WoW is the only game I play on my Mac. Other than that it’s just for YouTube/twitch browsing. Wondering if the 256 base storage model will be enough or if it will be filled up due to game size and system storage.
I have the M2 MacBook Air 256gb. And only play WoW. I have about 10% free space for applications. It is pretty tight. I had to delete some stuff at one point.
I would recommend at least 512GB for that extra cushion of space.
I know Apple over charges on the storage options and of course you can always get external drive.
^ a good plan if you really want is to have enough base storage for OS and system apps and solid fast external storage for most other stuff.
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Any recommendations for an external? And how does that work exactly? You just plug it into the MacBook and whatever is on it is available for use?
You could go for this one as it should work with your thunderbolt ports. If all you’re going to put on there is WoW, the 480 GB version will easily suffice. Otherwise the 1 TB version is the “sweet spot” if you intend to have a lot of stuff on the external other than just WoW.
OWC is pretty good with compatibility with Macs, and this external can work with either Macs or Windows PCs, and apparently even iDevices as well.
What about SanDisk? Looks like they have a 500GB USB-C one for $80, half the price of OWC.
Could you link that one? You can put in a URL if you don’t have trust level 3 by enclosing it in between two ` (grave) marks like so:
`https://www.apple.com`That will produce a non-clickable text version like so:
https://www.apple.com
https://a.co/d/0zIDJQj
Depending on which firmware this has, it may have problems on the MacBook Air M2. You can try this one, but the ideal (and most compatible with Apple’s modern Macs) is a thunderbolt based drive.
You can try the SanDisk drive, but you’re likely going to be playing firmware lottery with that and your specific system.
Edit: After reading the negative Amazon reviews it appears that this drive has a plethora of problems with M-Series Macs. I’d steer clear of it.
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Okay, thank you for the replies.
Being that 211GB of 256GB of my laptop is used up (143 of that being WoW), if I use an external HDD will my computer run better?
In the end, yes, having an external will allow the system to run better overall and extend the life of the internal SSD, which once it fails, means the machine is entirely useless. In an ideal world you’d use a powered thunderbolt enclosure (with its own SSD or one you put in it) thereby avoiding potential bus powered issues. However, those are prohibitively expensive for no good reason other than sheer greed (wall warts don’t cost that much vs. the markup you pay). That’s the reason I suggested the one I did since it’s designed for both thunderbolt and USB-C (USB-C is an alt mode for thunderbolt controllers).
Pure USB-C drives like the SanDisk aren’t the greatest when paired with M-series Macs it would seem. I’ve no doubt part of that is the bus powered part of the equation as much as it is the firmware side of the equation. And the next closest comparable drive, the Samsung T7/T9 series has its own issues, almost certainly pertaining to being bus powered. USB-C power delivery is relatively finnicky vs. it being an almost bang-on standard part of the thunderbolt spec. This is especially true if it is an ASMedia USB-C controller for some reason, not that Renasas is much better.
I wish I had more options, but honestly thunderbolt is likely the safer bet here given the problems the purely USB-C drives have.
Hate to be “that guy” but I am going to share my experience. I will agree the advice above is not incorrect but sometimes people go a little overboard on minor things
I am running WoW on an M4 base Mac mini w 256 GB. I put WoW on my external drive. I had a spare 2.5" usb-c case from couple of years ago I used on my 2018 Mini. I put in a 2.5" 480 GB Sata SSD that has seen time with with both minis, plus put in my PC as a secondary drive for running alternate operating systems.
It just works fine. No disconnects or any other issues. It is 2 screws (screwdriver was included - really small screws), the drive plugs in 1 way (no cables it’s a hard mount) & slides back together
the case today is $19.99
https://www.microcenter.com/product/485229/inland-25-aluminum-hard-drive-enclosure-with-usb-31-type-c
A better than mine 512 HDD is $35:
https://www.microcenter.com/product/659868/inland-professional-512gb-ssd-3d-tlc-nand-sata-30-6-gbps-25-inch-7mm-internal-solid-state-drive
Yes you most likely should get a proper TB drive with a PS & spend almost as much as your computer but this does work for me & hasn’t had any issues