Fastest external SSD for iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)

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Fastest external SSD for iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)

I am running out of disk space on my imac and i am trying to extend the life until the new imacs come out next year(actually who knows when)

I have watched a couple of videos and swapping out the existing SSD does not look like something i want to tackle.

It appears the best option is to move some of my stuff to an external SSD.

What kind of things should i look at when looking for a SSD. I assume i use thunderbolt3?

I will be accessing these files often via my IDE, so speed is important

I am looking for some one that has done this recently and what their experience was , and any hardware suggestions

Thanks

Posted on Aug 17, 2021 6:22 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jack-19

Level 8

46,188 points

Aug 17, 2021 12:27 PM in response to paries

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.

The absolute fastest would be an OWC Envoy Pro SX - MacSales.com (OWC) (up to 2847MB/s).

Another very fast option would be the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro External Drive with Thunderbolt 3 - Apple (up to 2800MB/s).

The following USB-C SSD drives are also fast:

OWC Envoy Pro EX - MacSales.com (OWC) (up to 1006MB/s)
OWC Envoy Pro Elektron - MacSales.com (OWC) (up to 1011MB/s)
G-Technology G-DRIVE mobile SSD R-Series Storage - Apple (up to 560MB/s)

Cheers,

Jack

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

215,346 points

Aug 17, 2021 4:47 PM in response to paries

Here are some others to consider although one may have been suggested already:

OWC Envoy Pro SX - up to 2847 MB/s

OWC Envoy Pro EX - up to 2900 MB/s

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Answer 3

tbirdvet

Level 6

17,090 points

Aug 17, 2021 12:10 PM in response to paries

I use a Western Digital NVME M.2 drive in a TB3 enclosure.

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Answer 4

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,248 points

Aug 17, 2021 6:34 AM in response to paries

Crucial has 1 and 2 TB external USB 3.2 Gen 2 drives that can deliver 1050 MB/sec speeds. These come with a USB-C cable that you plug into the Thunderbolt-3 port (USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10Gbps) on your 2017 iMac.

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,458 points

Aug 17, 2021 7:31 AM in response to paries

This would be the fastest at 2847mb/s https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3ENVPSX01/ however they are more expensive.

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Fastest external SSD for iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)

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