Fantom Drives Extreme 2TB External SSD - 2800MB/s, Thunderbolt 3 and 4, USB Type-C, Aluminum, 3D NAND TLC, TB3X-2300N2TB

Backed up MacBook Air in half the time of older drives. Also someone had asked if it came with a cable and I miss spoke, there was a short ~6 thunderbolt cable in the box.

I use this drive as primary storage for RAW photo files to improve the access and speed when working with photo editing software like Luminar or Aurora HDR. Before getting this Fantom FD Extreme drive, I used a Seagate USB 3 external drive, so opening images and switching from one saved template to another in order to compare photo looks would take 25-30 seconds. The lag time was so limiting that I had gotten into the habit of just moving the one file I was working on to my internal Mac SSD drive to make the comparison/toggling faster. Compared to the internal SSD speed, this drive is nearly as fast in accessing/editing files using a Thunderbolt connection [using unscientific counting, I would get to roughly one thousand one (~1 sec) on internal, and one thousand one, one thousand... (~1.5 sec) on the Fantom (versus the 30 seconds on a USB). Great purchase!

Wow - this fast SSD gave me a brand new 2017 iMac. Cant believe I waited to do this.

Its pricey but works well for my needs.

Very fast, but the include cable is just too short.

I purchased this because I didn’t like the idea of having my personal information on the internal drive of my Mac Mini - because that SSD is a permanent part of the motherboard. If you have to send your computer off to be repaired, everything that is on the internal drive will likely become the property of the person fixing it. Therefore, I don’t like keeping that information trapped on that drive. This is the same for any MacBook as well. I configured this as a bootable drive, and it works every bit as well as the internal SSD. In fact, this drive benchmarks essentially with identical specs as the OEM Apple internal 1TB SSD. TB3 is fantastic. I imagine you can install another drive in the enclosure as well. There are numerous 3rd gen drives that are faster and have better MTBF numbers than the WD Black, although it’s a proven and reliable drive in its own right.

I bought this compact SSD for use as the Time Machine backup drive for my 2021 M1Max MacBook Pro laptop/notebook computer. I have only used it three times so far, but it seems to work great; definitely a lot faster than the external hard drive that I had been using for the same purpose previously. This SSD is roughly the same size as a deck of playing cards, but surprisingly heavy for its small size. Naturally, I wish it cost a hundred dollars less, but so far I am quite pleased with it. It is worth noting the Thunderbolt cable that comes with this SSD is quite short, so it works fine if you will only place the SSD on a desk or table right next to your computer, but otherwise you would want to get a high-quality Thunderbolt cable with more length.

Right out of the box, this drive actually appears to exceed the manufacturer’s quoted performance metrics for sequential read and writes speeds. Was a pleasant surprise! It is literally a solid chunk of black metal. Very high quality physical fit and finish with very high quality performance. It’s about the size of a deck of cards but feels heavy and solid in the hand. Mine stays put, tucked away just out of sight on top of my iMac Pro’s base. Using this drive as primary cache/scratch media storage for an iMac Pro assistant station in a post-production facility. It runs at 90%+ capacity, 24/7 and the performance and reliability have been absolutely top notch. Makes 4K DPX and EXR image sequences feel like ProRes on an edit timeline.

I am not one to give bad reviews normally... But I bought two drives from Fantom. A 2Tb and a 4TB. I have had NO problem with the 2TB drive but am having issues with the 4TB drive. It keeps disconnecting from my Mac and sometimes even my restarts my computer. I contacted Fantom and they said it was approved for replacement. There was some delay due to them moving buildings, so it took longer than anticipated. That wasnt a big issue. The bigger issue is that they said they couldnt duplicate the issue. We went back and forth a few times, through email, and they said that it was approved for replacement anyway. When I got it back, it was formatted APFS Case Sensitive, which is fine but this was not the way it was formatted from the factory. I did this when I bought the drive. I also called the drive FD. This drive was also called FD. (I cannot recall what it was called brand new for either of my two drives). Im convinced that this was not replaced and they sent me the same one back mainly because Im seeing the same issues I had with the one I sent back for replacement within 24 hours of using the drive. I have 4 other drives connected to this computer and dont have any issues. Even when I sent the 4TB Fantom back for replacement, I connected my 2TB Fantom and it had been working flawless. Once the 4TB came back, I disconnected the 2TB and put the 4TB in its place. I have, once again, responded back to the email to see if they will really replace this time. I will update this review accordingly once I get the response back.

Set the FD drive up for my new Time Machine to my mid 2020 iMac Thunderbolt 3. Just plug and go. Fast! Had to use it to restore my iMac after a memory failure required a complete wipe disc, and reinstall Big Sur. Getting my apps and data that use 400gb was quick! Less than 20 minutes. Getting another one for expansion. My iMac only has a 500gb SSD.