I have a 2021 24"iMac 2TB on order and wish to purchase a portable SSD drive for Time Machine back-up. Can anyone reommend the best choice between WD My Passport SSD or Samsung T7 (either with or without touch)? Or any others for that matter? Thanks very much.
iMac Pro
Much more cost effective to get an NVME drive and a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure for max speed. (2000+ mbps) I use a WD 2TB blue or black drive in a Trebleet TB3 enclosure. Both will cost about <$365.00 and work great. But like others have stated you can use something slower for less cost. An NVME in a 3.2 enclosure will run fast (900gbps) and cost <$265.
Much more cost effective to get an NVME drive and a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure for max speed. (2000+ mbps) I use a WD 2TB blue or black drive in a Trebleet TB3 enclosure. Both will cost about <$365.00 and work great. But like others have stated you can use something slower for less cost. An NVME in a 3.2 enclosure will run fast (900gbps) and cost <$265.
Hi Ros,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
A Time Machine backup drive doesn't need to be an SSD, as a large SSD can get pricey. A standard external hard drive (HDD) is just fine for most backup use cases.
With that being said, I don't recommend either of your SSD options due to compatibility issues and poor quality. For a solid and reliable drive, I would suggest one of the following:
-Jack
This G-Technology 2TB G-DRIVE mobile SSD R-Series Storage - Apple Store is A$739.95, and it is in stock. By the way, the 2TB LaCie drive is only A$679.95, but it is out of stock. Sorry, I didn't check Australia item inventory.
I just cannot recommend a Samsung SSD product.
I know LaCie and G-Technology cost more, but they are premium and often have better longevity and reliability. In my mind, it is worth it for me at least.
Sorry I can't help more.
-Jack
Don’t need SSD for TM, any USB 3 drive will do. I like the Toshiba Canvio Premiums https://www.toshiba-storage.com/products/toshiba-portable-hard-drives-canvio-premium-2/. Comes with adapter for USB-C + 3 year guarantee. Good luck.
The Western Digital SSD is poor quality for the enclosure.
The Samsung doesn't always play well with Macs, especially for the use of Time Machine.
Also, the LaCie does come in a 2TB SSD size: LaCie 2TB Mobile SSD High‑Performance External SSD USB-C USB 3.0. You just need to select the size on the Apple Store online dropdown menu.
-Jack
I like the Sandisk extremes:
WD makes good drives, but their enclosures are not so reliable.
Go to > https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-storage#drive-configuration:single-bay
and compare one of the Mercury Elite Pro's to the T7 and make your choice based on quality instead of speed.
I say that, because quality and reliability are more important for Time Machine backups than super fast.
Yes, at least not materially. I use the Toshibas; they’re perfect for the purpose. A full back under 500 Mb takes under 4 hours.
External SSDs are overrated for normal use (also overpriced, overmarketed, lots of gotchas to meet spec); avoid if possible. Trusty flashes on USB 3 deliver better with no fuss and low cost, not to mention long life.
My advice would be to start a separate thread on whether and why your TM backups are slow before selecting a replacement drive, and do so when you’re ready to post details on the perceived problem. Cheers
Hi Jack,
Thanks very much for replying. I have used always HDD in the past, I currently have a WD My Passport 4TB for back up of my 1TB MacBook Pro. I have a new iMac 2TB on order and will need to back up the whole machine after transferring from the MacBook Pro. 1TB takes days to transfer on a regular HDD, and this is why I am wanting to get a SSD instead. I used to have a smaller 1TB then a 2TB backup, and was always afraid TM may be overwriting the original files. Every now and then, I like to start over with a complete fresh backup (for example, when the backup gets full), so that means spending days again backing up 1 TB.
For TM backups, the drive needs to be bigger than the computer you're backing up from, so 1TB LaCie SDD Is simply too small. Therefore I am looking at a 2TB SSD as mentioned above. From my research so far, the WD is quicker but has no indicator light, extremely short cable, minute adaptor, gets pretty warm and 5 year warranty. Alternatively, for a similar price the Samsung T7 (without Touch) is a bit slower, has an indicator light, longer cables without the need for an adaptor, a phase change layer to dissipate heat, but only a 3 year warranty.
Jack, can you please elaborate on the compatilbility issues?
That’s ok, it’ll back them up during the next cycles which will be only incremental in nature, not full. Only the first backup is a full one and that’s the only on that takes hours, maybe a day. All the rest are about updating changed/new files.
I’m not sure how you’re measuring backup speeds, best IMO to start a separate thread to nail that down before blaming it on the disk.
BTW, encrypted backups are very, very, slow and also unreliable. If you have it turned ON, I would disable it. You’ll gain both speed and reliability.
tbirdvet is referring to buying a separate enclosure and SSD, and assembling it yourself.
I don't ever recommend this since often these components are from two different brands, and they might not "play" nicely together, or should an issue occur, it's hard to diagnose which item is the problem.
-Jack
True, but every time I want to make a fresh backup from scratch it will take ages again. I'm not measuring back up speend by any technical measure, only by noticing it is still going the next day. If I need to restart the computer it could get messy.
Thanks Keith. I did look at that initally, but scrubbed it off the list for some reason...I don't remeber why. The one I saw was $648 at Harvey Norman. It must be a different model than you have provided the link for. I will check it out, thanks :)
Thanks for replying. I know TM doesn't need SDD but USB is just too slow when backing up 1TB. It takes days.
Thanks for replying. I have used WD My Passport USB drives in the past and been happy with their reliability. They are just way too slow when backing up the whole 1TB computer. It takes days.
What's the best portable SSD for the new iMac 24"
