LaCie Mobile SSD Secure speed vs. 40Gbps/20Gbps USB 4

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LaCie Mobile SSD Secure speed vs. 40Gbps/20Gbps USB 4

I was originally going to buy two non-SSD LaCie external drives with my new MacBook Air, but opted for the SSD models when I realized that the other ones would be no faster than the ones I now have, which seem slow. The SSD ones will be nearly ten times as fast for around three times the price, which doesn't seem like a bad deal. While trying to figure out USB 4/USB-C/Thunderbolt, however, I came across this article , which speaks of unbelievable 40Gbps and 20Gbps USB 4 speeds. I don't want to be greedy and I'm sure the SSD drives will be adequate for my needs, but I'm nonetheless curious. Are drives available for the MacBook Air that run at such phenomenal speeds, and if so what are they? I'm sure they'd be too expensive for me, but I'd still like to know. Thanks.

MacBook Air

Posted on Dec 21, 2022 5:05 PM

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Answer 1

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HWTech

Level 9

62,348 points

Dec 23, 2022 11:04 AM in response to roy_mccoy

There may be some SSDs that are cable of even faster speeds, but I don't know which ones they are as I haven't looked for any recently. Also, keep in mind that even if a single SSD doesn't utilize the full bus speed of the computer's interface, that you can connect more than one SSD to the port using a hub/dock/adapter.

FYI, for most workloads you will not be able to tell the difference between 2,400 MB/s and 5,000 MB/s. With some heavy intensive workloads such as editing HD videos, then the speed difference may be noticeable, but for most other uses it won't matter. In fact many people will be just fine with an SSD running at the slower speeds of 500 MB/s (or about 5Gb/s).

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Answer 2

Jack-19

Level 8

46,092 points

Dec 21, 2022 5:09 PM in response to roy_mccoy

Hello, again!

The fastest external SSDs available today utilize Thunderbolt technology and can achieve 2800MB/s (2.8GB/s) transfer speeds.

The LaCie Mobile SSD Secure utilizes USB 3.2 Generation 2 technology and can achieve 1000MB/s (1GB/s) transfer speeds.

Jack

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Answer 3

roy_mccoy Author

Level 1

10 points

Dec 21, 2022 5:23 PM in response to Jack-19

Thanks again Jack, but I'm still confused by the article I linked to. It says: "Though [USB 4] can hit theoretical speeds of up to 40 Gbps, not all USB devices or hosts will support that standard. Expect Smaller and less-expensive devices such as phones and Chromebooks to use the 20 Gbps version of USB 4, which is still a lot faster than the USB 3.x 5 Gbps connection you get from most laptops today (though 10 and 20 Gbps USB 3.2 connections do exist)." I suppose I should understand that 5Gbps is as theoretical as 10, 20 and 40 Gbps.

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Answer 4

roy_mccoy Author

Level 1

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Dec 23, 2022 4:02 PM in response to HWTech

Thanks again, HWTech. I have to confess to having been unaware of gigabits vs. gigabytes, so I was thinking the standard was for 20 or 40 gigabytes per second, which would indeed be phenomenal to say the least.

It took me a while to realize what now seems obvious, that Apple isn't trying to meet everyone's accessory needs. I searched for a long time elsewhere and finally found this basic dock which I thought would be perfect for me. I've now notice, however, that it provides "5Gbps Data Transfer Speeds (shared)", which Google says is 625MB, while the LaCie SSD drives promise 1000MB. This means that I'll take a significant speed hit if I plug the drive into this dock, right? That's a bit of a drag, though I guess I can tolerate it for the convenience of having both of my SSD disks connected on the right side of my MacBook Air. If on occasion I want or need the full speed, I can plug in the disk directly on the left, though I don't want any devices there and, again, wish there was a port on the right.

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Answer 5

HWTech

Level 9

62,348 points

Dec 23, 2022 6:47 PM in response to roy_mccoy

There should be other options which support the faster speeds. Look at Plugable devices, and devices from OWC. I'm sure there are other reputable vendors/manufacturers out there, but these are the ones I'm familiar with. StarTech usually makes good devices as well.

Be sure to read the technical specification details on any product you are looking to purchase since many vendors and manufacturers will mislead people by mentioning the theoretical speeds & capabilities of their products for a specific protocol they support, but in reality the device (usually ones associated with storage drives) will not be able to operate anywhere near those speeds. Sometimes even the technical data sheet won't always give you a clear answer. I highly recommend that all of your USB 3+ devices support UASP as well which will help improve the speeds when multiple USB devices are connected. Every direct device in the USB chain must support UASP for it to work. Here is a good article about UASP (usually the better devices support UASP):

https://www.startech.com/en-us/blog/all-you-need-to-know-about-uasp

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Answer 6

roy_mccoy Author

Level 1

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Dec 23, 2022 8:00 PM in response to HWTech

Thanks HWTech. I read the article and looked at the Plugable, OWC and StarTech products, but the Belkin I mentioned still seems the most ideally suited for my configuration and what I want. I'm retired and don't need to deal with a lot of data, so I think I'll be "just fine with an SSD running at the slower speeds of 500 MB/s", as you wrote before. I also read all of the Amazon reviews of the Belkin, and virtually all of those complaining about it were doing so because it didn't support charging or a video monitor. These don't concern me, and everyone seemed to agree that it does what I want very well. I'd like it to be heavier so it wouldn't move around, but I can probably get it fixed to one of my drives somehow, maybe just with a piece of two-sided tape. It will sound like a trivial concern to a lot of people, but I don't like the color blue and I don't know why the manufacturers decided to make the plastic part of the USB ports blue rather than white as they've always been before. The Belkin has them black, which to me is an attractive esthetic consideration. I wouldn't want to sit there looking at pieces of blue plastic all day when I'd prefer white or black.

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Answer 7

HWTech

Level 9

62,348 points

Dec 23, 2022 8:10 PM in response to roy_mccoy

roy_mccoy wrote:

It will sound like a trivial concern to a lot of people, but I don't like the color blue and I don't know why the manufacturers decided to make the plastic part of the USB ports blue rather than white as they've always been before.

The blue signifies support for USB 3. It makes it much easier to identify the port at a quick glance since the USB labeling has been a nightmare over the years that nobody understands or even remembers and the labeling is usually very hard to see anyway.

It seems you've done your research and found what you like...I also will pass up some items for reasons which other people will think strange, but in the end you have to like & feel satisfied with what you purchase, otherwise you will just end up disliking it even if it works perfectly.

Glad to have helped you better understand the various features and options as they can be overwhelming & confusing. Enjoy your new dock.

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LaCie Mobile SSD Secure speed vs. 40Gbps/20Gbps USB 4

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