1TB External SSD Solution

I have been looking for a 1TB external SSD solution for quite a while, especially with a Thunderbolt connection, however nothing has been available that either could be found or that was ‘affordable’. So I went out looking for a custom solution that didn’t break the bank. If you are looking for something similar, here is how I made it work:

SSD Drive = Samsung 840 EVO (available on Amazon)

Enclosure = Anker USB 3.0 enclosure (available on Amazon)

The Samsung 840 Evo SSD drive is currently $439.99 and the case is only $13.99. This is the fastest, least expensive 1TB SSD solution that I know of. The reason why I need and want an external SSD is that I have recently retired my Mac Pro desktop in favor of using my 15” Macbook Pro as my daily machine. Since my internal drive on the Macbook Pro is only 750GB, I needed more room to augment the internal SSD. I have all of my raw files on an external 8TB G-Tech G-RAID and the Lightroom catalog, all previews and smart previews are on the new 1TB external SSD. Just for reference, I have 191,000 raw files and the entire Lightroom catalog and associated previews (standard, 1:1 and Smart Previews) take up 250GB of space. Since the space is limited on the internal SSD on the Macbook Pro I needed to look for more space. I am also using the external SSD as a Time Machine backup destination.

Samsung 840 EVO SSD drive

Anker USB 3.0 enclosure

Comments

[Lyle Bergman]

Your experience is very similar to what I just went through. I had a 750GB Samsung 840 Evo as my laptop's drive for the last year, but divided between the OS volume and another dedicated for photos, I was running out of room. Just this last week I swapped the 750GB 840 Evo for a smaller 500GB version but dedicated it for the OS. The 750GB 840 Evo then became just for photos. I originally tried using an external eSATA enclosure for it, but after a week that proved too unreliable with frequent disconnects, so I moved the drive into the second bay of my laptop (it's a large "laptop" with two drive bays). SSDs do tend to spoil you to the point where you just can't go back to a regular hard drive. Ever. :)