Question Fastest external SSD choice for Mac Mini + Adobe Suite, help

mstr

Junior Member
Feb 22, 2021
2
0
6
Hi everyone!
I just bought for a good price a Mac Mini 2018 with i7 chipset but only 128GB of SSD. I'm upgrading RAM myself (32GB), and I would like to buy an external SSD to complete my workstation (500GB should be enough for me).

I'm a graphic designer, I'm using this Mac for working and I often deal with heavy files, and with more than one software from the Adobe Suite simultaneously (usually Photoshop+Illustrator).
I'll keep my internal SSD clean, with only macOS to boot and softwares installed in it, so I need an external fast SSD for all the rest (that includes all the files I will work on directly from the ext.SSD)

I'm not that expert in SSD and storage, that's why I'm asking for your help

I've narrowed down my choice to these three models:

- WD_BLACK P50 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2) 500GB
- SANDISK EXTREME PRO V2 (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2) 1TB
- SAMSUNG X5 (Thunderbolt only) 500GB

I've read a lot about these three and they all seem very good products, is one of them particularly suitable for my needs?

WD and Sandisk seem very similar. I'd probably go with the WD between the two (has a 500GB model and it is cheaper), but reading this - https://www.anandtech.com/show/16133/usb-32-gen-2x2-state-of-the-ecosystem-review/6 - it seems that the Sandisk has better performance, and that the WD suffers when used with Adobe Suite, is that true in real life usage?

Is Samsung actually the best I can get? It seems really fast, it only has two downsides: it seems to have some heat problems causing throttle (is that true?), and it is Thunderbolt only, so less compatible (I also have a Win PC, smart TV and a PS4)

What do you think? Any advice to give?

Thank you very much!
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
I'm not sure I'd want to use a drive like this for real work. They're great for getting big files in and out of a system but the thermal sacrifices made in the name of portability make them a mobility tool, not production grade storage.

I would be far more inclined to do something like this:


Viper GTS