Small form function with an attached short cable

When I purchased my 2018 Mac Mini, I ordered it with a 256GB internal SSD drive. My system, apps and a few other files take nearly half that storage. On paper that leaves me ~160GB on my internal drive for working files like photos or any movies I’m working on. However, since a drive requires about 10% of the startup disk for virtual memory to work properly, it’s never a good idea to have a nearly full startup drive.

The next best thing to having a large-capacity startup drive is using a fast external storage drive for working files. Previously, I’d purchased a USB-C 3.1 drive and the disk speed tests weren’t fast enough for my liking. On the Mac Mini, the Thunderbolt port is my fastest option for an external drive so when I found a great price on a 512GB SSD I picked it up because I love finding killer deals. The black aluminum case has tiny cooling fins and a short, built-in TB3 cord. The drive has an led power indicator and includes a black velvet pouch.

SMART Status for the drive shows a power on time of 0 hours and a 100% health rating which is to be expected from a new drive.

The drive comes pre-formatted in ExFAT but I easily changed it to Mac OS Extended with Disk Utility. With my tested speed of over 900MB/s write and over 1350MB/s read, my VisionTek 512GB is not as fast as my startup disk, but it’s plenty fast for my working files when I need storage beyond what my internal SSD can hold!