Don't Buy an External SSD, Build One!

THANK YOU!!!

Hello Jerad, I'm totally vibing with the whole upgrade game! Whether it's my laptop, desktop, or SSD, I'm all about swapping parts when the time's right. The bonus is that I am always able to sell my old components at a discount which is a win win. Prebuilt SSDs are like Macs, top-notch but when you want to upgrade any component, you have to drop cash on a whole new machine. Loving the content, keep it coming!

will this work for my newer iMac computer with thunderbolt port?

I don't know if I would use a USB 3.2, you are creating a Huge Bottle Neck going into the Computer, almost defeats the Purpose of using an NVME Drive. If you are going to use a USB 3.2 might be better to use SSD. If you use a USB 4 it would be much better but still creating a Bottle neck, I think the Solution would be to Run a Ribbon cable from the NVME Port out the Case to the Drive. If you don't have an Extra Port I would use USB 4 instead.

very helpful.

Looks like great build quality, other enclosures come with a horrid silicon push in tab to keep the ssd in and don’t have thermal pads, I like the asus ones

Will this work for windows 10 and above version, Mac OS latest versions and Linux distributions?

It,s great...to work White this.. thnxxxxx greetings from Holland city Zwolle

Compared to the cost of a 2tb SSD, its shell isn't worth discarding an SSD for another. Besides even when 2tb becomes insufficient, you can still use it for other purposes or sell it.

Thanks for the video. I just bought the 2 TB SSD and the enclosure. I've been getting warnings of the SSD full so this will help with the video file storage. I'm also told that if I put DaVinci Resolve on an external drive that it runs about 6x faster.

Question about Samsung 980 500gb can I used it as Portable Ssd on my Phone to free up some space on my Samsung Galaxy S10e.

If I have a Enclosure like that.

This is not building an external SSD. This is converting an internal SSD to an external SSD by sticking it in an enclosure.

Thx , I’m with you, consolation of Data too. ❤, excellent description ❤

I can't see how this almost $200 setup is superior to a Toshiba portable external drive for $62. Or a 4TB for $95. You are limited by the USB speed in either case.

Expandable in the sense like a forklift upgrade is an upgrade. Throw away the (expensive) old internals and keep just the (cheap) case.

I just watched a fancy "how to use an ssd enclosure" for 9 mins .😢

Is this method okay for an Xbox one S?

so you are not really building one then!? You are just putting two products that can go together, together... ? Video title a bit misleading

I do build my own but not with the idea that I will throw away a 500GB drive and replace it, not expand, with a larger drive. It's not a money saving thing. ASUS enclosures are $40+. You can get cheap ones but sometimes run into incompatibilities.
SSD architecture has also changed. SATA to NVMe for example.

This a far away from "building"
Enclosures are for people who had an m2 SSD laying around after an upgrade, this is not a new thing

build??? you just put a drive to a box

where is google office? i had to report this directly since its misleading so hard

Great video man, I work in FCP a lot and this will come in handy. Thanks again. (Just Subbed) ✌🏻

you haven't built anything. All you've done is buy an SSD, and an external enclosure, and put the SSD in the enclosure. Four screws aren't much of an assembly

What gonna happen when you need more storage?
Exactly, you stash the 2tb out with 4tb...keeping it in a dusty case along with your external ssd

You don't "expand" anything , you replace it. Even the "sticky" thermal tape requires replacement.

It would have helped if you'd done comparison speed tests.

do i need thunderbolt type c port on my pc / laptop to work as ssd for video editing ?

Don't bother with doing this unless the seller of the adapter can guarantee that the adapter/SSD drive won't shut down when it overtemps because of lack of sufficient cooling. I had this problem with 3 different adapters so gave up as it is obvious the technology hasn't kept up with the overhyping.

Can i connect my android phone and transfer my photos and videos to this SSD drive❓❓❓

You did not build anything.
This is a M2 SSD Drive.
With an adapter you can convert the usual M2 SSD Drive to an external Drive.
There is nothing special about it.

USB 3.2 gen 2 is 10gbps, but the SSD transfer protocol over that interface is only 6gbps, the same as SATA3. Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 are both available and much faster. The basis of your info is just wrong.

Good video but not a single question answered in the comments. Not subscribing.

That cable is useless on a laptop or desktop. I have never seen a USB C port on a laptop or desktop

So, when the SSD drive is full, where do you put the card for safe keeping, so you add another card.

STOP. STOP, STOP: sorry for the drama. People who travel, or people who don't own a printer. I ran into a 'major' problem with my NVME drive - probably won't happen to most people. I went to my local library to print off a file - and their computer DID NOT HAVE the driver required to read the NVME installed. I am not sure if UPS, FedEx stores or if photocopy machines can read the NVME drive. As I don't have a printer, and rarely print anything they are my sources - note many mom and pop (and UPS) stores charge you just to put the thing into their device (FedEx does not) that being said this was the first time I used my NMVE drive. Let me say it a second time: I don't know if photocopy machines can read the drive.
How I solved my problem, I used my cable to get the file to my phone, and then attached my phone to the computer at the library (they lock down the computer - you can't install a drive - and then they 'clean' it between users.) Yes I emailed the local library and noted that they might need to add the driver to their computer as carrying a 1TB drive in your pocket is becoming common - I'll leave it to them to figure out the best solution/driver for most people. So, (1) keep your file in the cloud, (2) put the file on a dumb USB drive - always have two media (3) consider your phone and an appropriate cable as needed (4) email ahead of time the document to have UPS or FedEx to already have it printed out when you get there.
Question: why do NVME drives 'not respond' to at least the base 'cheap' known USB driver, or is there a 'smart cable' that can act as 'man in the middle'? Note: I use Linux totally at home.

The enclosures is so expensive that you don't save much if anything at all.
I paid 110 bucks for a brand new Samsung T7 Shield 2.TB.

I suspect a USB drive is limited by the type of USB port you have, such as USB 1, USB3 or USB3.1. It would be nice to know the comparative speeds of nvme if inside the computer and compare that to plug in USB nvme speeds.

I felt like you were saying this is expandable. Is it? Did I misunderstand? Because even though it may be faster, you will still have the same problem when it is full, no?

NOT !

Thank You.

I’m struggling to understand how is that enclosure expandable. Logically, an expandable enclosure should accommodate more than 1 ssd, and have a maximum capacity of let’s say 8TB. If the enclosure would have 4 SSD slots that can each take one 2TB M2, yeah, we could call it expandable. But if I have to throw away the current SSD in order to expand, that’s not expandable, it’s just a case.

What if I already have a ssd that has a heat sink on it. Do I need to remove the heat sink off the ssd before putting it in a usb external enclosure case? My situation is I am upgrading my PS5 SSD 2TB internal storage to a 4TB SSD. I want to use my 2 year old 2TB ssd stick as an additional external ssd storage device.

This is a poor excuse to build one. As you'll just be throwing out the old drive. This doesn't change anything!

On the other hand, building your own may give you more speed and give you a method of transferring data to an SSD you'll be installing in a PC. You may get more flexibility to by using NVME or SATA M.2 drives.

Has anyone used this enclosure with 4TB drive?

A set

or you could buy an SSD and a SATA cable

Nice! Great information video.
But, a bit unnecessary to put the skHynix platinum in an enclosure... you can put a great and cheaper one, which have compatibles speed... the Nv2 from kingston is about 50 dollars on Amazon and operates in 3500mb/s... the enclosure operates ins 1000mb/s... and the platinum skhynix is about 7000mb/s (and is more expensive)
Besides, thank you for sharing this!

I've built 2 recently, first one just from an old drive and then I decided to build another wth a new drive, zero difference between them because the enclosure and usb protocol is the limiting factor.
I did notice once it slowed down when I was first filling the drive probably the slc filled up and then had to move the data around a bit, butit soon sorted that out and went back to being fast.
I would not bother buying an external drive when there is this option unless of course the external drive is a LOT cheaper.
My build was cheap, I paid £10 for the enclosure ( aliexpress ) and £55 for a 1tb seagate 530 drive so £65, I know I could buy a 1tb cheaper but it would not be as useful especially if I needed to replace my laptop nvme ( could just use this drive in it )