Hi, just added Samsung SSD 980 to mini M2 Pro on Ventura and am getting disappointing transfer speeds, around 900 mb/s. All the examples I see on YouTube get at least 3 X that. Anything I can tweak to improve the read/write speed?
Thanks
Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023)
What enclosure are you using?
Is the enclosure Thunderbolt, USB4 , USB3.x?
Does the enclosure manufacturer explicitly state that the 980 and the Mini M2 Pro are compatible?
Have you checked for any firmware updates for the Samsung 980?
The above reasons are primarily what I have seen for poorly performing drive/enclosure/Mac performance issues. I have also seen that sometimes enclosure/drive combos can perform inconsistently between Macs even of the same model.
welcome to the perils of DIY drives.
Are you running any anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, or third party security software which may be interfering with the normal operation of macOS?
Which exact Mini are you using? I'm not aware of a "Pro" designation for the Mini or Studio Macs. You can get the exact model by clicking the Apple menu and selecting "About This Mac". I know the USB-C ports on front of one of the Mac Studio models is not a full Thunderbolt3/USB3 (or 4) port, IIRC.
@woodmeister50 brings up very good questions & points...that information is extremely important to have, although it will likely still involve you trying to figure out which item is causing the bottleneck.
@woodmeister50 and @HWTech, thank you for the illuminating questions. I learned about this device from a YouTube video ULTIMATE External Storage Guide for MAC. Informed by your questions, I watched it again and, among other things, saw that, for the enclosure I chose, which is identified as "USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)" the speeds are just what I'm getting so it appears that the issue is the enclosure. I know virtually nothing about this hardware so, again, I appreciate your suggestions about what questions to ask. I'll investigate other (sadly, more costly) enclosures. I had no idea that the enclosure could limit the data rate.
I always make sure that all my USB3 enclosures, hubs/docks, and adapters support the UASP protocol as this USB3 protocol allows for better transfers, plus slower USB1/2 connected devices won't interfere with the transfers utilizing UASP, however, for a USB3/4 UASP SSD to get this benefit...every device in a direct line from the SSD to the host computer must support UASP.
https://www.startech.com/en-us/blog/all-you-need-to-know-about-uasp
When it comes to computer and electronic items, I find you usually get what you pay for although you don't necessarily have to go for the most expensive either. There is a lot of cheap items out there (in both senses of the word: cost & quality).
One addition, keep in mind that NVMe SSD drive speeds are based on use inside a computer. Note that even with a Thunderbolt 4 or USB 4 enclosure (currently the fastest external device protocols) and the fastest possible SSD, the max transfer speeds you will likely see will max out at around 3000 megabytes per second and will typically be around 2400-2700 megabytes per second, which will be highly enclosure/SSD/computer platform dependent. So, basically, purchasing an NVMe SSD with speeds much greater than 3500 megabytes per second is pretty much a waste.
As a delayed update I can report that @woodmeister50 hit the nail on the head for my situation. I purchased a faster enclosure and now get write/read speeds on the order of 2100/2700. And the speed cap he mentions is worth noting.
Thanks all.
Low transfer speeds for external SSD
