Cold Email Automation Tool for SaaS Companies, 5 Compared

The best cold email automation tool for SaaS companies depends on one question: do you already have a clean list of prospects? If you do, I would start with Instantly or Smartlead. If you don't, I would start with Apollo, because the data and the sending live in one account. Quick answer You have a list, one sender: Instantly or Smartlead. You need leads too: Apollo. A sales team shares the tool: lemlist Email, which lists unlimited users. You want LinkedIn and calls: lemlist Multichannel or Reply. Budget beyond the plan: mailboxes and domains cost extra, so add them before you compare. The real risk: your list and your domain, not the tool. Gmail's rules say not to mail people who never signed up. Cold email tools compared on price I read each official pricing page on November 3, 2026. These are the prices shown there on monthly billing. Yearly billing costs less on all five. I haven't used these tools, so this is a comparison of published plans, not...
Post a Comment

How to Format an External SSD, exFAT vs NTFS vs APFS

Quick answer
  • Use the default allocation unit size. How-To Geek notes you probably will not notice a difference in speed with a modern drive, and the default is tuned to the drive size.
  • Pick the file system by where you use the drive: exFAT for Windows and Mac, NTFS for Windows only, APFS for Mac only.
  • Formatting erases everything on the drive. Back up first.

You may have seen advice to set an exact allocation unit size, such as 4KB for small files or 32KB for media, to speed up an external SSD. In practice, the file system you choose matters much more than the cluster size, and for most people the default is right. This guide explains what allocation unit size is, when changing it makes sense, and how to format an external SSD in Windows 11 or on a Mac.

1. What Allocation Unit Size Means

What allocation unit size means for an external SSD

Allocation unit size, also called cluster size, is the smallest chunk of space the file system uses to store a file. A bigger unit wastes more space on small files, but needs fewer lookups for very large ones.

How-To Geek explains that, on average, each file wastes about half an allocation unit, so 100,000 files with a 4KB unit waste around 200 MB. On a modern SSD that is negligible.

A good portable SSD saves time on backups and large transfers.
See portable SSDs on Amazon →
My take (20 years in IT): Decide where the drive will be used before you format it. Pick exFAT if it moves between Windows and Mac, NTFS for Windows only, or APFS for Mac only.

2. Choose the File System First

Comparing exFAT, NTFS and APFS for an external SSD
File systemWorks onGood for
exFATWindows and MacSharing one drive between both systems; large files
NTFSWindows (Mac can usually read only)Windows-only use and Windows features
APFSMacMac-only drives, especially SSDs
FAT32Almost everythingSmall drives and older devices; 4 GB file limit

3. Default Allocation Unit Sizes

Default allocation unit sizes for NTFS and exFAT
  • NTFS: 4KB for volumes from 7 MB to 16 TB, and 8KB from 16 TB to 32 TB.
  • exFAT: the default grows with drive size, so a large external SSD gets a large default unit.
  • How-To Geek’s advice: use the default that Windows recommends when you format.
  • If you store mostly very large files, a larger unit can improve storage efficiency. If you store many small files, keep the default.
Narrowing it down? Prices and availability change often, so check the current listing.
NVMe SSD enclosures →

4. How to Format in Windows 11

Steps to format an external drive in Windows 11
  • Back up your data. Formatting erases the drive.
  • Open File Explorer, right-click the drive, and choose Format.
  • Pick the File system, leave Allocation unit size on Default, and keep Quick Format checked.
  • Select Start, then confirm the warning.

5. How to Format on a Mac

Steps to format an external drive on a Mac
  • Open Disk Utility and choose View, Show All Devices.
  • Select the disk and click Erase.
  • For a drive used with Windows and Mac, Apple says choose exFAT if the disk is over 32 GB, or MS-DOS (FAT) if it is 32 GB or less.
  • Choose APFS if the drive is only for Mac. Name the volume and click Erase.
Ready to compare options? Prices and availability change often, so check the current listing.
10 Gbps USB-C cables →
My take (20 years in IT): Copy anything you need off the drive first, because formatting erases everything. Then leave the allocation unit size at the default, as the post advises.

Frequently Asked Questions

What allocation unit size should I use for an external SSD?

Use the default. It is chosen for the drive size, and the speed difference from changing it is small on modern drives.

Is exFAT or NTFS better?

Use exFAT if you move the drive between Windows and Mac. Use NTFS if it only connects to Windows.

Does quick format wipe the data?

Quick format erases the file index so the drive looks empty. The data can sometimes be recovered, so use a full format or secure erase if you are giving the drive away.

Will a bigger unit make my SSD faster?

Not noticeably for most uses. A bigger unit mostly changes how much space small files waste.

Related Guides

Resources

Last updated: October 22, 2026.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Core Ultra 9 285K vs Core i9-14900K for Gaming in 2026

Image
Quick answer In 2026 the better Intel buy is usually the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus, not the 285K or the 14900K. Back2Gaming found it essentially matches the 285K in productivity for about $290 less. For pure gaming, AMD’s X3D chips still lead. Back2Gaming reports the Ryzen 7 9800X3D wins by 20 to 50 percent in some titles. At 4K, the graphics card is usually the limit and CPU differences shrink to about 5 to 10 percent . When Intel’s Core Ultra 200S launched in 2024, early tests showed it trailing the Core i9-14900K in many games, and a comparison between them was popular. Two years later the situation has changed. Intel released the Core Ultra 200S Plus refresh in March 2026, the 14900K sits on a dead-end socket, and AMD’s X3D chips set the gaming bar. This guide explains where each chip fits now. Helpful to have from this guide: DDR5 memory See DDR5 memory on Amazon → As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 1. What Changed in 2026 Intel unveiled the Core Ultra 20...
Read more

How to Connect Two or More Monitors to an M1 MacBook

Image
Quick answer A standard M1 or M2 MacBook (and the MacBook Neo) natively supports only one external monitor. M1 Pro supports two, and M1 Max supports four. To add more screens on a base M1, you need a DisplayLink or InstantView dock plus a free driver. A simple HDMI splitter will not give you separate screens. The trade-offs are a 60Hz refresh cap, a small amount of latency, and no HDCP-protected streaming on those extra screens. You bought an M1 MacBook, plugged in a second monitor, and found that macOS will not let you extend to both. That is not a setting you missed. It is a hardware limit of the base chip. The good news is that a USB graphics dock can work around it. This guide explains which MacBooks have the limit, how the workaround works, which docks Macworld tested, and what you give up. 1. How Many Monitors Your MacBook Supports Macworld explains that Apple’s lower-end MacBooks with a standard M1 or M2 chip cannot natively connect more than one external monitor. The Mac...
Read more