In the specs, it says the M.2 slot is PCIe 3.0 x1, in other words, up to a theoretical maximum of 985 MB/s. That should still be faster than the max 600 MB/s of SATA, but a single PCIe lane will obviously not allow for NVMe drives to run at full speed, which requires up to 4 lanes.
Another one like the other ones. Form over function. I prefer the OWC Thunderbolt Dock because, although it sits off to the side the way you don't like, the Thunderbolt ports on the dock run at full speed so that an external drive connected to a Thunderbolt port on the OWC Thunderbolt Dock will run just as fast as the internal drive runs.
Liked your review. It saved me spending on this model. I took it for granted the SATA/NVMe combination would mean reduced speeds for the NVMe but it was nice to see the test results to confirm. Like @Loren Sims mentioned, I too have an OWC Thunderbolt/USB4 hub. So far, it is the only hub with its own Thunderbolt controllers for each of the 3 Thunderbolt ports, thereby allowing each port to provide a separate Thunderbolt daisy chain. I just wish either OWC or someone else would market a Thunderbolt hub with the Mac Mini dimensions and NVMe storage.
Have you speed tested the internal SATA drive? I bet it will run slower than the internal NVMe drive. The limitation is probably caused by the Mac Mini. There are some strange things going on with the Mac Mini's USB ports. Try this: connect an external drive directly to the Mac Mini and run a speed test. Next, take the same external drive and connect it to the USB port in the front of the dock and run the speed test again. I bet you'll get faster read and write speeds (which is not what one would expect).
Great review, but I think you are missing one thing. The power in AMPS needed to supply the thing. The SATA SSD alone will need around 1.7 amps, so a 5w power supply will only give you 1 amp at 5 volts. I think it probably needs a minimum 15w x 5v = 3amp supply, possibly 20w. Try it, and see if it makes a difference to the NVM SSD performance?
You need to check the Trebeet Thunderbolt3 USB Dock... costs 300$ but gives you full speed on the NVMe connected to the hub with this same form factor.
Even with an attractive [stackable] Mac Mini hub, I still find I need more ports. I use a separate 8-port hub with SSD/M.2 enclosure. Cords everywhere!
couldn't agree more with the content of the video. I have the same issues. Read speeds (for NVMe) are SATA speed whereas write speeds are much faster. As for the drive disconnecting, I ended up using Amphetamine and this resolved the issue (as MacOSs keep drive alive failed miserably).
I was concerned about heat from drives rising into the mac mini and causing temps to rise. Then you explained the slower speed so no heat. I've also heard that because there is no recess, the mini can slide about on this hub. I think I may just buy a usb hub that is silver and sit it ontop of the mac mini. Cheaper too.
It would be great if these hubs with drive enclosures would have high speed throughput. Also though for the dock and connections getting disconnected during sleep is unaccepteble.
I have a very old Mini (A1147 Core Due) with a Belkin port replicator but almost all the ports are all on the back, annoyed me so much I bought a longer cable and spun the hub around, this unit at least addresses that issue.
interesting...there are so many cool and faster features on my M1 mac mini but ....you are correct...its not the same as owning a well worn macbook pro. glad im not alone on sd card mounting fail.....here is another one.... dragging media into fcp from a disc....sometimes it wont import...other times....got it ? why
If you want faster one. You need a TB connection and not the Gen1 USB which the hub is using. Disk disconnection is factory "feature" and they say it is Apple requirement, but it ain't one.
I recently bought the identical Hagibis MC25 Pro model and I’m getting speeds of around 980MB/s paired with a Samsung 980 NVME. This is pretty much similar speeds to what I get when using a 10Gbps NVME enclosure so I’m happy with that. I haven’t tried installing a SATA drive yet so not sure if that will affect the speed.
Thanks for the video. I ordered one of these for the Mac Studio that also I'm waiting to get. The NVMe speeds do sound like a real disappointment. I have a Samsung 970 EVO Plus in my Mac Pro that I'm going to move into this hub after moving over to the Mac Studio. I was hoping to reduce the amount of stuff connected to the Mac Studio (having to go from a tower to dongle life isn't great). So, since I already own the NVMe, if the bus speed ends up being an issue, I'll just order a $15-30 NVMe case for it, and plug directly into Mac Studio's USB-C.
So you can add both SSD and the NVMe? So they work as separate storages in the Mac mini? Hence, if you get two 1TB (SSD + NVMe) you then have a total of 2TB? I’m new to NVMe.
11:37 hey man something similar happens to me as well. I use a Samsung T7 connected directly to the thunderbolt port on the Mac mini. And I also have a hub connected on the other thunderbolt port (Baseus HUB). When I put an SD card in that hub and the Mac mini goes to sleep, the SD card aaaaaalways disconnects. So I see it’s definitely a Mac mini problem… should we call Apple or what?
I just bought the Mac Studio base model. It only has 512GB internal SSD. I want to expand that storage to a couple of TB minimum. How do I do that without creating a bottle neck. I'm new to MAC so info about cables a s well is something I need to know. I'm asuming a dock with an SSD and a cable capable of top speeds for VIDEO EDITING smooth playback perfomance.
I got the same HUB but can't seem to power my Crussial NVMe drive. Where do you connect the USBC cable? Directly to the M1 mini's USBC? or to an external power source?
If you run the hub on an external power source (USB power adapter), are the front USB Type A ports powered to run a device like a Pioneer Blu-ray DVD burner? Thanks in advance. Very nicely done video!
You didn't mention that the USB and SD ports on the unit are mounted upside down. This is something I run into with some Chinese made mini computers too, like the Beelink. If you look you can see he flips the SD card upside down when he inserts it into the slot.
HI - great video and very helpful. Quick question, though, to clarify: if the USB ports on my Mac Mini no longer work, will this dock be able to work at all? Does it need to be plugged into one of the existing Mac Mini ports in order to function?
Thanks for your thorough review! So, just want to clarify, are the drives that are plugged into the front of your quizlab dock, the same ones you are referring to that drop off when the M1 goes to sleep? If so, then can't that corrupt the data on them because they're not unmounting properly???
It’s the drive inside the dock and ones plugged into it. Also, the only time you can seriously corrupt data by incorrectly unmounting a drive is if data is being actively moved to it. Apple constantly warns about “improperly ejecting” drives, but if the drive is in standby, it’s no issue.
@@jward329 sorry I don’t remember this was a year ago but it’s easy enough to search and you should be able to figure it out if you are having a specific problem.
It’s 100% the product throttling! Not only did the company confirm it with me as a decision they made in order to keep cost of the product low, but I got the same results on my PC
@@GarrettCrespo thanks! do you power hub with external power brick? no issues with low voltage in hub and then with discs that power off when consuming to muchh amps?
The caveat with the hub C port is that it's not another added port - just an extension. The other is dedicated to the hub. I prefer the Satechi design. And there's a fix for the sleeping issue.
QwiizLab, another Chinese re-badge rip-off? They have a number of 'products' that are either rebadged or replicas of the original from other labels (all of which I can name)or remarkably the originiator which no-one has sued for copyright or TM infringement .. living in China at present it has become impossible to tell who is the originator and who is the shameless rip-off. There is an enormous amount of effort to make copies look indistinguishable from the original. I especially like the website written in Chinglish, te Terms of Service which are subject to the laws of China, (NB.. note NOT the western world) and the Mission Statement (where they almost specifically state they are just rebranding!!). You've been had. But thanks for drawing our attention to it.
Definitely a viable option if your professional livelihood doesn’t require software that’s Mac exclusive. But I’m a Final Cut editor and that’s not on PC or Linux.
@@GarrettCrespo lol no its not. You know what most studios that make 3d movies like pixar use? linux. you know what adobe uses to manage their systems and develop some of their web stuff? linux. you know what universal studios editing stations use for composition? linux and windows. You know what nasa uses for all their desktops and servers? Linux. If you go into any proper professional industrial setting, no one uses a mac. Theres not a mac in site in any part of nasa for like, maybe one person that brought it form home. Apple products give the illusion of being professional and you fell for it. you cant upgrade them, the have a limited life span, they are terrible for servicing on site, enterprise apps dont work right after 4 years because they have to go through apples servers first and apple drop support. Its unacceptable and un professional to use a system designed to take advantage of non technical users that dont know much about computers or thing they know about computers and made to be e waste after a period of time. And all that data is going through apples servers for telemetry just as bas as google. You, have no idea.
@Zilog sorry. Figured I’d just express my opinion. Guess I touched a nerve. But I’m good with what I have. It serves me well and has for quite a few years now. Definitely more than 4 years. Either way, enjoy Linux. I’ll keep using what works for me.
@Kipper Klank I’ve been trying to learn it. It’s pretty good. My big hang up for now is that there are still quite a few Final Cut plug-ins that I use that aren’t in resolve yet. Granted, I’ll definitely use resolve much more when it’s ported to the iPad Pro.