The best external drive/specs for Komplete libraries - in your experience?

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  • BassAddict
    BassAddict Member Posts: 12 Member

    Quick update - I've been living with the (tiny) T7 for a few days now and I'm happy to report that it has exceeded my expectations.

    Some of the larger instruments can take around 20 seconds to load and a couple of seconds to load new presets - this is plenty fast enough. I'm sure a Thunderbolt setup would be comparable with the onboard NVMe, but at twice the cost it simply isn't worth it, for me anyway.

    Very happy, thanks all for your contribution.

    Cheers 😎

    Screenshot 2024-12-10 at 17.50.59.png

  • Master of Madness
    Master of Madness Member Posts: 3 Member

    Another proud happy owner of the Samsung T7 (my third one actually). I currently have a 2Tb hanging off of my Mac Mini M2 Pro, which only has a (more cost effective) 1Tb internal SSD. All of my sound files & photographs (I'm a pro photographer too) are on it. Works great! I actually just finished traveling full time for 2+ years, exploring and photographing the country while living in a big shiny Airstream. What a blast, visiting 39 states, 14 states multiple times. I had a T7 as my main boot up HD on my 13" MacBook Air too for my "Mini Travel Studio" too, with a different view out our big windows every couple days while composing. Oh yeah, I tend to ADD ramble sometimes.

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 3,575 mod
    edited December 18

    As far as having something very fast without going overkill for the sake of it I also recommend an NVME + a 10 Gbps enclosure, no reason nowadays to go with any SATA/600MB/s solution IMO.

    You get 2TB NVME for about 100$ + 20$ for the enclosure if you're aiming for something cheap. 10Gbps (1.25 GB/s) is plenty fast. USB4 enclosures + PCIe4 NVME's are way faster but also more expensive and it's almost too fast, gets hot… really hot, so enclosures also tend to be bigger and sometimes even have fans… For Audio this is overkill.

    Where I am from a 2TB Samsung T7 costs +- as much as a 4TB NVME, so it's way more expensive (2x the price for the same storage) but also easier since you dont need to pick a drive+enclosure… For those who care about nuances and bang-for-buck picking your NVME is a +, for others it might just complicate things and it's better to go with T7 and similar options as an "it just works" solution.

    I've noticed some enclosures have outdated firmware that prevents them from working with specific NVME's, in my case WD Blue/Black — The only way to update the firmware is thru a Windows PC (or virtualized), some brands like Orico provide firmware update apps while with others you kind of have to scavenge the web and take chances… depends on the model but this is the biggest disadvantage with the NVME+Enclosure approach… Ask me how I know:

    NVME.png

  • Chilled
    Chilled Member Posts: 31 Member

    Yep. Samsung T7.

  • Ben C
    Ben C Member Posts: 15 Member
    PXL_20241105_115626094.jpg

    Another vote for a (2TB) Samsung T7. I even think it looks pretty good velcro'd to my Macbook Pro - about as good as can be expected for a tacked-on external device, anyway! And well worth it to save £500 by not paying Apple for a storage upgrade.

  • victorp.sg
    victorp.sg Member Posts: 145 Advisor
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/198360#Comment_198360

    I am asking… :)

    Which brand and model of USB 3.2 Gen 2 M2 NVME Enclosure will you highly recommend…on a Mac, if you can?

  • Kymeia
    Kymeia NKS User Library Mod Posts: 4,962 mod

    I'm thinking the Crucial X-10 is probably going to be my choice, fast and rugged

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 3,575 mod
    edited December 20

    The bottom line is: if you dont mind paying double the $ for the same amount of storage space TB go with a solution like a T7 or similar, from a big-name brand.

    For those who care about performance, heat, and cost, especially in things not Audio (Video for example is quite demanding, backups or large transfers, etc) a custom solution is better but requires research.

    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/198940#Comment_198940

    I went with Orico, this model, because out of all the brands I tried, they are one of the few that provides firmware updates (for some models) and it's widely used in the only place I found where people share firmware files. Orico uses Realtek (the USB-NVME controller chip) which is generally better than Asmedia.

    There are lots brands that sell the exact same enclosures but they just slap a logo on them, they do not even reply to email/support tickets, avoid those generic dropship companies (Ewent, Essanger, etc… ), and pick one that actually makes their own stuff. Orico, Ugreen, etc…

    There's a lot of really stupid marketing surrounding NVMe enclosures, so much so that often the engineering makes no sense. For example, having an aluminum enclosure helps with head dissipation, but often the thermal pad on top of the SSD doesn't even touch the aluminum case to allow the thermal transfer to allow it to cool off… I picked a model where I am 100% sure it does touch it.

  • eandrew
    eandrew Member Posts: 18 Member
    edited 12:50AM

    For those that have M/Silicon Macs the internal storage can be upgraded next year.. Google Polysoft

  • Vocalpoint
    Vocalpoint Member Posts: 2,653 Expert
    edited 1:11AM
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/199179#Comment_199179

    Will be curious to see how many take a chance opening their Mac’s up.

    Then how many are ok with completely voiding their warranty.

    And finally those that change drives to and then have issues afterward and cannot get any help from anyone including Apple.

    VP

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 3,575 mod
    edited 1:25AM

    Mac's dont have a "warranty void if open" sticker AFAIK, that's illegal anyway…

    Only a few modern Mac's have removable drives, the M4 Mini, and the Studio… I got a Mini M2 pro, I'd do it in a heartbeat if possible…

    Theres people out there (such as polysoft.fr) developing 3rd party SDD's that are even better than apples, with things such as overvoltage protection… if my mac was eligible I'd do it for myself and to support their company… It's allegedly safer than the original one.

  • eandrew
    eandrew Member Posts: 18 Member
    edited 4:48PM
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/199187#Comment_199187

    Yea I got the Mac Studio.. My bad thought all the M Mini's had removable.. Yea I have been following Polysoft's work and I will shell out for a 1 or 2 TB drive. Considerably cheaper than what Apple prices them at when you purchase your Mac.

  • eandrew
    eandrew Member Posts: 18 Member
    edited 4:50PM

    reposted below forgot to reply correctly..

  • eandrew
    eandrew Member Posts: 18 Member
    https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/199184#Comment_199184

    I've watched the vids on the upgrade and I feel confident enough about the guy's skills in reverse engineering the storage to make it compatible. Luke Miani who has opened up many Silicon Mac's has given me more than enough confidence in being ok with going through with it when the drives become available next year. I've owned 3 MBP's prior to my Mac Studio and I've only needed to go to the Apple store twice with them in the 10+ years of ownership. (knock on wood) Making music is how I make my living so if something goes wrong I will write it off and upgrade to a M4 Mac Studio… not that I wish something bad to happen but it will easily justify me upgrading lol

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