Is it worth the money to buy an SSD with 2000MB/s Read/Write for my 2019 Macbook pro16?

I want a fast SSD drive for backups but is it worth spending the extra money on a 2000mb+ SSD over a 1050mb for my 4TB, 16MB Ram 2019 Macbook pro16? I can't figure out what the max speed is on 3.2 USB cable for my computer.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.6

Posted on Sep 19, 2024 11:30 AM

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Posted on Sep 19, 2024 12:27 PM

Macs do not support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ("up to 20 Gbps / 2500 MBps").


If you connect a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 drive to a Mac, communication will fall back to a slower speed that both the drive and the Mac can support. Typically

  • USB 3.1 Gen 2 ("up to 10 Gbps / 1250 MBps") for a USB-C host port
  • USB 3.0 ("up to 5 Gbps / 625 MBps") for a USB-A host port


IMHO, a USB 3.1 Gen 2 SSD is plenty fast enough for backups, and for storing things like your music, movie, and TV show libraries. If you need a really fast drive because you are doing things like constantly working with 4K/8K video for a living, then the next step up would be a Thunderbolt 3 SSD. But those are more expensive and the speed may cause them to run hotter.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 19, 2024 12:27 PM in response to williamdboisvert

Macs do not support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ("up to 20 Gbps / 2500 MBps").


If you connect a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 drive to a Mac, communication will fall back to a slower speed that both the drive and the Mac can support. Typically

  • USB 3.1 Gen 2 ("up to 10 Gbps / 1250 MBps") for a USB-C host port
  • USB 3.0 ("up to 5 Gbps / 625 MBps") for a USB-A host port


IMHO, a USB 3.1 Gen 2 SSD is plenty fast enough for backups, and for storing things like your music, movie, and TV show libraries. If you need a really fast drive because you are doing things like constantly working with 4K/8K video for a living, then the next step up would be a Thunderbolt 3 SSD. But those are more expensive and the speed may cause them to run hotter.

Sep 19, 2024 12:04 PM in response to williamdboisvert

For Time Machine backups, I use the Crucial X8 (1050 MB/s) on two Macs, and for my Mac Mini M2 Pro, I use a new Crucial X9 (also 1050 MB/s). I didn't need the synchronous 1050 MB/s performance and extra cost of the X9 Pro for the Time machine solution.


I use the USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Mbps) cable that comes with these drives and connect it directly to a USB-C port. On my 2020 iMac, that USB-C cable is plugged directly into the TB3 port.


With these Crucial drives, Time Machine backups happen so quickly that you are unaware that they happen except for an operating system upgrade (e.g. Sequoia) and a new TM drive backup. You would be wasting your money on a 2000 MB/s SSD.

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Is it worth the money to buy an SSD with 2000MB/s Read/Write for my 2019 Macbook pro16?

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