# IMac Users - How Do You Connect External Drives With Samples?



## michal (Apr 21, 2020)

Hi all, I store all my samples on a 1TB external SSD connected to my iMac via a USB-C (3.1) port. The drive is almost full and I'll have to buy a new one soon (thinking about a Samsung T5 2GB). However, the other fast USB-C port on the computer is taken by my second screen, so I only have a couple of USB 3.0 ports available. Therefore, I'm wondering how to best connect the second SSD drive. Would USB 3.0 be fast enough?

I'd love to hear how other iMac users go about connecting their external drives with samples. Thank you!


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## gamma-ut (Apr 21, 2020)

One option is a USB 3.1-capable hub. However, the max speed of USB 3.0 is still 5Gbit/s (rather than the 10Gbit/s of 3.1). I believe the max speed of the T5, which is a pretty fast external SSD, is around 500MB/s (so more or less 4Gbit/s).

One option would be to swap the existing 1TB to the 3.0 port and put the T5 on the 3.1 port. You may, however, find the T5 itself to be overkill. I don't think Kontakt would max it out, even loading up big libraries that aren't purged. I think there are some threads on how much bandwidth big templates take but can't remember exactly where.


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## AndyP (Apr 21, 2020)

I use a Satechi 3 port usb-c hub which has an additional HDMI port for my second monitor. Works flawlessly and is significantly faster than usb 3.0. About double speed.

3 SSDs are connected via the hub. This is faster than connecting one of the SSDs via USB 3.0. In addition, the distribution to several SSDs is faster than using a large one. Works pretty good for me.


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## jbuhler (Apr 21, 2020)

The usual solution to this problem is a TB3/USB-C hub. The one I have gives me HDMI and Display port outs, five full speed USB3 ports, an ethernet port, a TB3/USB-C port for daisy chaining, and a full powered USB-C port in addition to SD card readers. I actually connect it to a TB2 port on the iMac via a TB2 to TB3 dongle. It works flawlessly.


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## michal (Apr 21, 2020)

Thank you for all the insights, guys! 

@AndyP & @jbuhler, please would you mind sharing links to the hubs that you use? Both options sound interesting.


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## jbuhler (Apr 21, 2020)

O


michal said:


> Thank you for all the insights, guys!
> 
> @AndyP & @jbuhler, please would you mind sharing links to the hubs that you use? Both options sound interesting.


Whoops, I lied: It doesn't have an hdmi port. I confused it with my previous hub. I bought this one primarily because it guaranteed it was backwards compatible to TB2 and TB2 hubs are now nearly impossible to find. Here's the one I have:


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## jbuhler (Apr 21, 2020)

jbuhler said:


> O
> 
> Whoops, I lied: It doesn't have an hdmi port. I confused it with my previous hub. I bought this one primarily because it guaranteed it was backwards compatible to TB2 and TB2 hubs are now nearly impossible to find. Here's the one I have:



Something like this should work as well if you want to buy a TB3/USBC set of bays that can be daisy chained to the monitor.


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## Alex Fraser (Apr 21, 2020)

FWIW, as a temporary measure, I'm using an external SSD over a standard USB 3.0 connection. Works just fine, faster than I thought it would. Not perfect, but you'll probably waste more time in this thread than the cumulative benefit brought by a faster connection.


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## Mike Marino (Apr 21, 2020)

My setup is older (late 2013) so this may not be of much help. I run two Pegasus J4 enclosures via thunderbolt. Each enclosure has two thunderbolt ports, allowing you to daisy-chain.

Each enclosure has four SSDs, so eight in total.


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Apr 21, 2020)

michal said:


> The drive is almost full and I'll have to buy a new one soon (thinking about a Samsung T5 2GB).


Curious as to why you are still going for the T5 when the T7 is now out and uses NVMe flash storage... which is even faster than the M.2 of the T5?

EDIT: Link below for UK


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## Silence-is-Golden (Apr 22, 2020)

the "other way" is the blackmagic multidock with usb-c, has places for 4 ssd's, is silent and is 1 rack unit high.
that's the way I do it


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## gamma-ut (Apr 22, 2020)

Shad0wLandsUK said:


> Curious as to why you are still going for the T5 when the T7 is now out and uses NVMe flash storage... which is even faster than the M.2 of the T5?
> 
> EDIT: Link below for UK




It's a tall order but has anyone tested whether one of these is actually quicker in practice with big sample libraries? There is a point at which the software and OS is likely to be more of a bottleneck. These really fast SSDs tend to be designed for video rigs where you might have a lot of processors and GPUs banging away at the data, which itself is streamed in very large blocks rather than individual megabyte-or-so sample files.


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## jbuhler (Apr 22, 2020)

Silence-is-Golden said:


> the "other way" is the blackmagic multidock with usb-c, has places for 4 ssd's, is silent and is 1 rack unit high.
> that's the way I do it


The current version of the Blackmagic multidock doesn’t allow you to daisy chain so you can’t attach a monitor to it. OP needs a solution that allows a monitor on that port as well.


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## Silence-is-Golden (Apr 22, 2020)

jbuhler said:


> The current version of the Blackmagic multidock doesn’t allow you to daisy chain so you can’t attach a monitor to it. OP needs a solution that allows a monitor on that port as well.


What a bugger! Is that because of usb/c? I am lucky therefore still to have the tb2 version and an inexpensive (!) apple connector to change the tb2 into usb-c


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## jbuhler (Apr 22, 2020)

Silence-is-Golden said:


> What a bugger! Is that because of usb/c? I am lucky therefore still to have the tb2 version and an inexpensive (!) apple connector to change the tb2 into usb-c


They redesigned it. First, it is usb-c rather than thunderbolt 3. Second, they made it so you can either access all four drive slots through one usb-c port or you can use a second usb-c port and access two drive slots with each port. This was presumably done to help with video workflows but it is not useful for audio. At the same time they took the Thunderbolt 2 version, which allowed daisy chaining, off the market. When I last looked, a used TB2 version was selling for a substantial premium over a new USB-C version.


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## Iswhatitis (Apr 22, 2020)

michal said:


> Hi all, I store all my samples on a 1TB external SSD connected to my iMac via a USB-C (3.1) port. The drive is almost full and I'll have to buy a new one soon (thinking about a Samsung T5 2GB). However, the other fast USB-C port on the computer is taken by my second screen, so I only have a couple of USB 3.0 ports available. Therefore, I'm wondering how to best connect the second SSD drive. Would USB 3.0 be fast enough?
> 
> I'd love to hear how other iMac users go about connecting their external drives with samples. Thank you!


I place my internal SSDs in this Cable Matters enclosure and then attach them to this Juiced Systems hub. I have 5 4TB SanDisk SSDs each in one of these Cable Matters enclosure.

Juiced Systems VertexHUB | USB-C... 

Cable Matters Premium Aluminum... 

Juiced Systems QuadHUB - USB-C 4...


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## michal (Apr 22, 2020)

Thanks for all the inputs, very much appreciated!

Funny enough, a friend of mine suggested to me today exactly those two OWC options that @jbuhler mentioned. Especially the Thunderbay looks like a very elegant solution.

However, simply swapping the existing SSD into a USB 3.0 port and the new T5 (or T7, thanks for pointing that out, @Shad0wLandsUK) into the 3.1 might be a more reasonable way to go for me at this point, even if temporary. I'll have to talk to my CFO (a.k.a. my wife) about it.


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