Thunderbolt 5 SSD Project With The Trebleet TB5 Enclosure

Earlier this year I traded in my “old” M1 MacBook Pro on a shiny new M4 MacBook Pro direct from Apple.  In doing so, I opened myself up to a whole new world of speedy, powerful devices thanks to the M4 MacBook Pro’s native support for Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.  Of primary interest was upgrading all my storage devices, which I wrote extensively about earlier this month.  In that article I mentioned a YouTube video I’d seen where they tested a Trebleet Thunderbolt 5 enclosure which was housing a SAMSUNG 990 PRO 4TB SSD.  It was a “DIY” external SSD that looked perfect for my needs for working storage beyond the 1TB internal drive I ordered on my M4 MacBook Pro.  When tested, the Max Tech YouTube channel determined this DIY external SSD was considerably faster than the only other Thunderbolt 5 storage device currently available (OWC Envoy Ultra).  Thunderbolt 5 is just too new so not a lot of supporting devices are  out there.  And since Apple is essentially the only game in town right now for Thunderbolt 5, you’re not looking at huge numbers of owners as compared to the WinTel user base.  So I’m not expecting a flood of  Thunderbolt 5 storage options this year.  With this realization, I placed an order for both the Samsung 4TB SSD and the Trebleet Thunderbolt 5 enclosure.

The Samsung SSD I ordered arrived within just a couple of days, but the Trebleet enclosure was only just out of pre-order and had not yet even started shipping to the US when I placed my order.  So that took a couple of weeks to receive.  Once the closure arrived, I set about the task of assembling my DIY external SSD.  I admit to some trepidation about doing the assembly.  For one thing, it’s wasn’t something I’ve ever done before.  But also, I probably still have scars from 30 years ago of  trying to install ram chips in x86 architecture motherboards (yes, I’m old).  But installing the SSD into the enclosure could not have been easier.  I simply removed the four screws which secured the solid aluminum enclosure and removed the top.  The interior architecture was surprisingly simple and uncomplicated:

Inside the Trebleet Thunderbolt 5 Enclosure. Note the space for air to move and the sizable fan.

Inserting the Samsung SSD into the enclosure was straightforward – just insert into the slot and secure the rear of the SSD via the screw that was in the back of the enclosure case:

Now it was time to see if my DIY external SSD actually worked.  The enclosure has two USB-C style ports – One of which is labeled “PD”  for power delivery, and the other is intended for data transfer.  The second (PD) port is intended to be used when connecting to a device that cannot power to the unit.  Clever.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment with the Trebleet Thunderbolt 5 enclosure is the fact that the only included cable is marked “80 gbps ” – which means it’s likely a USB4 Version 2.0/Thunderbolt 4 cable.  That’s right folks – a Thunderbolt 5 enclsure didn’t include  a cable that supports Thunderbolt 5 in the box, and here’s the speed test to prove it:

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test using the USB-C cable included with the Trebleet Thunderbolt 5 Enclosure

Fortunately I did have the foresight to order a Thunderbolt 5 cable to keep on hand for just such a situation.  I re-ran the speed test and got much better results:

By replacing the included “80 gbps cable with my own Thunderbolt 5 cable, I saw a 1000+MB/S increase in write speed, and a 2000+ MB/S increase in read speed.

The transfer speeds I was getting were pretty close to identical to what MaxTech got when they ran a Disk Speed Test on their unit and is identical if not better than the 1TB internal drive on my M4 MacBook Pro.  Now…finally…I  have a working external drive that should provide an experience indistinguishable from using the internal drive on my MacBook Pro.

The only other negative I’ll mention is the fan noise from that fan inside the enclosure (pictured above).  It’s far from annoying…but you can hear it.  Part of the problem is the rest of my system is dead silent – which sort of unfairly amplifies the noise made by any ancillary devices.  The other related issue is that as long as the Trebleet is plugged in, the fan is running…constantly.  It doesn’t seem to vary in speed.  It just constantly runs.  So sooner or later that little fan is going to wear out if I leave the unit plugged in at all times, which is my plan.  As you can see from the above photos, there’s a lot of empty space in the drive and it’s well ventilated on both sides of the enclosure.  So I really question the necessity of a fan.  I could see perhaps needing one under hard usage where the temperature might spike, In which case a smarter design that could measure the internal temperature and modulate the fan speed accordingly would be much better.

Obviously the  SAMSUNG 990 PRO 4TB SSD is fantastic, but would I recommend the Trebleet Thunderbolt 5 enclosure?  Given the lack of choices in the market right now, it’s hard not to.  Clearly going this DIY route is going to be better than buying the OWC Envoy Ultra.  It’s faster, cheaper (by about $100.00 as of this writing) and upgradeable.  If down the road I decide I want to jump up to 8TB of external storage, it’s no problem – just buy an 8TB SSD and install it in the enclosure.  Done.  But I suspect that in later part of 2025 we’ll start to see some competition for this Trebleet – something with an included Thunderbolt 5 cable would be a welcome.  And perhaps a better, quieter fan?  Or none at all?  I look forward to seeing what else the market brings, but I’m reasonably pleased with my choices for this project.