Slow Write Speed Usb-c 3.1 and 3.2 on M2 MacBook Pro

Curious to know if approximately 40 MB/s write speed is normal for two 64 GB Usb-c thumb drive(s) with USB version 3.1 (Samsung) and 3.2 (Lexar). This on a MacBook Pro M2 Max. Seems slow to me. 

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.0

Posted on Sep 20, 2024 2:16 AM

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4 replies

Sep 20, 2024 6:13 PM in response to bechard

If you want a USB stick with faster write speeds, then you can get them, but you must read the technical specifications very carefully since many of them will not mention write speeds at all. I know there are several SanDisk USB sticks which may have about 100MB/s writes (about the speed of a hard drive) with one or two models where you may even get 300-400MB/s write speeds (slightly slower than a SATA III SSD)....they are the fastest ones I know about. Unfortunately there is no easy way to filter the SanDisk product page for write speeds (at least the last time I checked earlier this year).


Edit: Of course you will pay more for that performance. Personally I would not trust any USB sticks since their quality & reliability is usually very low. If you want speed & reliability, then use an good SSD.

Sep 20, 2024 6:34 AM in response to bechard

if those drives were fast, we would all be using them for our main drives.


Their big advantage is that you can (somewhat temporarily) hold large amounts of data in a very small space and (usually) get it back again.


The numbers you are showing are actually not bad performance for Rotating magnetic drives as well. You appear to have had your expectations spoiled by faster more modern technology.

Sep 20, 2024 8:44 PM in response to bechard

If you want a fast ultra-portable drive, OWC makes and sells them, 10 Gb/s, with a 3 year warranty. It is a true USB 3.2 drive.


https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/ENVPMCA02/


I have one, mine is 2 TB SSD, the device is smaller than my pinkie finger. I have tested it close to 900 Mb/s.


Keep in mind you get what you pay for, generally speaking ...


This drive, actually a high quality SSD (not a cheap "thumb drive") is so small I had to connect a short cable to it as it can easily be misplaced. (OWC sends it with a small cable/lanyard.)

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Slow Write Speed Usb-c 3.1 and 3.2 on M2 MacBook Pro

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