Question SSD internal vs external?

[tinpanalley]

I remember years ago I'd buy an external HDD and when I needed it internal I would just strip the case. Can you do that with external SATA 2.5 SSDs? I need a 2TB (ideally 4TB) to travel around with for a few months and I was just going to put it in a USB3.0 enclosure I have. But I'm seeing such great deals on externals today. I just don't want to get stuck only having it as an external in the future.

The use for this "portable" drive is to play music and video from every day basically for the next few months during an international move with a laptop. I'm thinking a 2.5 SSD instead of an m.2 because if I understand correctly, the m.2 will get very hot used like that and also I won't really benefit from the speed when I'm just reading and copying small amounts. Is that all accurate?

And, add on question, does it really matter anymore what brand 2.5 SATA one buys? Must it be Samsung?
Thank you!

 

[sdifox]

Unlikely that you can takeout drive from external SSD like HDD. Why do you need to take it out of the enclosure, it's likely type C anyway. External SSD don't follow the HDD form factor at all.

As to 2.5" sata drives, you are going to have to research model and year since they change so much.


Example, not recommendation. It's like 10cm x 5cm

https://a.co/d/4aI0jDM

 

[tinpanalley]

Unlikely that you can takeout drive from external SSD like HDD. Why do you need to take it out of the enclosure anyway, it's likely type C anyway. External SSD don't follow the HDD form factor at all.

As to 2.5" sata drives, you are going to have to research model and year since they change so much.


Example, not recommendation. It's like 10cm x 5cm

https://a.co/d/4aI0jDM

Ok, so they're not like the HDD externals.
The reason for wanting to take it out is because I'll only need it portable for the next few months and then later on I plan to repurpose it as an internal. I don't want to be stuck with a format I won't need later on. I'd rather buy something now that can function in more ways internally.
Ok, so I'll do some reading on WD Blue vs Crucial vs Samsing then see what the deals are online.

 

[sdifox]

Err Type C is not going anywhere. Worst case you get an adapter. And it's not just about brand but model/revision. They get changed on a flip of a coin and not all changes are good.

If anything USB 3.2 Type C will outlast SATA


External SSD can hit 2GBPS while SATA SSD top out at around 0.5GBPS due to SATA limitation.

 

[tinpanalley]

Err Type C is not going anywhere. Worst case you get an adapter. And it's not just about brand but model/revision. They get changed on a flip of a coin and not all changes are good.

If anything USB 3.2 Type C will outlast SATA


External SSD can hit 2GBPS while SATA SSD top out at around 0.5GBPS due to SATA limitation.

When you say anything USB3.2 will outlast SATA you're saying you're better off using an external SSD with USB than an internal that's SATA only in an enclosure? But long term, I'd be going SATA in a computer.

Just curious, other than futureproofing and size, if all I'm doing is storing video and audio for use in between homes in a move for several months, what do I gain from m.2? And they run hotter right?

 

[sdifox]

When you say anything USB3.2 will outlast SATA you're saying you're better off using an external SSD with USB than an internal that's SATA only in an enclosure? But long term, I'd be going SATA in a computer.

Just curious, other than futureproofing and size, if all I'm doing is storing video and audio for use in between homes in a move for several months, what do I gain from m.2? And they run hotter right?

M.2 is about speed and irrelevant for media consumption. SATA is probably going to die. So in your use case, an external 3.5" enclosure with a 3.5" SATA HDD is probably best solution. Mind you external SSD probably fare better on the shock absorption department. But as long as you take care transporting your HDD, it should be fine.

example, not recommendation.

Amazon.ca

mind you 3.5" enclosure + power adapter is quite bulky compared to external SSD. So if you don't need to carry more than say 4TB, you can go with this. Any larger capacity and the cost is crazy.

Amazon.ca

 

[tinpanalley]

M.2 is about speed and irrelevant for media consumption. SATA is probably going to die. So in your use case, an external 3.5" enclosure with a 3.5" SATA HDD is probably best solution. Mind you external SSD probably fare better on the shock absorption department. But as long as you take care transporting your HDD, it should be fine.

I never would have imagined someone recommending a 3.5 HDD.
Why is SATA probably going to die? You mean they don't last or that the tech is going extinct?

 

[sdifox]

I never would have imagined someone recommending a 3.5 HDD.
Why is SATA probably going to die? You mean they don't last or that the tech is going extinct?

if you need the space, then there is nothing wrong with it.

SATA Express never caught on. Desktops/laptops are all going NVME, so I don't see a path forward for SATA. Servers are on SAS or NVME. The only place left for SATA is like giant storage servers. SATA is just too slow an interface for SSD.

 

[Micrornd]

FWIW - I use these to make portable SSDs. Haven't had a single problem with them.
There are others available, I've only used these because they fill my needs and have A and C connectors, YMMV.

For SATA - https://www.amazon.com/BENFEI-External-Enclosure-Compatible-Optimized/dp/B0C73VYQCW

For NVME - https://www.amazon.com/M-2-SATA-VCOM-10Gbps-NVMe/dp/B0BXLFXLDS

 

[manly]

I never would have imagined someone recommending a 3.5 HDD.
Why is SATA probably going to die? You mean they don't last or that the tech is going extinct?

He's saying the tech is going extinct. It's likely that motherboards will include some SATA ports for a while (years?) but personally, I'd lean against buying a SATA SSD today.

If you were highly motivated, you probably could execute your original plan: buy an external slim SSD with a removable SATA SSD inside. I can understand the motivation, but whether it's advisable is debatable. Try searching through Reddit to see if you can find a recommended product.

 

[Shmee]

For a portable device, I agree that an NVMe SSD over a SATA SSD makes more sense these days. Just get a decent NVMe drive and put it in an enclosure like the one mentioned. Doesn't even have to be a high end one, as most USB C enclosures will be maxing out at 10gbps, though it depends, the fancier ones can do 20 or even 40, for a price. And in general a good NVMe can be around the same price or sometimes cheaper than the same capacity SATA SSD so in most cases, the NVMe option makes more sense.

SATA drives still have a place though, for bulk storage of HDDs in desktop or servers/NAS, or even for long term offline backups, as a HDD has better data retention than SSDs do. Also, if you are building a home NAS/server, SATA hotswap backplanes are much cheaper than those for NVMe drives, so those could be for either 3.5 or 2.5 inch drives, and could be a reason to get SATA SSDs.

 

[tinpanalley]

I've gone with this m.2 NVMe. Couldn't be passed up at $309 CAD. No DRAM -- now that I know what I'm talking about a bit more -- isn't a problem given the use it will get. I've gone 4TB because though I only needed 1.8TB, that gies headroom and also after we're settled in the new home eventually, I plan on making this the new C drive on our desktop. The 250GB SSD in there is really pushing its limits in space. I hope to be able to just copy over the contents I really really hate reinstalling Windows and having to set everything up again, but that's another show...)

What I need now is a good enclosure for this. Toolless or not, I just need something that can go USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 into my laptop and USB 3.2 Gen2 (Type-A + C) into my desktop.