The M1 iMacs have two Thunderbolt/USB-4 ports, while the remaining Intel iMacs have two Thunderbolt 3 ports. The best external hard drives can add more storage to almost any Mac. All iMacs that are for sale now have two Thunderbolt ports available for use. You might also want to check out the best PS5 external hard drives. Best Thunderbolt accessories for iMac iMore 2022. So we look not only at the versatility and general performance of the drives - across a number of benchmarks - but also their relevance to specific use cases, after sales and warranty as well as sheer value for money.
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That however came at the cost of endurance, especially at the lower end of the market and is likely to be an issue if you use our SSD storage extensively.Īll newer MacBook and desktop Macs (iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Pro) come with one or more Thunderbolt ports which are also compatible with USB Type-C. While we will talk mostly about hard drives as storage device write and read on spinning metal or glass platters, we have to mention SSD (solid state drives) as well as they have grown both in capacity and in performance. Best external hard drives for Mac: How we chose them? There are other things as well, including a rugged build if you plan on taking it out in the field with you, and portability if you plan on traveling around with it. If you’re storing very important files, especially for work, consider getting one that has more robust security features. Many external hard drives have USB 3.0 connections, but since MacBooks and Mac accessories rely on the power and data transfer speed of USB-Cs, USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 or 4 connections are certainly favorable. Finding one that’s not only affordable, but has enough storage space – a minimum of 1TB is highly recommended – for your present and future needs is definitely ideal, even if you have more than enough money to splurge for something expensive.Īnother deciding factor, however, is the connection.
Of course, those two things are absolutely vital. When choosing the best external hard drive for your Mac, you need to consider other things beyond storage capacity and price. What to look for in a external hard drive for your Mac
Internal Sound cards have much higher noise pollution. Noise Quantity After a deep comparison, the first and most important factor I noticed that the noise element can be found more in the internal sound card than the external. It's more pricey than the other drives of its capacity, but the extra security it offers will be well worth it for many people. I have differentiated the big differences for your ease and suggested the best external sound cards too. When you consider all that extra security, the prices won't scare you away either. What's more, the data is encrypted by the 256-bit AES protocol, with multiple forms of protection in place to ensure the bad guys don't get in no matter how persistent. If someone tries to tamper with your iStorage drive, you can configure it to self-desturct. With just about every port available, this dock will be a welcome addition to your desk.If you're worried about people getting access to your data if your external hard drive is stolen, than you'll like the iStorage drive here. The Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Dock allows you to expand the devices you can connect to your iMac and has ultra-fast transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps. For an even more rugged drive, the LaCie Rugged SSD offers IP67 water resistance, has three-meter drop resistance, and two-ton pressure resistance. You can choose your drive size as it comes in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB varieties.
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It has a full metal body, is shock-resistant, and features read speeds of 2,800 MB/sec and write speeds of 2,300 MB/sec. If you want a speedy external solid-state drive, you can't go wrong with the Samsung X5, which happens to be our staff pick. Many accessories are available to take advantage of the iMac's superfast port, and we have highlighted a few of the best. Using a Thunderbolt connection on your iMac will allow you to transfer data at breakneck speeds. It provides 60 watts of power to your compatible Thunderbolt device. The dock contains two Thunderbolt 3 ports, 5 USB-A 3.0 ports, a DisplayPort, a gigabit ethernet port, and an audio in/out port.
It features ultra-fast transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps. The Plugable Thunderbolt 3 Dock lets you connect multiple devices to your iMac.