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Forum Discussion
Disaster: Dropbox removing external disk support for Mac users :(
In case anyone's unaware... if you're a Mac user storing your Dropbox on an external drive, you'll shortly lose that ability. https://talk.tidbits.com/t/dropbox-drops-support-for-storing-files-on...
You can install the entire Mac OS on an external SSD drive. Why not do that and then run apps, like Dropbox, off of it too?
You can install the entire Mac OS on an external SSD drive. Why not do that and then run apps, like Dropbox, off of it too?
Why not start with that even the best external Thunderbolt drives are significantly slower than SOC SSD throughputs? My M1 Max's real world internal SSD speeds are ~3400 MB/s write and ~3000 read. A fairly pricey TB4 Sandisk G-Drive SSD manages ~2400 MB/s read/write. Change that to a USB-C Sandisk "Extreme" or Lexar "Professional" SL-600 drive and I get throughputs of ~1000 write and ~750 read maximum. Modern MacOS is designed to be booted off a fast, reliable SSD, and a jiggling cable is a huge fail point, end of story.
Running all projects off the boot drive is not desirable for us. Our Sonnet 4x4 PCIe cards with nvme drives give over 3'000 MB/s (JBOD) and 11'700 MB/s (RAID) speeds, but are seen as external. No 'jiggling cable'.
I am hoping Dropbox will find a solution asap. The current situation paralyses our updates and upgrades.
"Well good for you but that should not prevent Dropbox from offering larger individual Pro plans."
I have nothing against larger individual Pro plans.
I am saying we want to continue using Dropbox on external drives. (You don't have to). The boot drive is busy with application and system files.
Using NVMe m.2 drives on PCIe is equal or faster than the boot drive. See my post above. No cables.
While some may prefer not to use the boot drive for all projects, this shouldn't limit Dropbox from offering more substantial individual Pro plans. The demand for larger storage solutions is evident, and the market has room to accommodate various needs. Considering the trend of decreasing prices and expanding storage capacities, many users likely appreciate the simplicity of managing a single 8TB or 16TB local drive. This approach often surpasses the complexity and setup challenges associated with external drives or specialized hardware like the Sonnet 4x4 PCIe card, or NAS etc. especially for those who are less tech-savvy (99% of the market).
Moreover, a decisive advantage is that on my Mac, I can seamlessly use Time Machine for comprehensive and real-time backups, in addition to Dropbox. This setup makes my system not only straightforward but also exceptionally secure at all times. I don't want to deviate from that setup which would add unneeded to something simple and straightforward: a Mac and Dropbox.
Well everybody thinks they have the answer. Find me a Mac with a 16 TB internal drive or more that will host all my video projects that I'm working on currently. Maybe then you'll have a point.
How about understanding others workflows before trying to solve it.
And have you seen the prices Apple is charging for large internal SSD?"My M1 Max's real world internal SSD speeds are ~3400 MB/s write and ~3000 read. A fairly pricey TB4 Sandisk G-Drive SSD manages ~2400 MB/s read/write."
"Modern MacOS is designed to be booted off a fast, reliable SSD, and a jiggling cable is a huge fail point, end of story."
This, exactly brother! As a freelance working with high-end clients in music production, HD movie production etc... I have no time to waste on external hard drives! Even Sandisk aren't even close to M1/M2/M3 Mac's internal SSD speeds of ~3400 MB/s write and ~3000 read. And the cables are also not an option for me. I want everything on my Mac locally for SPEED and CONVENIENCE purpose of having EVERYTHING at disposable ON A SINGLE DISK.
Totally happy with my current M1 8TB Mac and will upgrade to M4 when they're out (and probably 16TB SSD on MBPs in a near future). The only thing that is letting me down currently is Dropbox, since it only offers 3TB to Professionals (+1TB only extra). I'm short of 4TB. Shame on you Dropbox for not offering such a simple feature as adding +4/X TB extra and take our money... ridiculous!!
