tried to load some instruments on to it but got a "not correct format" type of error.
So now looking at Thunderbolt SSD drives.
Any suggestions or things to look out for?

[jdnz]

I have a Mac mini 2019.
Using the philosophy of keeping OS separate from samples I want to use the Mac as my Vienna Ensemble Server machine.
I have a Samsung T5 SSD and tried to load some instruments on to it but got a "not correct format" type of error.
So now looking at Thunderbolt SSD drives.
Any suggestions or things to look out for?

can you store normal files to the t5?

out of the box they come formatted ntfs, did you repartition and reformat it to a mac appropriate filesystem when you got it ( preferably apfs )

[slinky005]

I have a Mac mini 2019.
Using the philosophy of keeping OS separate from samples I want to use the Mac as my Vienna Ensemble Server machine.
I have a Samsung T5 SSD and tried to load some instruments on to it but got a "not correct format" type of error.
So now looking at Thunderbolt SSD drives.
Any suggestions or things to look out for?

can you store normal files to the t5?

out of the box they come formatted ntfs, did you repartition and reformat it to a mac appropriate filesystem when you got it ( preferably apfs )

Yes, lots of media files on there now.
Format is ExFat.
Was bought for use for the Mac but I wanted my PC to be able to access it as well.
Is this drive fast enough for something like Omnisphere?

[jdnz]

Format is ExFat.
Was bought for use for the Mac but I wanted my PC to be able to access it as well.
Is this drive fast enough for something like Omnisphere?

that's your problem - whilst exFAT is good for moving data between macs and windows, a lot of mac apps refuse to work on it.

shouldn't be a speed issue - the t5 is just as fast as a sata ssd inside an older macbook ....

so possibilities are either omnisphere is checking/rejecting using a 'non-native' filesystem, or rejecting ALL external drives ( the later would seem unlikely and stupid - and would be contrary to their own docs which detail HOW to install to an external : https://support.spectrasonics.net/manua ... age02.html )

unfortunately the error message doesn't give you a lot to go on - so you could either ask their tech support, or just back everything up and reformat as apfs and see if omni likes it ( you could set up the t5 with two partitions - one apfs for omni and one for shared win/mac files which is exFAT)

[jdnz]

unfortunately the error message doesn't give you a lot to go on - so you could either ask their tech support, or just back everything up and reformat as apfs and see if omni likes it ( you could set up the t5 with two partitions - one apfs for omni and one for shared win/mac files which is exFAT)

just found this in their knowledgebase ( https://www.spectrasonics.net/support/k ... tegoryID=9 )

"For Mac computers, you'll want to use format MacOS Extended (Journaled) (also called HFS+). If you are are using Mac OS High Sierra or later, APFS will also work. If you are using this drive for Time Machine backups, you will need to use a different drive, or partition your Time Machine drive and install on the partition that is not being used for backups.

For all users - please avoid exFAT or MS-DOS (FAT32). These formats are never acceptable on any platform as they limit the amount of data that can be written or transfered. What this means, is that your Spectrasonics sounds will load very slowly.

Please note: There is no single drive format that can be used for a STEAM external drive that works on both platforms."

so they don't say they REJECT exFAT - but I suspect they now do ( probably too many support calls from people who never read that an installed to exFAT/FAT32)

so either reformat/repartition or just buy a second t5 ( or an even faster t7 if you mac has usb-c ) for omni and format it apfs

[slinky005]

Very helpful.
Much appreciated.

Still looking for opinions of reliability of any particular drives.
I have the cash for a thunderbolt drive so that is top in mind.

Cheers

[jdnz]

Very helpful.
Much appreciated.

Still looking for opinions of reliability of any particular drives.
I have the cash for a thunderbolt drive so that is top in mind.

Cheers

lacie would be the most obvious pick for a thunderbolt ssd ( they’re really just a division of seagate now, so it’ll have a seagate ssd in it and they’re pretty solid)

if portability isn’t an issue the owc 4m2 could be worth a look as you can have up to 4 m.2 nvme modules in it (so expandable/upgradable and you can pick the nvme modules you like best - but not cheap!)

[slinky005]

Samsung X5
Have my eye on it.
Expensive but fast meaning higher track count.
Yay or nay?

[jdnz]

Samsung X5
Have my eye on it.
Expensive but fast meaning higher track count.
Yay or nay?

Specs look good - but us$350 for 1tb is pretty steep - t5 is 1/3 the price

[Gadget Fiend]

Samsung X5
Have my eye on it.
Expensive but fast meaning higher track count.
Yay or nay?

Specs look good - but us$350 for 1tb is pretty steep - t5 is 1/3 the price

Is the X5 an m.2 NVMe drive by any chance? NVMe drives are much faster than standard SATA m.2 drives.

[Gadget Fiend]

Samsung X5
Have my eye on it.
Expensive but fast meaning higher track count.
Yay or nay?

Specs look good - but us$350 for 1tb is pretty steep - t5 is 1/3 the price

According to the product page on Amazon, the Samsung X5 is a Thunderbolt 3 NVMe drive that is up to 6 times faster than the USB 3.1 Samsung T5. If your computer has Thunderbolt 3 ports, the X5 might be the better buy despite the higher cost.

[jdnz]

Samsung X5
Have my eye on it.
Expensive but fast meaning higher track count.
Yay or nay?

Specs look good - but us$350 for 1tb is pretty steep - t5 is 1/3 the price

According to the product page on Amazon, the Samsung X5 is a Thunderbolt 3 NVMe drive that is up to 6 times faster than the USB 3.1 Samsung T5. If your computer has Thunderbolt 3 ports, the X5 might be the better buy despite the higher cost.

there’s also the samsung t7 which is the middle ground - not as fast as the x5 ( 3000mb/s) but double the x5 ( 1000mb/s vs 500mb/s)

I wouldn’t have a problem with the x5’s price - except samsungs mainstream nvme drives (970evo plus, 980) are no dearer than the same size sata models - so they’re charging a massive premium for the thunderbolt interface

[Gadget Fiend]

Samsung X5
Have my eye on it.
Expensive but fast meaning higher track count.
Yay or nay?

Specs look good - but us$350 for 1tb is pretty steep - t5 is 1/3 the price

According to the product page on Amazon, the Samsung X5 is a Thunderbolt 3 NVMe drive that is up to 6 times faster than the USB 3.1 Samsung T5. If your computer has Thunderbolt 3 ports, the X5 might be the better buy despite the higher cost.

there’s also the samsung t7 which is the middle ground - not as fast as the x5 ( 3000mb/s) but double the x5 ( 1000mb/s vs 500mb/s)

I wouldn’t have a problem with the x5’s price - except samsungs mainstream nvme drives (970evo plus, 980) are no dearer than the same size sata models - so they’re charging a massive premium for the thunderbolt interface

I have the older Thunderbolt 2 Other World Computing (OWC) "Thunderbay" which holds four 2.5" drives or four 3.5" RPM drives or any combination of the four. I use one of the "bays" for an 8 GB 7200 RPM 3.5" drive that I use to back up all my other drives. The enclosure works flawlessly with my 2015 MacBook Pro.

If you don't need support for a 3.5" drive, there is a newer, faster, and smaller Thunderbay called the OWC Express 4M2:

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/express-4m2

It's not cheap at $249 just for the enclosure. But it would definitely give you room to grow.

[slinky005]

Not looking at something so high end - just need a small removable for my current needs.
Thx for all the info.

[slinky005]

Samsung X5
Have my eye on it.
Expensive but fast meaning higher track count.
Yay or nay?

Specs look good - but us$350 for 1tb is pretty steep - t5 is 1/3 the price

1/3 the price but a fraction of the speed.