When it comes to connecting an external drive, thumb drive, or NAS device to your Mac computer, there are endless possibilities which largely depend on the model of iMac or MacBook computer you have in your possession.
It’s not the same to have one of the new ones on your hands 14 or 16 MacBook Pro inches with M1 Max and M1 Pro chips, which integrate a greater number of ports (up to 3 Thunderbolt 4), than the previous MacBook much more limited in connectivity.
The MagSafe charging port also returns with the MagSafe 3 generation, which now sports an updated design and the ability to charge it via USB C as well. But let’s see which connectors are the most convenient.
Which Mac port or connection is best to use?
Apple replaced FireWire with Thunderbolt on Mac in 2011 and upgraded its USB connections to USB 3.0 starting in 2021. Thunderbolt is now in its fourth generation, while USB has gone through 3.1 and 3.2 and is on the way. of the current 4.0. .
USB 3.0 offered data speeds of 5 gigabits per second (Gbps), while 3.1 added additional speed up to 10 Gbps. Version 3.2 reaches 20 Gbps and 4.0 incorporates the Thunderbolt 3/4 data transfer standard, which allows up to 40 Gbps.
Advanced Thunderbolt with version 1 offers 10 Gbps, version 2 brings it to 20 Gbps and version 3 to 40 Gbps. (Thunderbolt 4 offers additional extensions, some of which only make available features that are mandatory in Thunderbolt 3, such as support for hubs, while maintaining the same maximum data rate.)
With that said, three factors can dictate the type of drive and cable you should buy.
- What ports appear on your Mac?
- Do you need the performance of a hard disk drive (HDD) or SSD?
- In the case of using an SSD, do you need the highest possible performance?
- How far can you place the drive from your Mac?
Associate ports based on performance
It is always very useful to use the Mactracker free to guess which Mac model you might have in hand, focusing on the “connections” tab. It is without a doubt a real gem of the macOS ecosystem).
Take into account the speed indicated for the various ports. For example, the late 2014 Mac mini has four USB ports that support 5 Gbps; The Mac mini 2020 M1 has two Type A ports that also support 5 Gbps (3.1 Gen 1), but the USB-C ports support USB 3.1 Gen (10 Gbps) and USB 4 plus Thunderbolt 3 and 4 (20 Gbit / s).
This must be taken into account for the performance of the unit. A 5,400 revolutions per minute (rpm) hard drive may be suitable for Time Machine or for other high capacity purposes where transfer speeds are not a key issue.
These drives can operate at around 100 megabytes per second (MB / s) for reading and writing. A “fast” 7200 rpm drive can increase the read speed to 200 Mbps and the write speed to 150 Mbps.
This means that the faster 200MB / s drive can only run under 2Gbps and any USB 3 port would do. You can use its slowest port on a Mac or a USB 3 hub connected to it and hit the maximum speed possible.
In this way it is possible buy an SSD | Quite affordable as it has an internal SATA interface and doesn’t offer more than 600MB / s which is lower than the benchmark 5Gbps speed of any USB 3 port.
A drive with USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) might offer slightly better results when paired with a port that offers these speeds.
For better performance, such as a bootable disk volume or for video editing, using an NVMe or PCIe based SSD can allow speeds of 1000 to 3000 Mbps or 8 to 24 Gbps.
The new drives and arrays will be able to operate even faster. USB 4 at 20 Gbps or Thunderbolt at 20 or 40 Gbps is the only reasonable option to avoid bottlenecks that may arise in the unit, preventing you from enjoying the maximum capacity.
What type of cable is most suitable
While the section on connections is vitally important, no less interesting is the type of cable you are going to use, as this may limit the speeds that your computer’s ports or connected external devices can support.
You will need to use the correct type of cable to achieve maximum speeds. For lower speeds, you can also choose to purchase a cheaper cable that only provides the required data rate to avoid overspending.
While the options can be tricky for USB and Thunderbolt when using a cable for data and charging a laptop, with adapter-powered SSDs you won’t have to worry about knowing. if a cable can exceed a maximum power level, typically 15 watts. .
Here are more details:
- For speeds of 5 Gbps over USB 3 any SuperSpeed (by itself) or SuperSpeed / SS USB 5 Gbps cable will do, both generations of brands in the commercial group USB for 5 Gbps cables.
You can find 5 Gbps Type A cables on one end to connect to a computer; on the other, 3.0 Type B (like the 2.0 square with a bump at the bottom) or 3.0 Micro B, a larger version of the 2.0 Micro B which remains in some headphones or e-readers.
- For speeds of 10 Gbps over USB, look for a cable with the SuperSpeed + or SuperSpeed / SS USB 10 Gbps logo. These cables may have a Type A or USB C connector on the computer side and a 3.0 Type B, 1.0 Micro B, or USB C connector on the drive side.
- For 20 Gbps over USB, the cable you need to use should be labeled SuperSpeed / SS USB 20 Gbps. These cables should have USB C connectors on both ends.
- For 20 Gbps over Thunderbolt 3 0 4, you can use a passive cable labeled for Thunderbolt 3 or 4 in lengths up to 2 meters.
- For 40 Gbps on Thunderbolt 3 or 4, you can use a half-meter passive Thunderbolt 3 or 4 cable, or an active cable up to 2 meters long.
The prices can be significantly different. Try to find the shortest cable that gives you the highest speed, if that’s what you need, so that you don’t pay extra that you won’t use.
Check out the retail prices of these cable options which offer good performance and very competitive prices.
Usually, you can connect any USB 3 or 4, or Thunderbolt 3 or 4, cable from a drive to your Mac or hub concentrator, to which you have connected your equipment and achieve the highest data rate depending on the type of cable and the distance.
The only situation where you may run into a problem or two is if you mix and match USB and Thunderbolt cables with a 12-inch MacBook that was discontinued configuration and first appeared in 2015.
It was the only Mac that had a USB 3.1-only host controller and no Thunderbolt 3, so if you connect a Thunderbolt 3 cable between it and a Thunderbolt 3 device, there will be no communication.
Instead, a USB 3-only cable or a newer USB 4 / Thunderbolt 4 will work.
The original article was published in igamesnews US.
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