Using an external NVMe drive to ease Mac mini storage limits
A Mac mini with 500GB of internal storage is running out of space even though there is not much stored on it directly. An Unraid setup is already working well, and s are being saved to that Unraid server. The short-term plan is to buy a 1TB Crucial T500 NVMe SSD, place it in a 40Gbps external enclosure, and move the Mac onto that external drive before upgrading later to a or MacBook Pro.
Two enclosure options are being compared: a UGREEN 40Gbps M.2 NVMe enclosure with an aluminum for £65.99, and a SABRENT USB4 M.2 NVMe enclosure with active cooling for £79.99. An existing Samsung Evo 970 1TB USB-C external drive would stay in use for general storage, while the faster new NVMe setup would handle the .
Key points
- The Mac mini has 500GB of internal storage and is filling up faster than expected.
- Unraid is already used for and s.
- The proposed fix is a 1TB Crucial T500 NVMe SSD in a 40Gbps external enclosure.
- The enclosure choices are UGREEN at £65.99 and SABRENT USB4 with active cooling at £79.99.
- The existing Samsung Evo 970 1TB USB-C external drive would remain for general storage.