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Hey, gang......
When I set up my (then new) Mac Studio, I added an ACASIS Drive enclosure someone (Mike H?) recommended and threw in the 2tB SSD from my old Mac Pro. This external drive has been designated it as a media drive for editing. Now that I'm working on a 4k project, it's proving to be too small for this use.

Can someone recommend an SSD (8tB or so) that would work in that enclosure?

Thanks.

Rick Cornish wrote: ↑Mon May 12, 2025 10:58 am Hey, gang......
When I set up my (then new) Mac Studio, I added an ACASIS Drive enclosure someone (Mike H?) recommended and threw in the 2tB SSD from my old Mac Pro. This external drive has been designated it as a media drive for editing. Now that I'm working on a 4k project, it's proving to be too small for this use.

Can someone recommend an SSD (8tB or so) that would work in that enclosure?

Thanks.

If your ACASIS box has the fan, any m2 8TB 80mm NVMe blade will work (no room for additional heat sinks). When I stuck an 8TB in my fanless housing, it got quite hot to the touch during large file transfers (moving my Kontakt libraries etc.). If yours does not have a fan, I recommend getting this version. Fan is switchable and I normally leave it off but I've developed a feel for when to turn it on; cools right down when I do so.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8CZB5S7?re ... tle_1&th=1

My original ACASIS box still houses the 4TB blade I installed originally and never gets too warm. It's useful for offloading my AppleMusic libraries, installers, archives and other files.

Now to your question. The OWC Mac blades are designed to be installed internally without adapters into older Macs. You want a blade with an m.2 80mm (2280/2290) form. Fortunately, that's most of them. If you can find a bargain on an NVMe3 x4 blade, go for it since USB4 can't use the higher speeds of NVMe4 x4 or x6. Oh, your ACASIS box does not have room for an attached heat sink so don't spend the money on it.

This WD Black is priced well @ $599. WD has phone support and excellent USA based customer service. There's a "frequently returned" caution—I'm guessing that people order with the optional heat sink and find it doesn't fit.
https://www.amazon.com/WD_BLACK-SN850X- ... r_1_3?th=1

mikehalloran wrote: ↑Mon May 12, 2025 11:32 am This WD Black is priced well @ $599. WD has phone support and excellent USA based customer service. There's a "frequently returned" caution—I'm guessing that people order with the optional heat sink and find it doesn't fit.
https://www.amazon.com/WD_BLACK-SN850X- ... r_1_3?th=1

Mike—do you think the 4tB WD Black would need a cooling fan or heat sink?

Rick Cornish wrote: ↑Mon May 12, 2025 2:57 pm

mikehalloran wrote: ↑Mon May 12, 2025 11:32 am This WD Black is priced well @ $599. WD has phone support and excellent USA based customer service. There's a "frequently returned" caution—I'm guessing that people order with the optional heat sink and find it doesn't fit.
https://www.amazon.com/WD_BLACK-SN850X- ... r_1_3?th=1

Mike—do you think the 4tB WD Black would need a cooling fan or heat sink?

4TB blades run a lot cooler than 8TB.

I’m running a 4TB Crucial P3+ in a the same ACASIS box you have — gats barely warm in a 1TB file transfer.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B25M8FXX?r ... tle_1&th=1

Crucial is the retail arm of Micron, a major OEM supplier to Dell, Apple, HP etc. and also has excellent customer support with a service center in Nampa, Idaho.

Mike…..
Do you think the 7300mbps WD blade would run appreciably hotter than your 5000mbps Crucial?

Rick Cornish wrote: ↑Tue May 13, 2025 12:47 pm Mike…..
Do you think the 7300mbps WD blade would run appreciably hotter than your 5000mbps Crucial?

Not likely.

There's a chance it might run a little cooler but without a controlled test, hard to know. One of the design parameters is the resistance to thermal throttling. Speed ratings from the well known companies are posted at the point where throttling occurs and some can only reach their rating with an attached heat sink. All other things being equal, I would expect the higher speed blade to run a little cooler in an environment where 3200 is the theoretical maximum—as is the case in a USB4/TB4/3 external box.

Nothing wrong with buying on price as long as the vender has a good reputation for standing behind their products.

OK… last question (promise!).

If I get a new blade that will fit in my existing ACASIS enclosure, is there a way I can copy the contents of my current blade to a new one in such a way that Media Composer will be fooled into thinking it's the same drive? (Something like Carbon Copy Cloner?)

I do have another blade enclosure, one from OWC that I'm pretty sure supports the same size blades (I'm currently using it as my sample drive).

I think if you just give it the same name after the transfer is completed you may be in good shape...

(Something like Carbon Copy Cloner?)

No!

I think if you just give it (the drive) the same name after the transfer is completed you may be in good shape...

Yes!

Format the new drive APFS first, then drag and drop.

mikehalloran wrote:

(Something like Carbon Copy Cloner?)

No!

I guess you can tell I never used Carbon Copy Cloner

…and thanks, gents.


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HCMarkus wrote: ↑Wed May 14, 2025 3:28 pm I think if you just give it the same name after the transfer is completed you may be in good shape...

... and also make sure the file structure is the same (path from root to the project files).

Thanks, Gents.


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Installed a 4tB WD Black SSD today. Your recommendations worked perfectly… Media Composer was unaware that there was a different blade in the system.