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Which External PCIe enclosure for Mac mini 2014 Thunderbolt vs USB3 Configuration

I have a M.2 NVME NGFF SSD Enclosure, RTL9210B Chips, USB C 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps NVME, 6Gbps SATA PCIe M-Key(B+M Key), External Solid State Drive Support UASP Trim for SSD Size 2242/2260/2280


installed in enclosure is a NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 Internal SSD High Performance Solid State Drive


Using on Mac mini Macmini7,1 Intel Core i7 3 GHz

Running Mojave mostly and Big Sur


QUESTION:


Which connection will give me the fastest read/write on that external SSD


Thunderbolt 2 (pretty sure that will require a power source)

is there a simple uncomplicated way to used my Enclosure/SSD on the Mac mini Thunderbolt 2 port

since the enclosure is not powered?


Or am I limited to USB 3?


I am getting around 420MBs Read/Write through the USB port


Hoping a Thunderbolt 2 will get me closer to 700MBs if this enclosure will work


will the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter still require me to power the external?

or will it plug and play through that Apple adapter?




Posted on Sep 21, 2021 2:56 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 21, 2021 3:47 PM

You are limited to USB 3.0 with that enclosure connected to the 2014 Mac Mini.


Although 420 MB/s is a little slower then I would expect from that enclosure and SSD. It does make more sense to go with the faster USB-C enclosure, if you plan on upgrade to a newer Mac Mini in the near future.


Personally I’m seeing 500+ MB/s for PNY and Crucial SATA SSDs in the Sabrent USB 3.0 enclosures connected to both my 2012 and 2018 Mac Mini’s.



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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 21, 2021 3:47 PM in response to -g

You are limited to USB 3.0 with that enclosure connected to the 2014 Mac Mini.


Although 420 MB/s is a little slower then I would expect from that enclosure and SSD. It does make more sense to go with the faster USB-C enclosure, if you plan on upgrade to a newer Mac Mini in the near future.


Personally I’m seeing 500+ MB/s for PNY and Crucial SATA SSDs in the Sabrent USB 3.0 enclosures connected to both my 2012 and 2018 Mac Mini’s.



Which External PCIe enclosure for Mac mini 2014 Thunderbolt vs USB3 Configuration

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