Choosing a new ssd external drive for PureOS. Any tips?

Software PureOS
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Hi, I am thinking about running PureOs on an SSD external drive, as I posted on other threads, I need balance between the best speed,storage and of course compatibility, openness and freeness. My future needs may also be related to using only free software and open hardware, but for now I need compatibility for my old equipment. I can use USB 3.0 or USB-C.

Any tips? What works well for you?

How to achieve the best performance until the final move (install PureOS as the main and only system in the internal drive) on my ASUS Vivobook S14 S410U?

I would like to hear from the community to prevent problems after buying my new device. Right now I have to full external USB Drives (2T + 1T) and I need some good space to “accommodate” PureOS and my new files, even if I still write to the internal drive which has around 250GB of free space and still “coexists” with Windows 11 :frowning: .

Any suggestion would be much appreciated.

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Hello,
I use here the Anker Powerexpand M2 enclosure with a Samsung evo drive.
The enclosure allows for a lot of options.

-H

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I use a Samsung T3 SSD (256 GB in my case, they can get pricey if you go higher).

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Nice… Why not free_hardware too?

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Open, free hardware would be interesting and possibly my choice. On the other hand, I need compatibility. Can you list me some options (maybe those recommended by Purism or FSF)?

Do you use open free hardware?

Thanks in advance.

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What would be the best writing and reading speeds, random and sequential, available for a USB 3.0 or USB-C port (but compatible with older USB ports too) from 256GB to more storage space (considering free hardware too)? I don`t have a real notion about the best speeds. Any tips? Price is important but performance and storage too.

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Perhaps I would take Thunderbolt into consideration Thunderbolt too. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/thunderbolt/overview.html

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Seconded the Samsung. I have T5 and T7. Not being used with PureOS but used with Linux and I don’t think it will make any difference in this case.

These are most definitely not “open” or “libre” hardware though.

It’s going to depend on the host computer. It can also depend on the capacity of the drive.

I get sustained sequential writing speed on a T5 of a bit over 520 MB/sec. That is close to the marketing speed (so kudos to Samsung). The T5 is, I believe, a USB 3.1 Gen 2 device (10 Gbps, theoretical maximum 1212 MB/s). I’m not sure what the spec of the port on the host is but the host is some years old now. It may be the port is USB 3.1 Gen 2 too and hence clearly limited by the drive, not by USB.

Digressing, with a decent Samsung NVMe drive in a USB 3.1 enclosure, on the same host, I managed a read speed of over 850 MB/s (which starts to push up towards the USB limit i.e. with the faster drive).

I believe you can’t buy the T5 any more.

The T7 is USB 3.2 Gen 2 (so USB limit is 1212 MB/s from 10 Gbps). Unfortunately, while I have a T7, I don’t have a computer with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port - so I can’t test how close to the marketing speeds it gets.

Not with PureOS?

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