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This is the new SanDisk Extreme Pro external SSD, should you buy it for your iMac M1?, let's find out.
The advertised speed is 2000 megabytes read and 2000 megabytes write. Yes, it is a very fast SSD, but is it too fast for the new 2021 M1 iMac?
Before investing in buying this SSD, I did my research to try to decide between the SanDisk Extreme and the Extreme Pro. As you may already know, the Extreme is cheaper than the Extreme Pro. It is also slower with a read speed of 1050 Megabytes and write speed of 1000 megabytes. That’s 50% percent slower compared to the Extreme Pro.
On paper makes sense to buy the fastest one, however, the price of the Extreme Pro may make you think twice.
Watch the YouTube video fo the review here:
Is the SanDisk Extreme Pro good for iMac M1?.
Now let's talk about the new 2021 M1 iMac, if you buy the Extreme Pro to use it mainly with your M1 iMac, will you get the 2000MB advertised read and write speed?.
I read multiple websites, reviews, blogs, forums and couldn't get a solid answer. Most of the reviews and websites talk about the M1 MacBook Air, M1 MacBook Pro and M1 Mac mini.
I couldn’t find anything related to the new M1 iMac, I found this review that says:
(If you have apple MacBook air/pro with M1 or Mac mini with M1, this will only go up to 600mb per second not 2000 megabytes as advertised).
Since the M1 iMac is newer than the mentioned computers, I decided to ignore this review with the hopes of getting the advertised speed, and went ahead and bought the Extreme Pro.
In the box you will find the SSD, a USB C cable and USB A to USB C.
Let me tell you that I was very impressed with the size of this external SSD, it is very small, the cables are on the smaller size, only 12 inches.
The size of the SSD itself is perfect to put it in your pocket or to take it anywhere with you, it feels solid and well made, it is also water resistant.
SanDisk Extreme Pro speed test on iMac M1.
Ok, now let's test the speed, I am going to use the famous Black Magic Disk Speed Test. Here we go the moment we have all been waiting for..
Mmm not what I was expecting, 816 write 847 read. Not even close to the 2000mb advertised speeds. You won’t get the advertised speed with the new M1 iMac, at least not at this moment, Apple may upgrade the iMacs hardware in the future. But right now you won’t get the lighting fast read and write speeds of the SanDisk Extreme Pro.
Now, 800 megabytes are not bad at all, the speed is extremely good you won’t have any problems working with this SSD.
Will you get fast speeds with older Mac computers?.
Now, what if you have an older Mac?. I did the same test on my 2012 MacBook Pro, the max write speed with the SanDisk Extreme Pro is about 415 write and 421 read. Again, not even close to the advertised speed.
An advantage of this external SSD, (doesn’t matter if you buy the Extreme or Extreme Pro), is that you can use it to transfer files with your iPad, if you try to use it with your iPhone it won’t work, you will need an adapter to be able to use it with your iPhone or android phone.
If you are going to use this SSD with your new M1 iMac, I would suggest to save a few dollars and buy the Extreme. Mainly because you will get the same speed for less money. However, if you can afford paying a few extra dollars I strongly recommend to buy the Extreme Pro. You won’t get the advertised speed right now but it will be future proof. These SSDs are made to last many years.
I bough mine at a discounted price, BestBuy has specials very often, also check Amazon for the best deals. At the end of the day this is a very good and solid SSD, you won't regret buying it, even though the 2000MB speeds are not compatible with your M1 iMac, 800MB are more than enough to do your daily work without any problems.
Check out my YouTube channel for tech reviews and more NumberDZ.
Posted in: Tech Review
