Thunderbolt 3 From a single, mighty port, you get astonishing bandwidth with the versatility of the USB-C industry standard. For the LaCie d2 Thunderbolt 3, the result is performance up to 240MB/s 4 for cutting-edge creative workflows, the widest compatibility, and time-saving device configurations. OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dock. Thunderbolt 3 dock + dual-drive RAID storage solution. Dual Thunderbolt 3; Up to 773MB/s; Up to 2 x 2.5' or 3.5' Drives; JBOD, Span, RAID 0/1. Thunderbolt 3: Yes; OS Supported: Computer with a USB-C port (Thunderbolt 3) Computer with a Thunderbolt 2 port (via Thunderbolt3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter) Mac OS X 10.8.5 and later Driver embedded into Mac OS X 10.9 and Later; Power Supply: Power Supply: External 60 watts power supply Power: Input AC 100-240V, Output DC 12V 5A.
Summary :
As the fastest port available now, Thunderbolt ports are becoming more and more popular among users. In this post, MiniTool Software introduces the top 8 Thunderbolt 3 laptops for you. If you are planning to replace your laptop with a new laptop with Thunderbolt 3 ports, you can take them into consideration.
Quick Navigation :
What is Thunderbolt 3?
Thunderbolt, a hardware interface developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple, allows external devices to connect to a computer. It has four generations now. Thunderbolt 3 is based on the USB Type-C port. It provides superfast speed for data transfer (click here to know more about Thunderbolt 3 vs USB C).
Thunderbolt 3 is capable of transmitting at a rate of 40 Gbps, which is much quicker than USB 3.1 (with the rate of 10 Gbps) and USB 3.0 (5 Gbps). In other words, a device with a Thunderbolt 3 port could read and write data much faster than the device with a USB 3.0 or 3.1 port.
For example, the read/write speeds of a Seagate Barracuda Fast SSD which has a USB 3.0 port is up to 540/500 MB/s, while that of a Samsung X5 Portable SSD which has a Thunderbolt 3 port could be up to 2800/2300 MB/s.
Therefore, when choosing a new laptop, a huge number of users would prefer the one with a Thunderbolt 3 port.
Top 8 Thunderbolt 3 Laptops
Although providing fast transfer speeds, the Thunderbolt 3 laptops are expensive. Most of them cost more than $1,000. In the following contents, the top 8 Thunderbolt 3 laptops will be introduced and some of them are relatively cheap. If you don't want to cost much, you can consider the following Thunderbolt 3 laptops.
Top 8 Thunderbolt 3 Laptops
- Razer Blade Stealth 13 Ultrabook
- HP ZBook 15 G5
- Alienware AW15R3-5246SLV-PUS
- ASUS ZenBook S UX391
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
- Apple MacBook Air
- Lenovo Yoga 730
- Dell XPS 13
Option 1: Razer Blade Stealth 13 Ultrabook for Gaming
- Hard drive: 512 GB SSD
- Memory: 16 GB
- Processor: Quad-core 8th Gen Intel Core i7 -8565U processor
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home
- Screen Display Size: 13.3 inches
- Color: Black
- Price: $2499.11
If you are a game lover and require high performance, Razer Blade Stealth 13 Ultrabook should be one of the best options you can choose. With the powerful CPU and dedicated GPU inside it, this laptop has an impressive processing speed for daily usage. Its battery lasts for up to 8 hours for regular work. For heavy-duty work, it can last for up to 5 hours.
Besides, it has complete connectivity, including Thunderbolt 3, USB-C, USB-A, Wireless AC, Windows Hello infrared camera, and dual-array mics. It has a 4K Thin Bezel Touch Display, and the keyboard is designed with single-zone RGB lighting which makes it look cool and enables you to work or play games at night.
Option 2: HP ZBook 15 G5 Mobile Workstation
- Hard drive: 1 TB PCle SSD, 2 TB PCle SSD, 1 TB PCle SSD + 1 TB HDD, 2 TB PCle SSD + 2 TB HDD
- Memory: 32/64 GB DDR4 RAM
- Processor: Intel 6-Core i7-8850H
- Operating System: Windows 10 Pro, 64-bit
- Screen Display Size: 15.6 inches
- Color: Silver
- Price: Start at $1,890.00
HP ZBook 15 G5 laptop is 7 pounds. It might not look stylish compared with other Thunderbolt 3 laptops introduced in this post, but it provides optional storage and memory, which means you can configure them according to your needs.
It includes two Thunderbolt 3 ports and three USB 3.0 ports. And with powerful specifications like an Intel 6-Core i7-8850H processor, this laptop can be used for office work, schoolwork, engineering projects, 4K video editing, and other heavy tasks.
Option 3: Alienware AW15R3-5246SLV-PUS
- Hard drive: 1TB HDD
- Memory: 8GB DDR4 RAM
- Processor: Intel Core i5-7300HQ (Quad-Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ Turbo Boost)
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
- Screen Display Size: 15.6 inches
- Color: Epic Silver
- Price: $1699.00
Alienware is another popular brand of gaming laptops. The hardware like NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10-series GPU, 8 GB DDR4 memory, and 15.6-inch display could give you wonderful gaming performance.
With a VR-ready system that passes the Oculus Ready and Vive Optimized certifications, the laptop enables you to enjoy mind-bending virtual reality travel. And its Thunderbolt port provides fast data transfer. Besides, the new Alienware 15 could support up to 11 hours of battery life.
Option 4: ASUS ZenBook S UX391 Ultra-Thin and Light Laptop
- Hard drive: 512 GB PCle SSD
- Memory: 16 GB LPDDR3 RAM
- Processor: Latest Intel 8th Gen Core i7-8565u Processor (8M Cache, up to 4.60 GHz)
- Operating System: Windows 10 Pro, with built-in fingerprint sensor and one-touch login using Windows Hello
- Screen Display Size: 13.3 inches
- Color: Deep Dive Blue and Rose Gold trim
- Price: $1,299.00
ASUS ZenBook S UX391 has a beautiful look and nice specifications at an affordable price. It is designed with a USB-C port and two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the left side. And the keyboard has been featured with a 5.5° tilt so you can type comfortably anywhere.
Generally, you can use the laptop to do normal work for up to 9 hours. If you play games or edit video, it could last for up to 5 hours.
Recommended article: What's the Best Time to Buy a Laptop?
Option 5: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon for Business
- Hard drive: 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
- Memory: 8 GB
- Processor: Intel Dual-Core i5-6300U 2.40 GHz Processor
- Operating System: Windows 10 Pro, 64-bit
- Screen Display Size: 14 inches
- Color: Black
- Price: $1022.09
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a wonderful laptop for business. It provides two USB-C 3.2 ports and two Thunderbolt 3 ports, which enables users to connect many USB devices to the laptop. It has a 14-inch 4K IPS display with HDR and touch. Besides, the display is designed with X-Rite Pantone color calibration, a perfect feature for graphics professionals.
In addition, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 offers about 14 hours of battery life, and users can work with it for a long day.
Option 6: Apple MacBook Air Laptop with Thunderbolt 3 Port
- Hard drive: 256/512 GB SSD
- Memory: 8GB
- Processor: 1.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz, with 6MB L3 cache
- Operating System: Mac OS
- Screen Display Size: 13 inches
- Color: Space Gray, Silver, Gold
- Price: Start at $902.73 on the Official Apple site
MacBook Air laptop includes two Thunderbolt 3 on the left side, and it's thin and light. It is designed with a Retina display with True Tone, Backlit Magic Keyboard, and Touch ID. With up to 11 hours of battery life, you can use it to work through all day.
Option 7: Lenovo Yoga 730 Thunderbolt 3 Laptop for Business
- Hard drive: 256 GB PCle SSD
- Memory: 8GB DDR4 RAM
- Processor: 8th Intel Quad Core i5-8250U (16/3.4GHz, 6MB)
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
- Screen Display Size: 13.3 inches
- Color: Iron Gray
- Price: $780.00
Lenovo Yoga 730 is much cheaper than above Thunderbolt 3 laptops. It is discontinued according to Lenovo, but you can still find it on online stores like Amazon.
It is super portable starting at just 2.47 pounds and 14.1mm thin. With up to 11.5-hour battery life, you can use it without any worries about power issues. It has a Thunderbolt 3 port and 2 USB 3.0 ports. For added security, it offers the fingerprint reader.
By the way, if you want to draw on the laptop, you can buy the Lenovo Active Pen 2 and use the Windows Ink feature, which provides the natural feel of a pen-on-paper experience.
Option 8: Dell XPS 13
- Hard drive: 256 GB – 1 TB SSD
- Memory: 8 GB – 16 GB
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i3 – Intel® Core™ i7
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
- Screen Display Size: 13.3 inches
- Color: Platinum Silver with black carbon fiber palmrest, Rose Gold with Alpine White woven glass fiber palmrest, and Frost White with Alpine White woven glass fiber palmrest
- Price: Start at $779.99
You can choose different configurations (Up to 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-10710U Processor) for this laptop and the price starts at $779.99, according to the official website of Dell. The Dell XPS 13 laptop is equipped with 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports with Power Delivery and DisplayPort and 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type C port.
It's super thin and slight (starting at just 2.7 pounds). If you choose this laptop, you can transfer files quite fast between the laptop and a portable Thunderbolt 3 SSD, and you can go everywhere with it. This should be the cheapest laptop with Thunderbolt 3 you can find.
Transfer Your Data to the New Thunderbolt 3 Laptop
If you decide to replace your old laptop with a new Thunderbolt 3 laptop, you might need to move your important files, folders, and applications, so you can keep and use them on the new laptop. But how to transfer all your files from an old laptop to a new one at once? You need an external hard drive and a professional tool to copy them.
For the tool, I recommend MiniTool Partition Manager. It's a disk manager that can help you manage your disks and partitions as you wish. Of course, you can use it to clone your whole disk or only the partitions you need to another hard drive.
Thunderbolt 3 Hard Drive Dock
As the new Thunderbolt 3 laptop includes a fresh installed operating system, you just need to copy your non-system partitions. Now, let's download this tool and move your data to your new laptop.
Step 1: Connect your external hard drive to your old laptop and launch MiniTool Partition Wizard and get its main interface.
Step 2: Right-click a partition you want to copy and select Copy. In the pop-up window, select the unallocated space on your external hard drive and click Next.
Step 3: Edit the size and location of the copied partition and click Finish. Then repeat the operations to copy other partitions you need.
Step 4: Click Apply to start copying your partitions.
When the copying process is finished, you can disconnect the external hard drive and then connect it to your new Thunderbolt 3 laptop to copy the partitions to the new laptop. Of course, you can only copy the partitions to the unallocated space on the disk of your new laptop. So, please make sure the disk is large enough to keep all your data.
Bottom Line
What is Thunderbolt 3? How do I choose a laptop with Thunderbolt 3 ports? If you are asking these questions, this post which introduces the top 8 Thunderbolt 3 laptops might be helpful for you. If you are planning to replace your old laptop with a new one, don't forget to transfer your data.
You can share your ideas with us by posting them in the following comment section. If you encounter problems while using MiniTool software, please don't hesitate to contact us by sending an email to [email protected].
Thunderbolt 3 Laptops FAQ
For those who chose a MacBook over an ordinary laptop must be short for some storage space, right? Well, upgrading storage space through apple is as costly as purchasing a new laptop. In this case, an external hard drive is less expensive and beneficial for storage requirements.
You can switch your external hard drive from a Mac to a pc which makes data transfer for two different OS easier. Furthermore, external hard disks are less likely to get corrupted and are portable in nature.
Macbooks generally have SSDs which are capable of loading a program quickly but more likely to low on storage.
Furthermore, SSDs are quite costly and upgrading an SSD on a Macbook is definitely costlier than you could even imagine. An external hard drive is best for storing data such as photos, videos, movies, rendered projects and more.
Contents
- 1 Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2021
- 1.3 3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
- 1.4 4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
- 1.5 5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
- 1.6 6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
- 1.7 7. Adata SD700 External SSD
- 1.8 8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
- 1.9 9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
- 1.10 10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
- 2 What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
- 3 External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2021
Although choosing an external hard drive is a complicated process but we have made a list of 10 best external hard drives for Mac that you should consider before your final decision.
1. Samsung Portable SSD T5
Starting off Samsung Portable SSD T5 which is an outstanding storage device, it can reach up to a speed of 550 MB per second for data transfer which is amazing. You can directly plug it into a USB-C port or USB-A port.
It contains no moving parts therefore chances of getting damaged due to mishandling are less. Even though SSD is costlier than a hard drive, the speed it offers is commendable. You will notice a significant boost in the overall performance while doing stuff that requires you to load large files and programs.
Overall, the SSD is fantastic but only if you can spare a few more bucks than your actual budget. You can get the SSD ranging from 250 GB to 2 TB from Amazon with some additional discounts.
2. Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive
Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive is the newest generation of external hard disks and is available in capacities from 1 TB to up to 4 TB. It offers cloud storage and 256-AES encryption alongside WD's software for backups.
The data transfer speeds won't disappoint you and the drive offers speed similar to what an SSD provides. If you are looking for a drive with good data transfer rate and maximum storage, consider Western Digital My Passport 4TB as a choice.
3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
If you are looking for a reliable, portable, and affordable hard disk, Seagate backup plus slim is the thing you should have a look at. It supports Windows and Mac both and perfect for storing your essential data right away.
3d design com. With the Seagate dashboard backup system, you can schedule backups and never lose your important files anymore. Backup automation can be set for daily, monthly, weekly or your desired time-frequency.
Also Check:
Alongside, Seagate also provides a two-month membership for adobe creative cloud photography plan and a one-year subscription to Mylio create to manage your photo library.
- Affordable price
- Metal body
- Supports USB 3.0
- Comes with an automation backup software
- Doesn't support USB 3.0 cables
4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
This Hard disk is probably for creators and organizations that require a lot of storage for various purposes. Faster data transmission rate will let you transfer data in the meantime, all thanks to USB 3.0 support.
It also offers 256 AES encryption for securing your data and makes sure your personal data is secured in the storage device. Even though it meets the requirements of a regular user, the only thing where Western Digital My Book (8 TB) lacks is portability.
Therefore, if you are looking for a hard disk for work purposes and if portability is not an issue, Western Digital My Book (8 TB) is definitely the right choice.
- High storage
- Data encryption
- Compatible with the time machine
- Requires power source to work
- Not portable
5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt offers data transmission at a speed of twice of what USB 3.0 offers. You can enjoy this feature if your device has a thunderbolt port. Another good thing about Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt is its price. It is affordable and portable.
- Also Check: 10 Best Cooling Pads For MacBook Pro Reviewed
However, it is a hard drive, not a solid-state, therefore, the data transmission will definitely be high but the overall performance of your pc will remain unchanged. Lastly, if you don't have a thunderbolt port in your pc, you can use the traditional USB 3.0 port.
- USB 3.0 port
- Affordable
- Formatted for Mac
- Not a Solid State drive
6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
With the new products, Apple is on its way to completely shift to USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports but there are still some people who are using old hardware and for them, G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB) is going to work like a charm.
The body of the HDD is made up of metal which makes it durable and strong against accidents such as dropping off the drive on the floor or whatnot. It runs at a speed of 7200 RPM and can transfer data at a rate of 195 MB/s which is efficient for transferring music, videos and software.
- Metallic body for durability
- High data transmission rate
- USB 3.0
- Should be reformatted for Windows OS
7. Adata SD700 External SSD
Adata SD700 is an affordable External SSD which is IP68 rated which certainly makes it a water-resistant storage device. The overall performance of this SSD is commendable and as per our research, Adata SD700 External SSD is the only SSD with an IP68 rating.
You can expect faster transfer rates and better booting speed if you are planning to install an OS on the SSD. Don't worry about the storage space as it is available in 1 TB capacity also. The maximum read and write speed is up to 440 MB/S, all thanks to the USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface.
- Lightweight and portable
- Shock resistant
- Supports Android, Mac, and Windows
- 3 years of Warranty
- Mac users must format it to FAT32 to use this product
8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk can be distinguished easily because of its unique rubber casing that makes sure your hard drive doesn't get damaged when it drops from up to 1.3 m height. It can withstand rain, dust and can even survive 1-ton pressure. This is certainly the best choice for content creators.
Alongside hard disk, you will also get access to a one-month subscription to Adobe creative cloud all apps plan. The company also provides 3 years of warranty for the device and will also help you to restore the data if lost.
Also Check:
In terms of speed, Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk is not very fast as it provides only 120 MB/s which is comparatively lesser than the HDDs mentioned in this listicle. However, there are various variants available for this hard disk on Amazon.
- Durability
- Affordable
- Resistant to water
- Lesser data transmission speed
9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
Samsung never disappoints with its amazing hardware capabilities. With Samsung X5, you can transfer data at a rate of 2,300 MB/s which is the fastest speed an SSD can provide you. The build quality is super amazing as it is made up of metal, making it stronger than storage disks that are made up of plastic bodies.
The shock-resistant capability can save up your drive from a fall of 2 meters. Alongside this, it comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology that is ideal for faster data transfer of up to 40 GB per second which is unbelievable. You can take full advantage of this SSD on your MacBook or Macbook pro without having to format anything.
- High data transmission rate
- Supports thunderbolt 3
- Shock-resistant up to 2 meters
- Heats up really quick
- Comparatively expensive than the other disks
10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
In terms of flexibility, Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive is really good as it supports both Mac and windows out of the box. The disk doesn't get damaged due to dust and water which is again a positive point.
It encrypts the user data at 256 bit AES security which additionally makes everything on the drive, secure. Overall, it is a great drive for Mac owners as well as windows owners too.
- Secure for handling user data
- Protects from water and dust
- Low-speed data transfer
Thunderbolt Hard Drive
What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
So those were some of the best external hard disk drive solutions for Mac. However, you must be confused about which external HDD to choose. But not to worry, let me just point some of the key factors that you need to consider while buying an external hard drive:
1. Storage
One of the first and the most important thing that you need to consider is the storage space of your external HDD. As you already know that Macbook does not come with a huge space. Hence, you better choose something which offers you enough space to store all your files.
For many users, 1 TB of space should be good enough. But if you need to store a huge number of files and save them for a longer period of time, then getting 2TB of HDD would be an ideal choice.
Apart from 1TB and 2TB of storage options, you can also consider getting huge storage options like 4TB. But for a day to day work, 4TB of HDD does not help much. Also, they are quite expensive.
2. Transfer speed
After the storing capacity, transfer speed is the second most important thing that you have to consider. You don't want to get an external hard disk drive for Mac, which takes too long to copy files. Instead, you need something that can get the job done as quickly as possible.
So the first thing that you must do is avoid USB 2.0 powered external HDD. As they are outdated and not fast enough. Instead, you should get an external HDD with USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1 or USB 3.2 Gen 1. All of these are capable of offering an exceptional transfer speed. On the other hand, I would like to recoomend you to buy the best external SSD for Mac that offers good transfer speed.
3. Compatibility
The next thing you need to check its compatibility. External HDD formatted for Windows 10 may have connectivity issues with Mac OS and vise versa. So since you are using a Mac powered machine, I would recommend you to get an external HDD with Mac OS compatibility.
Although there is no need to focus on the compatibility part way too much. Since you can always format your external HDD using a Windows Computer with exFat Format. So you can easily use the HDD with your Macbook. But yes, if you get a pre compatible external hard disk drive then it saves you from extra work and headaches that you have to face.
4. Security
If you are someone who takes security really seriously, then you must look for security features. Most of the manufacturers do ship security software and backup software. So you can easily encrypt your drive or take a backup of it. Even, if you don't consider the encryption feature, the backup feature is something that you must and should consider.
Even to make sure your HDD stays safe, they use strong casing from physical damage. So you can consider getting such external hard disk drives that save you from every side.
External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
Whenever it comes to a primary storage solution for computers, HDD and SSD's are the only solutions we have. However, in the last couple of years, the usage of HDD has dropped drastically, and people are not moving to SSD's for better performance.
But there are quite a lot of users who are still unaware of the difference between a hard disk drive and a solid state drive or SSD.
However, not to worry, let me just draw a quick difference between both and help you to understand better.
1. Storage Capacity
HDD's are a great option if you want something for storage. HDD's are available in a wide range of storage capacities from 500GB to 12 TB. Even, for enterprise uses, you will find a large capacity of HDDs.
SSDs are also available with large capacities. However, when it comes to the costs of an SSD and an HDD, SSDs are quite expensive. Hence, if your main goal is to store a huge amount of data, HDD is an ideal choice.
Option 6: Apple MacBook Air Laptop with Thunderbolt 3 Port
- Hard drive: 256/512 GB SSD
- Memory: 8GB
- Processor: 1.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz, with 6MB L3 cache
- Operating System: Mac OS
- Screen Display Size: 13 inches
- Color: Space Gray, Silver, Gold
- Price: Start at $902.73 on the Official Apple site
MacBook Air laptop includes two Thunderbolt 3 on the left side, and it's thin and light. It is designed with a Retina display with True Tone, Backlit Magic Keyboard, and Touch ID. With up to 11 hours of battery life, you can use it to work through all day.
Option 7: Lenovo Yoga 730 Thunderbolt 3 Laptop for Business
- Hard drive: 256 GB PCle SSD
- Memory: 8GB DDR4 RAM
- Processor: 8th Intel Quad Core i5-8250U (16/3.4GHz, 6MB)
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
- Screen Display Size: 13.3 inches
- Color: Iron Gray
- Price: $780.00
Lenovo Yoga 730 is much cheaper than above Thunderbolt 3 laptops. It is discontinued according to Lenovo, but you can still find it on online stores like Amazon.
It is super portable starting at just 2.47 pounds and 14.1mm thin. With up to 11.5-hour battery life, you can use it without any worries about power issues. It has a Thunderbolt 3 port and 2 USB 3.0 ports. For added security, it offers the fingerprint reader.
By the way, if you want to draw on the laptop, you can buy the Lenovo Active Pen 2 and use the Windows Ink feature, which provides the natural feel of a pen-on-paper experience.
Option 8: Dell XPS 13
- Hard drive: 256 GB – 1 TB SSD
- Memory: 8 GB – 16 GB
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i3 – Intel® Core™ i7
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home, 64-bit
- Screen Display Size: 13.3 inches
- Color: Platinum Silver with black carbon fiber palmrest, Rose Gold with Alpine White woven glass fiber palmrest, and Frost White with Alpine White woven glass fiber palmrest
- Price: Start at $779.99
You can choose different configurations (Up to 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-10710U Processor) for this laptop and the price starts at $779.99, according to the official website of Dell. The Dell XPS 13 laptop is equipped with 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports with Power Delivery and DisplayPort and 1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type C port.
It's super thin and slight (starting at just 2.7 pounds). If you choose this laptop, you can transfer files quite fast between the laptop and a portable Thunderbolt 3 SSD, and you can go everywhere with it. This should be the cheapest laptop with Thunderbolt 3 you can find.
Transfer Your Data to the New Thunderbolt 3 Laptop
If you decide to replace your old laptop with a new Thunderbolt 3 laptop, you might need to move your important files, folders, and applications, so you can keep and use them on the new laptop. But how to transfer all your files from an old laptop to a new one at once? You need an external hard drive and a professional tool to copy them.
For the tool, I recommend MiniTool Partition Manager. It's a disk manager that can help you manage your disks and partitions as you wish. Of course, you can use it to clone your whole disk or only the partitions you need to another hard drive.
Thunderbolt 3 Hard Drive Dock
As the new Thunderbolt 3 laptop includes a fresh installed operating system, you just need to copy your non-system partitions. Now, let's download this tool and move your data to your new laptop.
Step 1: Connect your external hard drive to your old laptop and launch MiniTool Partition Wizard and get its main interface.
Step 2: Right-click a partition you want to copy and select Copy. In the pop-up window, select the unallocated space on your external hard drive and click Next.
Step 3: Edit the size and location of the copied partition and click Finish. Then repeat the operations to copy other partitions you need.
Step 4: Click Apply to start copying your partitions.
When the copying process is finished, you can disconnect the external hard drive and then connect it to your new Thunderbolt 3 laptop to copy the partitions to the new laptop. Of course, you can only copy the partitions to the unallocated space on the disk of your new laptop. So, please make sure the disk is large enough to keep all your data.
Bottom Line
What is Thunderbolt 3? How do I choose a laptop with Thunderbolt 3 ports? If you are asking these questions, this post which introduces the top 8 Thunderbolt 3 laptops might be helpful for you. If you are planning to replace your old laptop with a new one, don't forget to transfer your data.
You can share your ideas with us by posting them in the following comment section. If you encounter problems while using MiniTool software, please don't hesitate to contact us by sending an email to [email protected].
Thunderbolt 3 Laptops FAQ
For those who chose a MacBook over an ordinary laptop must be short for some storage space, right? Well, upgrading storage space through apple is as costly as purchasing a new laptop. In this case, an external hard drive is less expensive and beneficial for storage requirements.
You can switch your external hard drive from a Mac to a pc which makes data transfer for two different OS easier. Furthermore, external hard disks are less likely to get corrupted and are portable in nature.
Macbooks generally have SSDs which are capable of loading a program quickly but more likely to low on storage.
Furthermore, SSDs are quite costly and upgrading an SSD on a Macbook is definitely costlier than you could even imagine. An external hard drive is best for storing data such as photos, videos, movies, rendered projects and more.
Contents
- 1 Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2021
- 1.3 3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
- 1.4 4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
- 1.5 5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
- 1.6 6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
- 1.7 7. Adata SD700 External SSD
- 1.8 8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
- 1.9 9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
- 1.10 10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
- 2 What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
- 3 External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2021
Although choosing an external hard drive is a complicated process but we have made a list of 10 best external hard drives for Mac that you should consider before your final decision.
1. Samsung Portable SSD T5
Starting off Samsung Portable SSD T5 which is an outstanding storage device, it can reach up to a speed of 550 MB per second for data transfer which is amazing. You can directly plug it into a USB-C port or USB-A port.
It contains no moving parts therefore chances of getting damaged due to mishandling are less. Even though SSD is costlier than a hard drive, the speed it offers is commendable. You will notice a significant boost in the overall performance while doing stuff that requires you to load large files and programs.
Overall, the SSD is fantastic but only if you can spare a few more bucks than your actual budget. You can get the SSD ranging from 250 GB to 2 TB from Amazon with some additional discounts.
2. Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive
Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive is the newest generation of external hard disks and is available in capacities from 1 TB to up to 4 TB. It offers cloud storage and 256-AES encryption alongside WD's software for backups.
The data transfer speeds won't disappoint you and the drive offers speed similar to what an SSD provides. If you are looking for a drive with good data transfer rate and maximum storage, consider Western Digital My Passport 4TB as a choice.
3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
If you are looking for a reliable, portable, and affordable hard disk, Seagate backup plus slim is the thing you should have a look at. It supports Windows and Mac both and perfect for storing your essential data right away.
3d design com. With the Seagate dashboard backup system, you can schedule backups and never lose your important files anymore. Backup automation can be set for daily, monthly, weekly or your desired time-frequency.
Also Check:
Alongside, Seagate also provides a two-month membership for adobe creative cloud photography plan and a one-year subscription to Mylio create to manage your photo library.
- Affordable price
- Metal body
- Supports USB 3.0
- Comes with an automation backup software
- Doesn't support USB 3.0 cables
4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
This Hard disk is probably for creators and organizations that require a lot of storage for various purposes. Faster data transmission rate will let you transfer data in the meantime, all thanks to USB 3.0 support.
It also offers 256 AES encryption for securing your data and makes sure your personal data is secured in the storage device. Even though it meets the requirements of a regular user, the only thing where Western Digital My Book (8 TB) lacks is portability.
Therefore, if you are looking for a hard disk for work purposes and if portability is not an issue, Western Digital My Book (8 TB) is definitely the right choice.
- High storage
- Data encryption
- Compatible with the time machine
- Requires power source to work
- Not portable
5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt offers data transmission at a speed of twice of what USB 3.0 offers. You can enjoy this feature if your device has a thunderbolt port. Another good thing about Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt is its price. It is affordable and portable.
- Also Check: 10 Best Cooling Pads For MacBook Pro Reviewed
However, it is a hard drive, not a solid-state, therefore, the data transmission will definitely be high but the overall performance of your pc will remain unchanged. Lastly, if you don't have a thunderbolt port in your pc, you can use the traditional USB 3.0 port.
- USB 3.0 port
- Affordable
- Formatted for Mac
- Not a Solid State drive
6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
With the new products, Apple is on its way to completely shift to USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports but there are still some people who are using old hardware and for them, G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB) is going to work like a charm.
The body of the HDD is made up of metal which makes it durable and strong against accidents such as dropping off the drive on the floor or whatnot. It runs at a speed of 7200 RPM and can transfer data at a rate of 195 MB/s which is efficient for transferring music, videos and software.
- Metallic body for durability
- High data transmission rate
- USB 3.0
- Should be reformatted for Windows OS
7. Adata SD700 External SSD
Adata SD700 is an affordable External SSD which is IP68 rated which certainly makes it a water-resistant storage device. The overall performance of this SSD is commendable and as per our research, Adata SD700 External SSD is the only SSD with an IP68 rating.
You can expect faster transfer rates and better booting speed if you are planning to install an OS on the SSD. Don't worry about the storage space as it is available in 1 TB capacity also. The maximum read and write speed is up to 440 MB/S, all thanks to the USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface.
- Lightweight and portable
- Shock resistant
- Supports Android, Mac, and Windows
- 3 years of Warranty
- Mac users must format it to FAT32 to use this product
8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk can be distinguished easily because of its unique rubber casing that makes sure your hard drive doesn't get damaged when it drops from up to 1.3 m height. It can withstand rain, dust and can even survive 1-ton pressure. This is certainly the best choice for content creators.
Alongside hard disk, you will also get access to a one-month subscription to Adobe creative cloud all apps plan. The company also provides 3 years of warranty for the device and will also help you to restore the data if lost.
Also Check:
In terms of speed, Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk is not very fast as it provides only 120 MB/s which is comparatively lesser than the HDDs mentioned in this listicle. However, there are various variants available for this hard disk on Amazon.
- Durability
- Affordable
- Resistant to water
- Lesser data transmission speed
9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
Samsung never disappoints with its amazing hardware capabilities. With Samsung X5, you can transfer data at a rate of 2,300 MB/s which is the fastest speed an SSD can provide you. The build quality is super amazing as it is made up of metal, making it stronger than storage disks that are made up of plastic bodies.
The shock-resistant capability can save up your drive from a fall of 2 meters. Alongside this, it comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology that is ideal for faster data transfer of up to 40 GB per second which is unbelievable. You can take full advantage of this SSD on your MacBook or Macbook pro without having to format anything.
- High data transmission rate
- Supports thunderbolt 3
- Shock-resistant up to 2 meters
- Heats up really quick
- Comparatively expensive than the other disks
10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
In terms of flexibility, Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive is really good as it supports both Mac and windows out of the box. The disk doesn't get damaged due to dust and water which is again a positive point.
It encrypts the user data at 256 bit AES security which additionally makes everything on the drive, secure. Overall, it is a great drive for Mac owners as well as windows owners too.
- Secure for handling user data
- Protects from water and dust
- Low-speed data transfer
Thunderbolt Hard Drive
What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
So those were some of the best external hard disk drive solutions for Mac. However, you must be confused about which external HDD to choose. But not to worry, let me just point some of the key factors that you need to consider while buying an external hard drive:
1. Storage
One of the first and the most important thing that you need to consider is the storage space of your external HDD. As you already know that Macbook does not come with a huge space. Hence, you better choose something which offers you enough space to store all your files.
For many users, 1 TB of space should be good enough. But if you need to store a huge number of files and save them for a longer period of time, then getting 2TB of HDD would be an ideal choice.
Apart from 1TB and 2TB of storage options, you can also consider getting huge storage options like 4TB. But for a day to day work, 4TB of HDD does not help much. Also, they are quite expensive.
2. Transfer speed
After the storing capacity, transfer speed is the second most important thing that you have to consider. You don't want to get an external hard disk drive for Mac, which takes too long to copy files. Instead, you need something that can get the job done as quickly as possible.
So the first thing that you must do is avoid USB 2.0 powered external HDD. As they are outdated and not fast enough. Instead, you should get an external HDD with USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1 or USB 3.2 Gen 1. All of these are capable of offering an exceptional transfer speed. On the other hand, I would like to recoomend you to buy the best external SSD for Mac that offers good transfer speed.
3. Compatibility
The next thing you need to check its compatibility. External HDD formatted for Windows 10 may have connectivity issues with Mac OS and vise versa. So since you are using a Mac powered machine, I would recommend you to get an external HDD with Mac OS compatibility.
Although there is no need to focus on the compatibility part way too much. Since you can always format your external HDD using a Windows Computer with exFat Format. So you can easily use the HDD with your Macbook. But yes, if you get a pre compatible external hard disk drive then it saves you from extra work and headaches that you have to face.
4. Security
If you are someone who takes security really seriously, then you must look for security features. Most of the manufacturers do ship security software and backup software. So you can easily encrypt your drive or take a backup of it. Even, if you don't consider the encryption feature, the backup feature is something that you must and should consider.
Even to make sure your HDD stays safe, they use strong casing from physical damage. So you can consider getting such external hard disk drives that save you from every side.
External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
Whenever it comes to a primary storage solution for computers, HDD and SSD's are the only solutions we have. However, in the last couple of years, the usage of HDD has dropped drastically, and people are not moving to SSD's for better performance.
But there are quite a lot of users who are still unaware of the difference between a hard disk drive and a solid state drive or SSD.
However, not to worry, let me just draw a quick difference between both and help you to understand better.
1. Storage Capacity
HDD's are a great option if you want something for storage. HDD's are available in a wide range of storage capacities from 500GB to 12 TB. Even, for enterprise uses, you will find a large capacity of HDDs.
SSDs are also available with large capacities. However, when it comes to the costs of an SSD and an HDD, SSDs are quite expensive. Hence, if your main goal is to store a huge amount of data, HDD is an ideal choice.
2. Speed
Whenever it comes to speed, SSDs are a better option. Since a hard disk drive uses a round plate with a layer of magnetic material. And the data is stored on this magnetic layer only. So the disk spins and the magnetic head is used for reading and writing data.
Also, the speed that the disk spins is measured in RPM. And on average, an HDD has about 5,400 RPM, and it will have a read/write speeds of around 100 MB/s.
However, when it comes to SSD's, there are no moving parts. As a result, it offers you a much faster data transfer rate. On average, it offers you around 550 MB/s and 520 MB/s of data transfer rate.
3. Reliability & Durability
There are quite a lot of factors that determine the lifespan of drivers. However, you should know that an SSD can sustain a limited number of write cycles compared to HDD which has no read/write limits.
But you should know that SSD has a write cycle limit between 3000 and 10,000 which is a high number. So it would not be a problem for you.
Also, SSD's are lesser affected by any sort of damages compared to HDD. Since there are no moving parts in SSD, they tend to survive more. While HDD's might stop working if it encounters any physical damage.
3. Cost
Finally, let's talk about pricing. Well, if you look at the cost of both HDD and SSD, you would happily pick up an HDD. Why? Because SSD's are expensive. When you choose an HDD, you will get a large amount of capacity for a lesser price. But on the other hand, if you choose an SSD, it would cost you 3-5x of an HDD price.
In the end, the conclusion is HDD's are a better option when it comes to storing data. Of course, SSD's are faster and more reliable. But they do come with a high price. But on the other hand, if you take care of your HDD in a good manner, it will offer you great performance for years.
Wrapping it up:
So, these were the 10 best external hard drives for Macbook Air and Pro. Every disk mentioned in this article has its own pros and cons, we have tried our best to list out the good and bad in every product. For Mac users, external SSD can be really helpful for storing content and transferring it to a different place.
Related posts:
