I’ve been running most of my VSTs on an external WD My Book drive and the drive is slowly failing me. I’m curious to see what other HD other composers are using out there?
Looking strictly for external SSD as I already run on an internal N.vme and SATA SSD. But they’re never enough haha
For 1 and 2TB I recommend Samsung EVO 860 evo, and for 4TB 870 evo. They are among the fastest, with read 480MB/s on user benchmarks. I’ve got both and I am happy
Hi thanks for those suggestions! But I’m looking for external ones 
Oh sorry, I thought you got a case or a dock station. I am using them like this
Your current external drive is using a normal HD?
I second the suggestion of Samsung EVO. BUT from own experience be warned that these super fast NVMe SSD have a huge demand on cooling.
So you could shop for a new external case and just put in an NVMe but it might turn the case in an amok ventilation horror.
Forgot: I am using Samsung T7 Shield (4TB) and am happy for read-only mass data storage (instruments, loops).
Thanks! I already run an NVMe so I don’t have space for another one hence why I’m only looking for external hard drives
You can buy an external case for close to nothing and put in the NVMe. But then the cooling issue.
The T7 is passively cooled and therefore not too fast (1GB/s reading).
I also recommend buying an external case and putting in NVMe. I’ve made very positive experience with that.
it depends what ports you have on your computer. no need to get a fast disc if you only have usb2 ports
Maybe you add what usage pattern is common?
Mass data storage (like in my case as the Mac Mini internal drive is tiny)?
Frequent writes? (in that case I would always use a traditional HDD)
Streaming? (external SSD in a pre-built case like my T7 or case+NVMe)
All use USB3.0
I’ll look into an external case for the NVMe. I had no idea that was an option.
My ports are all USB 3.0. I just thought that an external SSD would be good as I currently work on PC and would be looking to set up a portable Macbook setup in the future so using a SSD would be good for both?
If portability is one goal, I strongly suggest that you have a look at Samsung T7 Shield. If the speed is sufficient. Dead silent, rugged and affordable.
I use this + a Samsung 990 for my mac on a Thunderbolt 5. it. is 6000 mbps in real use. I did think the same as you. I also have a few Thunderbolt 4 versions of these external cases with some cheaper m2 discs doing around 2800-3300 mbps. I used them on a pc laptop with usb4/thunderbolt 3 port/hub with great results (Asus). now on M4 same great results. On USB3 you wont get very good results, but the TB4 option is very cost effective and once you switch to a machine with Thunderbolt you will notice a very significant improvment
Thanks for this! I’ll be looking into it
@glennloopez
From my own bad experience with fan cooled external cases (howling at the top of their lungs even when the ssd is idle): what is your experience with the Acasis case? Did you enable the fan? How loud is it?
AT
Just for the record I’ve worked on external SSD’s over the years (on and off) and not too long ago an NVME drive in a USB 3.x case and had no problems with overheating during actual work in Nuendo. The times when the drive gets hot is when there’s a large sustained transfer like when transferring whole projects to and from the drive, and the result is it throttles (iirc).
So I’m all for NVME in an external case. The Acasis case looks good, and I’ve had good experience with my Ugreen case (USB 3). The only thing to verify is the file system you choose when you format so that it works on both Win and OSX if that’s what you want to do.
I have 2 TB4 versions without a fan and 1 TB5 with a fan. The fan is so you can hear it if you have it right next to your laptop and sit right in front of the laptop, but it is not audible if you play music at normal levels. I do not usually have the fan on, the cooling tape seems sufficient, make sure to pick the best thickness of the choices about your drive´s thickness. It is described in the manual what is best practice. My Thunderbolt 4 hub is also Acasis, and working very stable and fast. So all in all I am happy with their products
If you HAVE to use an external SSD, I’ve been happy with the Samsung T7 Shield and Crucial X9 Pro (Pro model is a MUST over the regular X9 model). Both very reliable. Fast enough for their intended purpose. Make sure update the firmware. Also, if I’m buying today April 2025, I’d also look at pricing for the Samsung T9, which came out more recently.
If you want to use an NVME USB3 enclosure, I’ve been happy with the UGREEN Aluminum USB 3.2 enclosure, it has worked well with a variety of NVME drives and manages heat dissipation pretty well IMO. I tested several models but I bought four of the UGREEN. The design with the thermal pad and ribbed aluminum cover with a screw (instead of a “slide on” design) is well done IMO. I can’t recall the chipset though… they offered two different chipsets at the time I bought, you might want to double check which chipset is best in your situation. Maybe they’re both fine though.
If you want to use SATA USB enclosure, I’ve been happy with the UGREEN Aluminum USB C enclosure, best one I’ve used, but honestly even a cheap plastic Orico has been pretty good for me.
I’ve tested some high-end thunderbolt enclosures with fans, etc, and they were disappointing TBH. One ran so hot I was concerned I’d significantly reduce the lifespan of the NVME drive. If you’re going that direction, might as well go internal if you have more slots.
Good luck!
Regarding Samsung T9: the USB 3.2 2x2 mode is “semi standard” and not universally supported. Macs for instance will fall back to normal USB3.2 speeds with the T9. So nothing gained there on a Mac. It is unclear if that feature will be added at all.
AT