Can anyone make a recommendation on the above. I need a fast Thunderbolt or USB storage device for a 2021 iMac for sample library storage - most importantly though it needs to be silent.
I've done the usual web searching but it's a minefield and I'm driving myself nuts
Philbo King wrote: ↑Sun Jun 23, 2024 3:16 pm
TB, AFAIK, is going obsolete.
TB as far as I can see is gradually merging with USB, only a matter of time before they fully merge. The advantage of this is anyone with TB kit can be reasonably sure of upwards compatibility. Thus the TB4/USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports on my Studio will (via an adapter) support kit I have going right back to TB1.
Going forward, Apple will stick with calling their ports 'Thunderbolt'. With the merging into USB 4, there is no difference between a fully featured USB 4 port (i.e. USB, PCIe and video) and a Thunderbolt port. The thing is that not all USB ports are fully featured. Some do video, some don't. Apple will stick with 'Thunderbolt' as those ports are fully featured.
The problem was driven by a dual SSD Lacie TB 'Little Big Drive' I've had for ages and its amazingly annoying fan noise.. just found a post online detailing how to remove the fan and it's now silent
I'll see how the temperature goes, but hopefully I've just saved myself a couple of quid.
Single external SSDs are fanless, whereas enclosures that support multiple drives often have fans.
Some do allow you to adjust or turn off the fan.
If you do that, you may get reduced performance in some cases, as the individual drives will thermally throttle when required.
Yes that is exactly what I have too. It's a very solid little unit for £20. Fitted with a Samsung NVMe drive (the 980 Pro is around £150 on Amazon right now for a 2T model), this will give you blistering performance in total silence.
