04-28-2025, 05:31 PM
Anonymous,
Is this supplemental storage or are you using the MBP as a desktop machine with an external boot drive? If it's supplemental storage, then I suspect most any quality USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 (formerly known as USB 3.1 Gen 2) will be dandy.
The model with a fan that is in my link will do the job nicely despite being a slide-in design. It's running 24/7 as boot drive for my office's Late 2018 Mac Mini. Slide-in models _without_ a fan should be avoided.
I have an older version of this one, too:
I had one that failed. One that's rock solid. It's a beast of an enclosure.
This is an example of slide-in to avoid:
If you go with a model that lacks a fan, you want to avoid a slide-in model. Stick with a split open model such as one whose top and bottom components separate.
This is an example of a split open design:
A USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 (formerly known as USB 3.1 Gen 2) enclosure will do the job for supplemental storage. Keep in mind, your machine _does_ have USB 4. So, you may want to spend the extra bucks for a USB 4 model for the purposes of future proofing.
Note that most reasonably current and nearly all current NVME M.2 SSDs will never reach their potential speeds in a USB 3 or USB 4 box. You might come close to it in a Thunderbolt 5 box.
Robert
Is this supplemental storage or are you using the MBP as a desktop machine with an external boot drive? If it's supplemental storage, then I suspect most any quality USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 (formerly known as USB 3.1 Gen 2) will be dandy.
The model with a fan that is in my link will do the job nicely despite being a slide-in design. It's running 24/7 as boot drive for my office's Late 2018 Mac Mini. Slide-in models _without_ a fan should be avoided.
I have an older version of this one, too:
I had one that failed. One that's rock solid. It's a beast of an enclosure.
This is an example of slide-in to avoid:
If you go with a model that lacks a fan, you want to avoid a slide-in model. Stick with a split open model such as one whose top and bottom components separate.
This is an example of a split open design:
A USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 (formerly known as USB 3.1 Gen 2) enclosure will do the job for supplemental storage. Keep in mind, your machine _does_ have USB 4. So, you may want to spend the extra bucks for a USB 4 model for the purposes of future proofing.
Note that most reasonably current and nearly all current NVME M.2 SSDs will never reach their potential speeds in a USB 3 or USB 4 box. You might come close to it in a Thunderbolt 5 box.
Robert