fastest solid state drive for macbook pro

Since all drives fail eventually, I just assume my drives will fail tomorrow and maintain redundant backups of every file on every disk. I buy the least expensive drive that meets my needs. So, unless you truly need super-fast storage, USB 3 is going to be your best bet. But… Thunderbolt drives are considerably more expensive than USB 3 drives. If your Mac has an available Thunderbolt port, Thunderbolt drives are rarer but can be significantly faster than a USB 3.0 drive. You want to use a port with USB 3.0 or higher in most cases. This one’s easy-unless you’re replacing an internal drive because it died or is too small-an external drive doesn’t cost much a lot more than an internal one, and you (or a service technician) avoid poking around your Mac’s guts. But, unless you intend to boot from the drive (or have another reason for needing SSD speeds), a hard drive delivers more bang for your buck. So, opt for solid-state if you can afford it-it’s way, way faster. The higher the capacity, the greater price difference.

For example, a 1TB external USB 3 SSD will cost you around $160, while a 1TB USB 3 external hard drive is approximately $50. Solid-state drives are much faster, but also more expensive than hard drives. On the other hand, if you plan to use it for backups or additional storage for your music, photos, or videos, a hard drive will give you more storage for less money.

Booting from a hard drive takes much longer than from an SSD, and almost everything - launching apps, opening applications, opening windows with more than a few files-will feel sluggish. If you intend to boot your Mac from this disk, you will be happier with an SSD.

So, if your Mac has a 512GB solid-state drive (SSD), you want at least a 1.5TB drive, though 2TB would be better (and probably more cost-effective). If you’re going to use the drive for backups using Time Machine or other software, it’s best to get a disk at least 3X the size of your boot drive. I’m frequently asked for advice on adding storage to a Mac, so I distilled my thoughts into a checklist to help you decide on your next storage upgrade.

Fastest solid state drive for macbook pro