Mac Mini SSD query

[dean_e_boy]

Hi all,

Hopefully the right place to ask this question. I have bought a new Mac mini with 256gb of storage for the purpose of ripping my Blu ray and DVD library, moving the mp4 to my NAS for use with Plex.

My question is, constantly writing files to the internal SSD, does it degrade the drive in anyway? Would I be better purchasing an external usb-c ssd for the ripping and converting of the files.

The process I am using is convert to MKV and then convert that file to MP4

Any help and advice would be gratefully received

Many Thanks

 

[malachi]

Hi all,

Hopefully the right place to ask this question. I have bought a new Mac mini with 256gb of storage for the purpose of ripping my Blu ray and DVD library, moving the mp4 to my NAS for use with Plex.

My question is, constantly writing files to the internal SSD, does it degrade the drive in anyway? Would I be better purchasing an external usb-c ssd for the ripping and converting of the files.

The process I am using is convert to MKV and then convert that file to MP4

Any help and advice would be gratefully received

Many Thanks

Nope, thats something you shouldnt have to worry about. Especially with Mac's where you cant change the internal storage.

 

[Feek]

All SSDs have a finite lifespan, that lifespan is huge. Really huge.

To give an example I've had this MBA since launch date so November 2020.

DriveDX says I've written 57Tb and read 37.5Tb.

My drive lifespan percentage used is 1%.

My 2017 iMac SSD (so older technology) has read 1.6Pb, written 207Tb and has a lifetime used percentage of 7%.

SSD lifespan isn't a concern for anyone. You're never going to wear it out.

 

[dean_e_boy]

Thank you both for the quick response and reassurance

 

[visibleman]

My question is, constantly writing files to the internal SSD, does it degrade the drive in anyway?
Would I be better purchasing an external usb-c ssd for the ripping and converting of the files?

Yes, writes degrade NAND and Yes/No/Maybe to whether or not you should use an external drive.

SSD endurance is a minefield and it doesn't help when manufacturers like Apple don't state TBW (Total Bytes Written) figures for their drives.
Some manufacturers include a 'Lifetime' percentage value as part of the drives SMART data but, while it's useful to know, it isn't particularly reliable as manufacturers use their own calculations for this (who knows how Apple calculates it) and drives do fail before, as well as exceed, what's reported.

Bottom line, i really wouldn't worry about it too much and the most i would do, given the type of usage, is to keep an eye on the drives SMART data from time-to-time using tools like smartmontools (CLI) or DriveDX; it'll give you an idea if and when you need to jump to an external drive.