Can a single iMac M3 (base model) Thunderbolt / USB 4 port power two 2.5" portable (spinning, not SSD) drives attached through USB 3 ports in an unpowered Anker hub (USB C connection to computer and 4 USB 3 ports for perpipherals)? I'm advising about a prospective purchase for a friend with the idea of keeping one of the only two computer ports open while still attaching two drives.
iMac (M3, 2023)
myaka wrote:
Can a single iMac M3 (base model) Thunderbolt / USB 4 port power two 2.5" portable (spinning, not SSD) drives attached through USB 3 ports in an unpowered Anker hub (USB C connection to computer and 4 USB 3 ports for perpipherals)?
It depends on the drives. I would not count on it. I plugged a 5 TB external notebook hard drive into one of the front-panel USB-C ports on a Mac Studio, with the help of an Apple USB-C to USB adapter.
System Information reported that
In other words, that single drive was reserving essentially all of the power that the port had to offer.
Now it could be that a lower-capacity hard drive or a SSD would not be as power-hungry. I attached a 2 TB hard drive that's not nearly as tall as the 5 TB one – and got the same result. But both hard drives are from the same company, so maybe the result for another vendor's hard drives would differ.
I'm advising about a prospective purchase for a friend with the idea of keeping one of the only two computer ports open while still attaching two drives.
I'd suggest using a powered hub to connect the two drives. That way you could still keep one of the multi-purpose USB-C (USB, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt) ports open.
myaka wrote:
Can a single iMac M3 (base model) Thunderbolt / USB 4 port power two 2.5" portable (spinning, not SSD) drives attached through USB 3 ports in an unpowered Anker hub (USB C connection to computer and 4 USB 3 ports for perpipherals)?
It depends on the drives. I would not count on it. I plugged a 5 TB external notebook hard drive into one of the front-panel USB-C ports on a Mac Studio, with the help of an Apple USB-C to USB adapter.
System Information reported that
In other words, that single drive was reserving essentially all of the power that the port had to offer.
Now it could be that a lower-capacity hard drive or a SSD would not be as power-hungry. I attached a 2 TB hard drive that's not nearly as tall as the 5 TB one – and got the same result. But both hard drives are from the same company, so maybe the result for another vendor's hard drives would differ.
I'm advising about a prospective purchase for a friend with the idea of keeping one of the only two computer ports open while still attaching two drives.
I'd suggest using a powered hub to connect the two drives. That way you could still keep one of the multi-purpose USB-C (USB, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt) ports open.
Thanks. I should have thought of the same thing. I took an Anker unpowered USB 3 hub and connected both a 3TB WD portable drive and a 2TB Toshiba portable drive to the front USB C port on my Mac Studio using an adapter. They both mounted immediately and operated without trouble. System Report shows that each requires 896 mA and each has 900mA available. I get the same result when connected to a Studio rear Thunderbolt port.
The portable drives my friend uses are both 1TB, so -- assuming they consume less power -- there may be less concern.
myaka wrote:
Thanks. I should have thought of the same thing. I took an Anker unpowered USB 3 hub and connected both a 3TB WD portable drive and a 2TB Toshiba portable drive to the front USB C port on my Mac Studio using an adapter. They both mounted immediately and operated without trouble. System Report shows that each requires 896 mA and each has 900mA available. I get the same result when connected to a Studio rear Thunderbolt port.
This may not be the best way to determine the out come, because the Mac Studio is a more powerful machine than the iMac.
The portable drives my friend uses are both 1TB, so -- assuming they consume less power -- there may be less concern.
Sadly this assumption could be inaccurate, especially if the iMac owner decides to plug in an additional device.
FWIW I still highly recommend getting and using a self-powered hub or dock.
The best practice is to always use a self-powered hub or dock for multiple external hard drives.
In that case, I would plug one drive directly into to the iMac and the other drive into the unpowered hub and then have the user plug additional devices into the hub.
It likely can however I'd recommend buying a model with at least a 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM. As you know these are not upgradeable after the fact so please get it right the first time out of the gate.
My friend's current 2011 iMac has a total of 134GB on its hard drive after thirteen years of use, so I do not imagine a need beyond the 256GB base drive. She almost exclusively uses email and surfs the web. So I do not see a need for more than 8GB RAM. Additionally, she has a tight budget. If budget was not an issue, I'd recommend exactly what you suggest -- or moving up to the model with more ports and ethernet (although she connects via WiFi). But I think she'll be fine with the base model.
I agree. But faced with a friend who is very, very, very technologically challenged, I want to reduce any cords to an absolute minimum. The potential for her stressing out increases exponentially with minor changes, as years of assistance has demonstrated. An iMac with an absolute minimum of attachments will be helpful -- particularly as she is now about a ten-hour drive away from my ability to come over and troubleshoot. It's a bit like my former brother-in-law who wouldn't know which end of a hammer to hold if you gave him one. I'm following the KISS principle here.
Good grief. I was so focused on keeping free a computer port that I overlooked the obvious. Perfect solution.
Thx, den.thed.
You're welcome.
iMac M3 base model Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports
