M4 Mac Mini Storage

[formal granite]

is this a good website to buy a 1TB SSD? I currently have 256gb and I urgently need to increase the storage

https://m4boosthub.com/products/1tb-drive-for-mac-mini-m4

ive seen expandmacmini but its £300 and im trying to find cheaper without compromising on reliability

[kindred musk]

Why don't you use an external drive instead?

[formal granite]

i want to download games & i dont want the file speed to be slow

i have a dongle that has the ability to have an SD card

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07RRPS5NT?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

[kindred musk]

That wouldn't be an issue with the right drive. and wouldn't void warranties etc. I personally use a docking station with a 4TB Nv.me drive inside of it, but any good external SSD like the Samsung T9 woudl work very well plugged into the high speed ports on the back of the mac mini, e.g., https://a.co/d/3EAQZAz

[formal granite]

so if I buy this would it be like using the internal storage?

[little kettle]

What are you planning on doing on the drive?

The T9's speed is more than enough for me,

[formal granite]

I would have a few games downloaded, and then just computer usage stuff with files, images, etc

[little kettle]

You should be absolutely fine with the T9.

You can run them off the SSD.

[formal granite]

would it just be in an external folder or would it appear in downloads like usual

[little kettle]

It will be in a separate file storage.

[formal granite]

does it not appear on the desktop at all? would steam be able to launch games on the drive?

[little kettle]

I'm not familiar with Steam, but for other applications, it doesn't have a dedicated "file" storage in MacOS. You can run applications anywhere on a drive.

[formal granite]

but say I had filled the 256gb would it automatically move to the drive or do i need to move jt

im just unsure about if it would still be like using internal storage

[little kettle]

No, it's more of a separate file storage.

You will need to clear some files and transfer it to the SSD.

[scenic igloo]

you will have to unintall the game

then when you press on install

you can choose where its downloaded and installled to

[formal granite]

can i not drag and drop

[scenic igloo]

yes you can

[kindred musk]

I have the setting turned on so that large apps get installed to the external drive by default