What is the expected durability of a Mac mini (2020) flash storage? I just bought a new Mac Mini (2020) with 512 GB flash storage.
As the flash storage of this model is soldered to the Mainboard this means to me if the flash fails the Mac mini will be dead. As this Mac is used for tasks require heavy disk usage (I expect about 2-4 TB per month) I tried to find out what maximum write load the Apple SSD is supposed to have.
Retail SSDs for PCs usually have a maximum Terabytes Written value indicating a supposed maximum write load they should be able to handle. Does such a value also exists for the integrated SSDs of a Mac mini?
Where can I find those values for the integrated Mac mini SSD - model number &quot;APPLE SSD AP0512M&quot;?
I've had my 2018 Mac mini with 512 GB since November 2018 (around 580 days). According to DriveDx, the on-board SSD has been powered on for 28 days, despite the fact that the Mac has been switched on almost permanently.
The drive has written a total of 17,1 TB of data, according to the SMART data from DriveDx. I've heard 300-600 TBW bandied about as a typical SSD lifespan. (300 for the blade on a 2014 MBP; 600 for a 2018 Samsung EVO NVMe.) In which case, I've used about 0.06% - 0.03% of the drive's writes.
So it should last me 26-52 years. You may be able to extrapolate a result based on your own usage.
If you are expecting to write 8 times the disk's size every month, then using a larger external drive, which can be replaced more cheaply if necessary, may be a safer/better option.