However, you should be aware that big SSDs are faster than small SSDs, because the controller can write to more modules at the same time. The specific question is impossible to answer because there are so many variables. While you could have a faster external drive, it would be better to spend the money upgrading the internal drive, where possible. The general question is easy: external drives are slower than comparable internal drives, because the interconnection itself adds an overhead. If I bought an external Thunderbolt SSD for about £220 per terabyte, would I be likely to see any difference? David Apple can supply the unit with up to 2TB of solid state drive (SSD) storage, but charges an eye-watering £720 per terabyte. I am considering upgrading to the latest 2018 version, but I need at least 1TB of storage. To be specific, I have a 2014 Mac Mini, which is very slow.
My general question is: can a computer that has some of its storage on an external drive with a fast connection (such as Thunderbolt) perform as well as a computer with the same amount of storage inside the computer?
