The original post: /r/datahoarder by /u/invDave on 2025-02-22 07:04:25.

As in the title - say you are thinking of buying the Samsung T9 4TB. This seems like a reliable and generally speedy (up to 2000MB/s) external SSD.

But for not much more I can get a Samsung EVO 990 4TB (for example) + 40Gbps nvme enclosure that’ll run much faster (up to 5000MB/s) with an active fan for cooler and more consistent fast copying of very large data.

For the number:

T9 4TB = 295$ 990 Evo Plus 4TB = 270 $ Ugreen CM642 (ali express) = 60$

For an extra 35$ you get something slightly larger, but overall much better.

Or… You can opt to a cheaper SSD such as the Corsair MP600 core XT 4TB for 240$ bringing both options to the same price point. Or I can use a 20GBps enclosure that’ll also be faster than the external drive.

So what am I missing? Why would I want to buy an external SSD instead of internal inside a closure which also has the benefit of being ised in a different/extra miniPC in the future in case I want to, as opposed to an external SSD that only has a single function outside the pc? Size and aesthetics only?

I would also think the enclosure gives better ventilation, especially if it has an active fan as above.