Thanks Joe, final question while waiting for Mini to come:
All my 3 externals HD are TypeA. The mini only has two Type A ports -- and one will be for Type A hub. (other ports are thunderbolt/ usb 4 right) What think idea, (if possible/ exist), of getting a Type A to USB 4 or Thunderbolt. coverter, so at least the all external hardrives are going direct into computer (as they are all now) and not into a Hub.
Currently: Main data external, back up for that external, TM, and Hub going direct back of 27" -- 4 things, 3 hardrive and one Hub cord directly into back of 27"
In general I like your idea...
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but.... (you knew I would have a but didn't you)
- I had mixed results with USB 3.x devices connected to one of the Thunderbolt 4 ports using USB 3.x cables. It wasn't until I switched to a certified Thunderbolt 4 cable and a USB Type C female to USB A male adapter that I was able to achieve a reliable connection. To be honest, once I realized I could always get a reliable connection to almost any USB device using Thunderbolt 4 cables, I didn't explore the issue any further, so I have no experience using USB cables with a Type C adapter plugged into a Thunderbolt 4 port.
- Certified Thunderbolt 4 cable is EXPENSIVE and once it goes over three feet in length it gets even more expensive because "active" connectors must be used. (I have had good results with Apple, Anker, OWC, and Cable Matters brands.)
- Discard any connecting cable that is not clearly marked with a specific protocol on the connector or cable itself.
- Use Female Type C to male Type A adapters rated for 3.1 gen 2 It won't make your drives exceed the USB 3.0 speed (5Gbps) but will help assure you get the maximum availalble.
- Your USB 3.0 drives cannot send or receive data fast enough to stress the capability of the protocol, even if all three drives were daisy chained.
- At some point it is likely you will want a Thunderbolt 4 port to support an external SSD.
- It may take some experimentation switching cables, adapters, ports etc. to get everything right and the configuration that works on one of your external drives may or may not work on the others.
(It all depends on how closely the builders adhered to the USB standards and there is a lot of "slop" or wiggle room in the standard.)
RECOMENDATIONS: - Give it a try, but be ready to do some switching around and experimentation to get everything working
- Be sure and use only high quality certified cables and adapters.
- If one of, or more of your drives has two USB A ports, consider daisy-chaining one or more of your drives to keep a Thunderbolt 4 port free on the Mac mini.
- keep your cables as short as practical
