# Suggestions for Thunderbolt 3 SSD enclosure for new iMac?



## Levon (Apr 5, 2019)

Hello,

My new iMac arrives next week. I'm planning to purchase an external Thunderbolt 3 enclosure to initially hold a Samsung 860 EVO 2TB SSD (for my samples) and a 4TB Hard Disk (for audio/photos). I will be running in a Non-Raid configuration.

Can anyone offer any suggestions regarding which enclosures to go for? I'm currently looking at the Akitio Thunderbolt 3 Quad X enclosure but the Read speed is only approximately 370MB/s for a Non-Raid setup. Should I be looking for an SSD enclosure that can achieve 500MB/s (for a Non-Raid setup) or in real world scenarios am I unlikely to notice any difference?

Thanks in advance.

Levon


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## ironbut (Apr 5, 2019)

I'm wondering the same thing.
I was looking at this Akitio info page.
https://www.akitio.com/information-center/achieve-best-transfer-speeds-external-drives
Just read that it's the pcie to sata controller that slows this enclosure.


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## Levon (Apr 5, 2019)

I am wondering if buying a couple of Samsung T5's would be a better option, with the added bonus of no fan noise.


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## ironbut (Apr 5, 2019)

Looks like the Thunder3 Quad Mini would be a better choice at first glance. You should be able to find a 4T 2.5 inch HD for mass storage or use another enclosure for a full sized HD (I already have a usb 3). 
Looks like the Mini reads over 500MB/s.
https://www.akitio.com/portable-storage/akitio-thunder3-quad-mini


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## Damarus (Apr 5, 2019)

The T5's would be a better option for sure, but probably more expensive? You wouldn't need a TB3 enclosure for any SATA SSD, as it wouldn't reach those speeds anyways. USB 3.1 would be just fine, and easier to find.

Edit: T5's are a cheaper option than SSD + Enclosure


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## gpax (Apr 5, 2019)

My 2019 iMac arrived a week early... I kept looking over various posts elsewhere about the Akitio, and its specs, and they recommend not running it without the fan for long periods. Hence, I am staying with my Blackmagic dock in the interim, using a TB3 - TB2 adapter.

I can deal with the load times from the four SSDs - I cannot deal with a fan at all (been there, done that with a Thunderbay enclosure). At one point, I found someone saying the Akitio Thunder3 Quad Mini was the loudest thing in his house. Does that sound right for anyone who is using this? 

The assumption I'm making here is there will be a fan-less, multi-SSD enclosure at some point, but who knows? So while I'm seeing stellar performance from a machine with eight cores/sixteen threads in Logic, those load times for projects are still what they were before. 

Which is to say a mild annoyance at best. It wasn't that many years back I could literally go get my coffee and return to see the same project still loading. So I can deal with the 30 - 45 seconds, or minute tops from TB2 turning through the TB3 adapter.


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## Levon (Apr 6, 2019)

The Akitio Thunder 3 Quad Mini is the frontrunner at the moment I think.


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## gsilbers (Apr 7, 2019)

I find it a little odd ssd enclosures need fans. If it’s hdd 2.5 then maybe as it’s mechanical. But I’m not too well versed on this tech. I have a dual thunderbolt dock station (those ones in amazon that sell as dock station and the drive is exposed) and it doesn’t have a fan and doesn’t get hot. 

The other thing is that most enclosure add the 3.5 format which pisses me off. Why can’t more companies realize that ssd small format is the future and something small will sell more. 
I mean, they could build 4 slot dock at a small small size. 

As for this thread.... how about external like the stack 
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1297771-REG/owc_other_world_computing_owcmstk3uk0gb_ministack_usb_3_0_storage.html/?ap=y&gclid=CjwKCAjwv6blBRBzEiwAihbM-cjz-srL74phxRSlEMQPk4XSvnuSNYhEbSwc2X8fzIxP7Lbhp4LewBoC3mUQAvD_BwE&lsft=BI%3A514&smp=Y

It says quite fan and you can choose up to 12 tb but it’s 7200 hdd.


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## gsilbers (Apr 7, 2019)

There is also that owc m2 small ssd card format. It’s looks insanely fast and cool. 
But man that’s very expensive.


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## Jack Weaver (Apr 7, 2019)

I'm about due for a main Mac DAW computer.

Several choices out there these days - 2019 iMac, iMac Pro, cylinder Mac Pro, or waiting for the Godot version of the Mac Pro... Actually the least expensive route (and also enough TB/HDMI connectors) might be a used or refurbished cylinder Mac Pro with a pile of RAM - plus I prefer Xeon processors. 

I need a ton of drive space (ssd), so a couple Akitio Thunder 3 Quad Mini external drives chassis seems to be the strong choice right now - it'd also allow for a large hard drive or two for B/U. 

Of course the cylinder Mac Pro is TB2 and the Akitio Thunder 3 Quad Mini is TB3. However I found an adapter cable that could work for this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MQ26QIY/ref=cm_cr_srp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

Anyone have experience with this cable?

I'd also need an external PCIe chassis for a Pro Tools card and a dock adapter for the FW800 UAD processor card. But then I'd probably be good to go. I'd use the 2009 Mac Pro for a slave. 



.


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## LinusW (Jun 19, 2019)

Thunder 3 Quad Mini looks good for SATA drives. I'm looking at OWC Express 4M2 too for four NVMe drives.


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## ironbut (Jun 20, 2019)

I just started using the Thunder3 Quad Mini and it _is_ a little noisy.
I measured it at about 41 dB at a foot from the front on a hardowood floor.
By comparison, my 2012 Cheesegrater is almost exactly the same.

It does have an on/off switch for the fan. 
When I get time, I plan to try and sub a low noise fan or put a voltage divider to slow the fan to a crawl. I believe this fan/speed is designed for 2..5 inch spinning disks so I think it's air exchange is overkill for ssd's.


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## LinusW (Jun 20, 2019)

But using only SATA SSDs and not HDD should be cool enough to always have fan turned off. 
That’s a win for Thunder3 Quad Mini as opposed to to 4M2 where the fan is needed.


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## ironbut (Jun 21, 2019)

Maybe I'm just being paranoid but the Aikidio website says that the fan should only be off for 30 minutes. Of course, this could easily be them just covering their ass but there are a few ic's mounted on the circuit boards and with all 4 slots occupied, it's pretty tight in there.


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## LinusW (Jun 21, 2019)

ironbut said:


> Maybe I'm just being paranoid but the Aikidio website says that the fan should only be off for 30 minutes. Of course, this could easily be them just covering their ass but there are a few ic's mounted on the circuit boards and with all 4 slots occupied, it's pretty tight in there.


I have read that on Thunder3 dock and the Thunderbay units. 
It does not say in Thunder3 Quad Mini docs what I know. Maybe safe when using only SSDs? 
Not sure why the dock needs a fan while Belkin and OWC does not.


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## GtrString (Jun 22, 2019)

I just use the cheap ones from Inatech on Amazon. No issues.


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## LinusW (Jun 22, 2019)

GtrString said:


> I just use the cheap ones from Inatech on Amazon. No issues.


There is no Thunderbolt by Inateck what I know. Post a link to the product. USB products with USB-C won’t do for me.


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## GtrString (Jun 22, 2019)

LinusW said:


> There is no Thunderbolt by Inateck what I know. Post a link to the product. USB products with USB-C won’t do for me.



Oh yeah, sorry thats what I use.


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## ironbut (Jun 22, 2019)

LinusW said:


> I have read that on Thunder3 dock and the Thunderbay units.
> It does not say in Thunder3 Quad Mini docs what I know. Maybe safe when using only SSDs?
> Not sure why the dock needs a fan while Belkin and OWC does not.



I'm not surprised you missed the info about the fan switch. You have to open the "Specifications" tab to read it.
https://www.akitio.com/portable-storage/akitio-thunder3-quad-mini


This product was designed for use with the fan on and passed engineering tests with the fan on. We have added a fan switch that can turn off the fan when a low-noise environment is needed. However, the device should only be used for short periods of time with the fan in the OFF position as prolonged use may cause the device to overheat and this may cause damage to the system, cause issues to data integrity, reduce system reliability and/or shorten the lifespan of the electrical components. For best results, we recommend that the device not be used continuously for more than 30 minutes with the fan in the OFF position.


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## LinusW (Jun 22, 2019)

ironbut said:


> I'm not surprised you missed the info about the fan switch. You have to open the "Specifications" tab to read it.
> https://www.akitio.com/portable-storage/akitio-thunder3-quad-mini
> 
> 
> This product was designed for use with the fan on and passed engineering tests with the fan on. We have added a fan switch that can turn off the fan when a low-noise environment is needed. However, the device should only be used for short periods of time with the fan in the OFF position as prolonged use may cause the device to overheat and this may cause damage to the system, cause issues to data integrity, reduce system reliability and/or shorten the lifespan of the electrical components. For best results, we recommend that the device not be used continuously for more than 30 minutes with the fan in the OFF position.


Oh, right. I read this review. 

https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/28/review-akitio-thunder3-quad-mini-storage-ssd-thunderbolt-3-mac/


> If you’re using traditional spinning hard drives, then you’ll likely want to keep the fan enabled, but if you’re utilizing SSDs then it makes more sense to consider disabling the fan. I noticed that the unit can get fairly warm amid intense conditions, like copying large files, or working with media in Final Cut Pro X, so you’ll have to decide how comfortable you are with leaving the fan disabled.


So even if the drives are cold, the unit itself gets hot. That’s sad. 
If not being able to disable fans, there is no advantage for choosing this and SATA drives over OWC 4M2 and NVMe sticks because both use fans.


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## ironbut (Jun 22, 2019)

As they say, "it was in the fine print".
I agree, I wanted to like this enclosure but the fan noise is a little too much.
I'll be sending mine back I think.


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## LinusW (Jun 22, 2019)

My RAID HDDs, WD MyBook Pro and G-Technology G-RAID, are very loud but I guess it is a combination of the enclosure and the 7200rpm WD Black drives being noisy.

Both Akitio and OWC would be an improvement but I’d still keep them under the desk to avoid fan noise.


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## ABalvin (Jun 22, 2019)

I have the OWC one. And it runs smoothly. There is no fan noise in my opinion. The connecting cable it comes with is really short tho. So i have it behind my iMac and everything is great.


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## LinusW (Jun 22, 2019)

ABalvin said:


> I have the OWC one. And it runs smoothly. There is no fan noise in my opinion. The connecting cable it comes with is really short tho. So i have it behind my iMac and everything is great.


Thanks, I have 2m cables to the current T3 dock so should be good.


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## ironbut (Jun 22, 2019)

Just did a couple of speed tests with the Blackmagic Disk Speedtest app.
These are with the same Crucial X500 (cheap 2T ssd).

In the Akidio Thunderbolt3 Quad Mini with a 2meter (not active) cable
Write- 464.6 Read- 509.0

With a Plugable usb 3.0 Docking Station (I use for backups)
Write- 382 Read- 421

I can't say I can tell subjectively, any difference right off hand and I thought that the usb 3.0 did pretty well.
Not that this test proves anything but I thought I might as well post it.


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## gpax (Jun 22, 2019)

LinusW said:


> Oh, right. I read this review.
> 
> https://9to5mac.com/2017/07/28/review-akitio-thunder3-quad-mini-storage-ssd-thunderbolt-3-mac/
> 
> ...


This was my experience with the Thunder bay 4 from OWC, when I experimented disconnecting the fan. I obsessively measured the internal components, concluding that the heat was being passed on to the SSDs as well. Compared to the Blackmagic dock, and even single USB 3.0 enclosures, these SSDs ran about 5 - 8 degrees hotter.


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## ironbut (Jun 26, 2019)

Like I said in an earlier post, I returned the Thunderbolt 3 Quad Mini.
I found a used Blackmagic Multidock 2 (thunderbolt 2) on Ebay for under $400 and bought it.
I hooked it up today and ran the same test ( Crucial X500 2T Blackmagic Disk Speedtest).

Write- 319 and Read- 377

I was surprised that my usb3.0 Plugable dock was slightly faster but not by much.
On the other hand, I did have problems with the usb drives being connected immediately on startup so I had to be sure and power that dock on just before booting my iMac.
No such problem with either the Quad Mini or the Multidock.
All in all, I love the build of the Multidock and more than anything, I want something I can plug in and forget about.


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## colony nofi (Jun 26, 2019)

And for others looking, the new multi-dock is backwards compatible with mac pro cylinders, though not sure what the performance hit would be.


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## ironbut (Jun 27, 2019)

If I was a "big template" kinda guy, I probably would've waited for the 10G Multidocks to start shipping.
I'm probably going to live with this Multidock 2 (happily I'm thinking) until I decide to go to a M.2 form factor solution.


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## LinusW (Jul 30, 2019)

I've decided to skip Thunderbolt enclosure for USB 3.1 gen2 enclosure on my next iMac.
Orico TCM2 + Intel 660p would give me around 900 MB/s, both faster and cheaper than Samsung T5, or around 500 MB/s if using the 3.0/3.1 gen1 ports. OWC Express 4M2 would be great, but it's an expensive solution.
Saving the Thunderbolt port for existing Thunderbolt RAID HDD DAS and Focusrite Clarett interface.


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## SolarCell (Sep 4, 2019)

Damarus said:


> The T5's would be a better option for sure, but probably more expensive? You wouldn't need a TB3 enclosure for any SATA SSD, as it wouldn't reach those speeds anyways. USB 3.1 would be just fine, and easier to find.
> 
> Edit: T5's are a cheaper option than SSD + Enclosure


But how to connect multiple T5's on your iMac if for example you also have an Apollo Twin and there's no free socket left?


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## BassClef (Sep 4, 2019)

I use this... 2 SATA drives... no fan... USB3.1






OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini


Packing dual-drive, USB 3.1 Gen 2 performance into a portable, bus-powered form factor, this is the perfect drive for high demand applications on the go.




eshop.macsales.com


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## LinusW (Sep 22, 2019)

LinusW said:


> I've decided to skip Thunderbolt enclosure for USB 3.1 gen2 enclosure on my next iMac.


...and only a few months later, I surrendered. 
The OWC Express 4M2 is up and running - and it works on both iMac 2019 and 2015 because the latter can use Apple Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter and no bottlenecks.


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## BassClef (Sep 22, 2019)

LinusW said:


> ...and only a few months later, I surrendered.
> The OWC Express 4M2 is up and running - and it works on both iMac 2019 and 2015 because the latter can use Apple Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter and no bottlenecks.



I am very interested in your results with the 4M2 because...

I currently have a "late 2014" iMac 4GHz i7, 32 GB ram, USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 2, and will likely upgrade to iMac pro, maybe next year. I only have a single 256GB SSD inside the iMac, used for applications and rely on external SSDs for storing data, including VI libraries. Currently my external solution is the OWC Mercury Elite dual pro mini enclosure (no fan) with 2 SATA III SSDs. 

I need more storage now for VIs and would like to buy faster throughput for the soon to come newer iMac Pro. I am looking at 1) another OWC Dual Mini Pro with two 2TB SATA III drives, no faster than what I have now, or 2) something like what you just purchased and NVMe SSDs. Also looking at:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1381233-REG/dynapower_usa_netstor_na611tb3_thunderbolt_3.html
A backwards compatible Thunderbolt NVMe enclosure would give me faster throughput now with my Thunderbolt 2 iMac and even faster later with a newer thunderbolt 3 iMac. My dilemma is that I can't find ANY INFORMATION on how a Thunderbolt/NVME solution actually improves Logic Pro X performance over USB/SATA III, when it comes to streaming and loading samples. In other words, if my current setup loads a template in 45 seconds with the SATA III bottleneck, how much faster would a Thunderbolt-2/NVMe or Thunderbolt-3/NVMe solution perform the same task?

Any REAL WORLD info you could give me would be helpful.

Thanks


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## samphony (Sep 22, 2019)

Use the black magic Multidock and or get Samsung T3 or T5 or x5. The updated Multidock is USB - C now which should work equally well for standard ssds


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## LinusW (Sep 22, 2019)

BassClef said:


> Currently my external solution is the OWC Mercury Elite dual pro mini enclosure (no fan) with 2 SATA III SSDs.


Are you running them in RAID 0? What transfer rate are you getting in benchmarks? 6-700 MB/s? 
Blackmagic Disk Speed Test @ Mac App Store

I'm getting that transfer rate on a single 660p stick. If I would put four of them in RAID, then of course it will be even better.


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## LinusW (Sep 22, 2019)

BassClef said:


> My dilemma is that I can't find ANY INFORMATION on how a Thunderbolt/NVME solution actually improves Logic Pro X performance over USB/SATA III, when it comes to streaming and loading samples.


To be honest, it varies a lot from library to library. 
Loading large files like a 2 GB .nkx makes more difference. 
Loading a bunch of small files, like hundreds of .ncw or .wav samples - no obvious difference between USB SATA SSD or NVMe.


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## BassClef (Sep 22, 2019)

LinusW said:


> Are you running them in RAID 0? What transfer rate are you getting in benchmarks? 6-700 MB/s?
> Blackmagic Disk Speed Test @ Mac App Store
> 
> I'm getting that transfer rate on a single 660p stick. If I would put four of them in RAID, then of course it will be even better.



My two Samsung SSDs inside the OWC Mercury Elite dual pro mini enclosure are running WITHOUT RAID, attached to iMac via USB3.0. I get 410MB/s write and 420MB/s read. Even with my Thunderbolt 2 iMac and NVM3 SSDs, WITHOUT RAID, I could like triple that throughput. 

I'm just a hobbyist at composing with Logic and VI libraries... no pressure... no deadlines... questioning spending twice as much on library storage solutions (NVMe versus SATA3) just to save me 30 seconds here and there!


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## LinusW (Mar 11, 2022)

Follow up: the fan in my 4M2 died. I removed the outer chassis and the fan and used the drives anyway for a week. I could not measure the temperature of the NVMe drives but I guess it was ok.
I have since replaced the fan but the noise bothers me. 

So I would like to find a quieter solution before my Mac Studio arrives. As there are much more ports and I no longer need to be compatible with my TB2 iMac 2015 (where USB controllers were clogged with devices), I might switch to a USB 3.2 solution. The CalDigit TB4 Element hub will add ports where I could add fanless USB 3.2 enclosures. That is a quite expensive solution though, as opposed to just using a simple USB-C hub with four USB 3.0 USB-A.


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