Should I format my external SSD, a Samsung T7 Touch, to Mac OS Extended (Journal) instead of exFat, to achieve better read and write speed?

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Should I format my external SSD, a Samsung T7 Touch, to Mac OS Extended (Journal) instead of exFat, to achieve better read and write speed?

My goal is to increase the read and write speed of 1000 MB/s, as advertised by the device. The device will be used to store and run Xcode, Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA CE, VS Code, and Docker applications.

The problem, according to the Blackmagic test, the read and write speed is only 600 MB/s.

What I did:

I turned on the Samsung T7 Touch's security mode.
I use the USB-c to USB-c cable provided by Samsung T7 Touch, and connect it to the Mac Mini M1 USB-c port.

Other information that I knew:

The device's drive format is exFAT.

Mac mini, macOS 12.1

Posted on Jun 1, 2022 2:38 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Matti Haveri

Level 6

19,706 points

Jun 1, 2022 5:37 AM in response to kidfrom

Disk Utility > View > Show all devices. Select Samsung T7 (NOT any volumes under it). Erase > Scheme: GUID, THEN Format: APFS should be visible.

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Answer 2

Jun 1, 2022 4:50 AM in response to kidfrom

kidfrom wrote:

...

The problem, according to the Blackmagic test, the read and write speed is only 600 MB/s.

....

That is a fundamental issue with the M1 Mini and changing the format will not change things significantly.

I have a non-touch T7 and I have found that no change in cables or ports will make much difference. It is just the way it is. The best I get is in the neighborhood of 620-650 MB/s.

With that said, if the drive will only be used with Macs that have macOS High Sierra or newer, the best format for the SSD is GUID/APFS.

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