It'll help you get some perspective on some of the issues you've raised. Thanks in advance for any help you provide! :o)We specialize in mercy here! Feel free to laugh at my ignorance, but please show a little mercy and point me in the right direction. I only delve into it because it's a prerequisite for recording music, which is the part I love. Obviously, technology isn't my strong suit. I've read that it's prudent to use the Mini's included hard drive for the OS and applications, but that sample libraries and project files are best housed on an external SSD hard drive. Thanks in advance for any help you provide! :o) Do most of you use multiple drives in some sort of array so that if one fails, the others retain your data? Have you moved over to relying on cloud storage? it's a bit over my head to even broach the topic, but I've wondered about the best manner to regularly and reliably back-up one's system. Is the 970 NVMe with an enclosure, connected via TB3, my best bet? Portability isn't especially important for me I just need a reliable, fast, preferably quiet drive to sit in one spot and hold data. I'm not even positive that good enclosures for adapting an NVMe drive into a TB3 external drive exist. It strikes me as more flexible and cost effective to purchase an internal drive + an appropriate enclosure, in effect creating an external drive. Other places have said that it's pointless to buy a super fast drive like the 970 because something in the connection method bottlenecks the speed anyway, rendering it negligibly faster than much cheaper alternatives. Some places claim that the 970 is several times faster than the 860/T5. When I start reading about EVO, PRO, NVMe, controllers, and form factor differences my head starts to spin. I've mostly been focusing on Samsung drives, namely the 860, the 970, and the T5. I see that it's possible to purchase every manner of enclosure and adapter combination to hook up external storage now.

I would assume that TB3 is the best option in my case, as it offers the highest theoretical speed. Suffice it to say, external hard drive technology has come a long way since I last purchased one, and I'm lost.įor starters, there's USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3. I've read that it's prudent to use the Mini's included hard drive for the OS and applications, but that sample libraries and project files are best housed on an external SSD hard drive. I just took the plunge and ordered a new Mac Mini to replace my archaic Mac Pro.

Mac mini external storage