Search Wirecutter For: Search Reviews for the real world Browse Close • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Browse Close • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •. The is about as expensive per gigabyte as other external SSDs, and it’s one of the lightest and most compact, so you can easily throw it in your bag (or even your pocket) when you’re on the go. The T5 has one USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port and includes cables to connect to new and old devices as well as AES 256-bit hardware encryption to protect your sensitive data.
It has the most pleasant software to navigate, with a clean layout that looks less bloated than other portable SSD software, which makes it a breeze to set up encryption or check for updates. Plus the T5 has an indicator light that lets you know when it’s connected and comes with a three-year warranty. If our pick is sold out or unavailable, we recommend the for around the same price. In our tests, the My Passport SSD was 30 to 60 MB/s slower than the Samsung T5, but it was faster than the other external SSDs we tested, and it supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds. The My Passport SSD is longer, thinner, and lighter than the Samsung.
It has one USB-C port and comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable, as well as a tiny USB-C to USB-A adapter, which was simple to pop on and off, but seems easy to lose. Like the Samsung, it has AES 256-bit hardware encryption, intuitive software, and a three-year warranty. But it lacks the Samsung’s helpful activity indicator light.
![Best External Ssd For Mac Thunderbolt 2 Best External Ssd For Mac Thunderbolt 2](https://colourmylearning-xeliumltd.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Seagate-backup-plus-portable-mac-thunderbolt.png)
Portable SSDs are between 3 and 5.5 times faster than portable hard drives or desktop external drives. They’re also much more compact and durable, more secure, and they run cooler on less power.
However, all those upsides come with a big downside: price. A 500 GB portable SSD costs around $200. For the same money, you could get an 8 TB desktop hard drive or two 4 TB portable hard drives. A 500 GB portable SSD costs around $200.
The SSD I chose has FireWire 800 to provide a fast-enough connection to my Mac mini, plus USB 3.0, so I can use it with the next Mac I buy. USB 2.0 is too slow, and I lacked USB 3.0. Buy from Amazon: ($369, 1TB) 3. Samsung T5 Portable USB 3.1 External SSD. Samsung has made a name for itself in being the best in the business when it comes to storage, and the T5 is an actual personification of it. The new Samsung T3 ssd is the best external solid state drive and its predecessor, the T1 are indeed the handiest and the best external solid state drives on the market. I have been using the samsung T3 drive for more than a year, and it had saved me so much time transferring my data from PC to PC and installing software. The Thunderbolt-equipped G-DRIVE by G-Technology is an excellent choice for desktop users of Mac hardware. With a sleek aluminum housing, the external hard drive looks as if it's been designed by Apple itself.
1tb Ssd External Drive Thunderbolt
For the same money, you could get an 8 TB desktop hard drive or two 4TB portable hard drives. Portable hard drives are great for travel and for people who frequently transfer large amounts of data between computers. If you just need a drive to back up your data and aren’t worried about having the fastest transfer speeds, a is much less expensive, though it isn’t as fast, durable, compact, or secure. If you spend most of your time working from the same desk or you need more than 4 TB of storage, get an. It’s even faster and cheaper per gigabyte than a portable hard drive, but bulky. Don’t plan to travel with it.
Although you can by purchasing and an enclosure to put it in, we don’t recommend it. It’s simple enough, but it won’t save you any money compared to our pick, and the resulting drive will be significantly larger than our pick and lack its easy-to-use encryption software. How we picked.