Does downloading to an external drive reduce internal drive read/write cycles?
Just wondering, can read/write cycles on a Macbook's internal SSD be avoided by downloading files from the internet to an external hard drive?
I'm not sure how macOS handles this so I'm wondering:
- Does downloaded file content go directly to the external drive, or does it pass through a cache or similar buffer on the SSD first?
- Does the method of calling the download matter? For example, initiating download via Safari, via a download manager, via terminal?
- Aside from the problem slower speed of downloading resulting from the slower read/write rate of the external drive, would downloading to the external drive help in the lifecycle of the SSD or is this a pretty useless way of preserving it?
Thank you
Solution 1:
Your questions:
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It goes directly to the folder specified in Safari's General preferences. Verified using FSMonitor.
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Yes, it will depend on the application being used. There is no common preference for Safari, a download manager, or
wget. -
It is pretty useless way of preserving it. Most of the activity on the boot/system SSD is apps, preferences, system services - nearly everything uses that SSD and all day long.
For a while I had my ~/Downloads on an external SSD, but realised this was stupid as most downloads need to be copied (slower than moving) to /Applications or ~/Documents which are on my internal SSD.
My internal 512GB SSD is nearly 3 years old and still has 96% of its life remaining - measured via its SMART values. My external SSD (same age) has 99% remaining.
I hope that goes some way to persuading you not to over think the life of the SSD.