Apple Silicon Mac mini Q&A
- Mini Display To Thunderbolt
- Mac Mini Thunderbolt Storage Devices
- Mac Mini Thunderbolt Storage Dock
- Mac Mini Thunderbolt Storage Capacity
About the Thunderbolt ports on Mac. You can use the Thunderbolt port on your Mac to connect a display, a TV, or a device, such as an external storage device.And with the appropriate adapter, you can connect your Mac to a display that uses DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, or VGA. I think all Mac users can agree: Thunderbolt is both fast and flexible. Not only is it capable of 10 Gbps of bi-directional throughput on each of the dual channels in its original form and 20 Gbps. The Mac mini with an M1 processor has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, an HDMI port, and two USB-A ports The simplest answer is to have more connection options. Each of the new M1 powered Macs have only. Mar 14, 2019 The 2018 Mac Mini includes four Thunderbolt 3 ports, which are relatively rare on Windows PCs. This doesn't mean you're obliged to use external Thunderbolt 3 SSDs, because – as mentioned – the same. Ahead of CES 2021, OWC is introducing four new products compatible with Macs, including the Thunderbolt Dock, USB-C Travel Dock E, Envoy Pro FX storage drive, and U2 Shuttle storage carrier for 3.
Published December 15, 2020
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What external storage options are available for the Apple Silicon Mac mini? Which is the best?
The initial Apple Silicon Mac mini -- the Mac mini 'M1' 8-Core 3.2 (2020) -- is equipped with two USB-C ports that Apple is referring to as 'Thunderbolt / USB 4' because the M1 processor does not support the true Thunderbolt 4 standard. It also is equipped with two USB-A ports that support the USB 3.0 standard.
Accordingly, the Apple Silicon Mac mini supports Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s) and USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s) via its USB-C ports and USB 3.0 (up to 5Gb/s) via its USB-A ports. This is a bit confusing, but for all practical purposes, the Apple Silicon Mac mini works with Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) and USB 3.0 (USB-A).
Site sponsor Other World Computing offers a variety of good external storage options for the Apple Silicon Mac mini and earlier Mac mini systems and one likely will be among the best for you.
Attractive Mac mini-Specific External Storage
Although it uses slower USB 3.0 (USB-A) ports instead of Thunderbolt 3, the OWC miniStack matches the design of the silver Mac mini models and stacks nicely with the Mac mini.
Photo Credit: OWC miniStack (Left), miniStack Under Mac mini (Right)
The OWC miniStack is inexpensive and provides as much as 18 TB of storage.
Should OWC, or another company, offer a similarly designed product with faster Thunderbolt 3 support, this Q&A can be updated.
Portable Thunderbolt 3 Storage Option
If speed is more important to you than a matching design, and you want to keep things simple, one good option is the affordable, portable, and rugged OWC Envoy Pro EX from site sponsor Other World Computing.
Photo Credit: Other World Computing (OWC Envoy Pro EX)
Equipped with a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connector, the OWC Envoy Pro EX provides up to 2800 MB/s performance and up to 4 GB capacity.
Although performance will be slower, it also is possible to use an an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C to Thunderbolt 2) (MMEL2AM/A) adapter to connect older Thunderbolt 2-based external storage. Can you put office on a mac.
High-Capacity Desktop Storage Options
For those interested in higher capacity storage, you might also want to consider options that are physically larger but that are easy to upgrade and that cost less on a per gigabyte basis.
Photo Credit: OWC Express 4M2 (Left), Thunderbay 4 (Right)
Two good desktop options include the OWC Express 4M2 and OWC Thunderbay 4.
The OWC Express 4M2 supports as many as four industry-standard M.2 NVMe SSDs, so it is affordable to start with a single SSD and add as many as three more fast SSDs as needed.
The Thunderbay 4 supports four 2.5' or 3.5' SSDs or hard drives and is not as fast, but it makes it inexpensive to add as much as 72 TB of storage.
Installation Videos
You might find these videos that explain how to install storage in the Express 4M2 and Thunderbay 4 helpful, as well:
Please do note that as of the time this Q&A was last updated, OWC's SoftRAID software requires a revision to work with the M1-based Macs like the Apple Silicon Mac mini. When the software has been updated, this Q&A can be updated, too.
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Mini Display To Thunderbolt
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Site sponsor Other World Computing offers a variety of good external storage options for the Apple Silicon Mac mini and earlier Mac mini systems and one likely will be among the best for you.
Attractive Mac mini-Specific External Storage
Although it uses slower USB 3.0 (USB-A) ports instead of Thunderbolt 3, the OWC miniStack matches the design of the silver Mac mini models and stacks nicely with the Mac mini.
Photo Credit: OWC miniStack (Left), miniStack Under Mac mini (Right)
The OWC miniStack is inexpensive and provides as much as 18 TB of storage.
Should OWC, or another company, offer a similarly designed product with faster Thunderbolt 3 support, this Q&A can be updated.
Portable Thunderbolt 3 Storage Option
If speed is more important to you than a matching design, and you want to keep things simple, one good option is the affordable, portable, and rugged OWC Envoy Pro EX from site sponsor Other World Computing.
Photo Credit: Other World Computing (OWC Envoy Pro EX)
Equipped with a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connector, the OWC Envoy Pro EX provides up to 2800 MB/s performance and up to 4 GB capacity.
Although performance will be slower, it also is possible to use an an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C to Thunderbolt 2) (MMEL2AM/A) adapter to connect older Thunderbolt 2-based external storage. Can you put office on a mac.
High-Capacity Desktop Storage Options
For those interested in higher capacity storage, you might also want to consider options that are physically larger but that are easy to upgrade and that cost less on a per gigabyte basis.
Photo Credit: OWC Express 4M2 (Left), Thunderbay 4 (Right)
Two good desktop options include the OWC Express 4M2 and OWC Thunderbay 4.
The OWC Express 4M2 supports as many as four industry-standard M.2 NVMe SSDs, so it is affordable to start with a single SSD and add as many as three more fast SSDs as needed.
The Thunderbay 4 supports four 2.5' or 3.5' SSDs or hard drives and is not as fast, but it makes it inexpensive to add as much as 72 TB of storage.
Installation Videos
You might find these videos that explain how to install storage in the Express 4M2 and Thunderbay 4 helpful, as well:
Please do note that as of the time this Q&A was last updated, OWC's SoftRAID software requires a revision to work with the M1-based Macs like the Apple Silicon Mac mini. When the software has been updated, this Q&A can be updated, too.
Permalink | E-mail a Friend | Bookmark & Share | Report an Error/Typo
Mini Display To Thunderbolt
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Mac Mini Thunderbolt Storage Devices
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Mac Mini Thunderbolt Storage Dock
Mac Mini Thunderbolt Storage Capacity
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