📢 Newsroom Update
Apple introduces M4 Pro and M4 Max. Learn more >
Apple introduces M4 Pro and M4 Max. Learn more >
It is great that the USB ports on new iMac theoretically support such fast speeds, but why are the throughputs of the SSD external drives on offer only operating at about USB 2.0 speeds? Is there an issue with the design of the M1 chip?
External USB drives are can transfer up to speeds of 500MB/s on a good day. They are limited by the SATA interface that most external drives are connected to. The USB port is not the bottleneck.
Even so, that's not too bad so long as you're not using it as a boot drive for MacOS. They're cheap and do the job adequately.
If what you're looking for is speed that is as fast, or faster than your Mac's internal SSD, then what you're looking for is a Thunderbolt drive. These drives will give your extremely fast read/write speeds in the area of around 2.5GB/s.
They're not cheap, but when you want blazing fast speed, this is what you get.
External USB drives are can transfer up to speeds of 500MB/s on a good day. They are limited by the SATA interface that most external drives are connected to. The USB port is not the bottleneck.
Even so, that's not too bad so long as you're not using it as a boot drive for MacOS. They're cheap and do the job adequately.
If what you're looking for is speed that is as fast, or faster than your Mac's internal SSD, then what you're looking for is a Thunderbolt drive. These drives will give your extremely fast read/write speeds in the area of around 2.5GB/s.
They're not cheap, but when you want blazing fast speed, this is what you get.
A USB 3.0 External SSD should run at the 5 Gb/s speed.
For example, I have two USB 3.0 SSDs connected with two of the follow Philips USB-C to USB 3.0 adapters.
https://www.target.com/p/philips-usb-c-to-3-0-usb-a-female-adapter/-/A-79804275
Also other aftermarket USB-C to USB 3.0 adapters should also work just as well with the iMac.
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Adapter-Transfer-Compatible-MacBook/dp/B078NKPGW9
Sorry if I was unclear. The external SSD drives in the Apple Store such as the LaCie 1TB Mobile SSD High‑Performance External SSD USB-C USB 3.0, list throughputs up to 540MB/s, which is somewhat short of the 10GB/s speed of the port. I am wondering if getting a SSD with higher throretical throughput would be worth the money, or if this all the M1 can handle. Thanks for your response.
Apple does not control what the third party manufacturers specifications are. If you want the fastest external SSD currently available then you need to buy one of these:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-envoy-pro-ex-thunderbolt-3
The speeds are up to 2800mbs. They have other less expensive (slower) solutions too, if you cannot find one then what you are looking for does not exist.
Thee only issue you will find is if you are using an NVME drive in a 3.0 gen 2 enclosure the speeds will be lower than if it was connected to a Mac Intel. Many (including me) have found this out including tests conducted by OWC.
No idea what you are referring to, a USB C SSD connected to a M1based Irma will give you USB C speed.
USB 2.0 speeds on iMac M1 machines
