Even with the latest Mac Studio, Apple remains skimpy on SSD capacities, which still start at 512GB.
If you are often advised invest in an external SSDlike this excellent micro-SSD USB C from Samsung, the T7 in 2TB version at ~200€ (usually sold around 300€, the big promotion of the moment on Amazon), other solutions exist, such as for example USB C boxes hosting an SSD in M.2 format..
More compact, these accessories are also very fast, especially with NVME models. In USB C at 10Gbps, we can easily reach 1Gb/s, either a flow that is more than enough to edit video in 4K for example or to start a system. Today we have the chance to exclusively test the revolutionary DockCase box currently in a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter.
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The accessory is very compact (4x3cm) and not very thick (<1cm), which allows it to be slipped into a bag very easily. The metal casing will drastically limit heating, with a dual radiator system for heat dissipation – it’s really very efficient.
It is supplied with a USB A/C hybrid cable handy if you don’t have a very recent Mac:
It is obviously delivered without disk, but with everything you need to install it : a small screwdriver and the necessary screws:
Single screw keeps the box closed:
Another screw is needed to fix the SSD inside :
The small novelty of this model is of course the screen that lets you know the status of the diskits capacity, its state of health or even the hours of use:
Even better, a small capacitor serves as a temporary battery if ever the disk was hot-disconnected: each SSD contains a cache (to speed up speeds) and this timeout allows allow disk time to copy data from cache to memory cells. In other words, if you are editing and the disk suddenly disconnects, you have every chance of not losing your work!
Finally, the speeds obtained here are very good, more than 920MB/s in reading with our MacBook Pro 16″ M1 Max!
Even in writing we are approaching 900MB/s :
I confess to have been surprised by these speeds, because Mac M1s are generally worse than Intel in USB C -about 30% slower on average. Here the controller looks better handled.
At the arrival, this DockCase box therefore fulfills all its functions and even goes well beyondwith its data protection system or even this extremely efficient heatsink in terms of dissipation – an SSD that overheats can lead to data corruption, or even a shutdown.
A less than $80 (during the Kickstarter), it’s definitely a bargain! On the other hand, be sure to choose a good SSD inside, preferably an M.2 NVME model (2TB maximum), and of a good brand to avoid surprises – in writing, we have Crucials which are particularly reliable (links below).
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