Before Apple added T2 chips to Intel Macs, external boot disks were valuable for many users. How has that fared since?
T2
Improved tests, statistical analysis, and interface, together with a 21 page Help book detailing its range of tests in 5,000 words. Ready to use for real.
Detailed tutorial steps you through getting accurate and reproducible benchmarks for your disks. Also further projects and tests you can try.
Now with proper random write and read tests, sophisticated analysis including group medians and linear regression, and detailing reporting.
Can M1 Macs really defy the laws of physics and read files from SSD at around 12 GB/s? Or are their performance improvements more modest?
Using 140 files of sizes 10 KB – 2 GB, the M1 read files significantly faster than a T2 Mac, but the latter wrote files slightly quicker. Highest read rate on the M1 was 10.8 GB/s, which seems almost incredible.
A new version of Stibium which performs series tests raises further questions about benchmarking SSDs on Intel and M1 Macs. And is an X5 worth the extra cost?
A new version using Mach absolute time brings accuracy to a few microseconds, and a Help page. Tests progress well, and continue to make interesting comparisons.
Developing an app to assess the real-world performance of SSDs: initial results from a T2 Mac and an M1 Mac mini are different but there’s no simple answer to which is the faster.
Essential facts about the firmware in your Mac, how it’s updated, and which version you should be running. With links to more detailed articles.
