External hard drive faster than external SSD Drive

I think I'll bring the thread to end (there doesn't seem to be much interest).

I tried different cable options. Nothing improved the speed.

I did a speed test and discovered that all the mechanical hard drives were faster than the SSD Drive.

I've learnt quite a lot. I've realised that just because it's an SSD connected via what you think is the fastest port, doesn't mean that it's going to be faster than a spinning disk connected via USB3. Perhaps, that's just the marketing at work. Sure, inside the computer, SSDs definitely better. But not always as an external drive.

I'll almost definitely move my Final Cut Pro Projects / parallels over to the hard drive or find another SSD that claims to be faster than any of my hard drives (but, definitely I'll buy form a reputable shop so I can return it).

Hope this helps someone.

Suhayl

Hi

It's a USB C Enclosure. It connects to the MacMini's USB C port.

Is USB C faster or slower than USB3?

Regards

Suhayl

Thought I'd add a bit more info:

The enclosure for the SSD drive claims it can transfer at speeds up to 6Gbps.

The WD Drive is just a regular hard drive. No frills at all.

I did a real World test: It took 17 seconds longer to transfer a GiG of data to the SSD rather than the hard drive. It took the hard drive 9 seconds. It took the SSD Drive 26 seconds.

It an issue because I've got my Photo library and Final Cut Pro Projects on the SSD.

Thinking...maybe...I should move them over to the hard drive.

What do you think?

Hi

Thanks for your suggestion

It is connected via USB C directly to the MacMini. I thought it could be the USB C wire, so I swapped that out - still the same.

However, I did another test and found out that whilst the transfer time of a 1 gig file takes way of double that for the SSD from MacMini; the other way around (SSD to MacMini) takes half the time of the hard drive.

Anyway, I'm going to try and find a USB C to USB3 wire now and runs the test again.

Thanks for your help

Suhayl

That's so true. The whole USB thing is a complete mess. It's really hard for a person who just uses a computer for productivity purposes, what all the different cables, colours and standards are. I used to think, you just connect a cable which fits the slot and away you go. I recently discovered, there's even a purple USB cable which signifies that it will keep the power on. How are ordinary folk going to know this?! I've learnt that you should use the cable that the product came with from the manufacturer. But, that isn't always possible - especially if you buy a laptop with just a USB C port on it. How'd you know that you external whatever, is going to work at is max efficiency? I thought, plug in an SSD Drive via USB C to the MacMini USB C port and it would be lightning fast. Turns out it's a bit sluggish. So, I'm with you there. I think there should just be a couple of different USBs and all the cables are compliant to the same standard. Dream on, I suppose.