jewingy

Q: large external hard drive for fcpx editing

Hi, a two part question:

 

1. I was wondering how people manage their media: is it recommended to store media on an external hdd and reference to it? Or are Libraries & projects also stored on an external drive?

 

2. I have around 4TB of video and would like to purchase a large external hdd that is fast enough for 4k video editing (with proxy or optimised media, single stream, nothing too fancy etc). I just bought the new 5k iMac which has thunderbolt connections.

I read up a lot on thunderbolt vs USB3 speeds, hdd drive speeds, RAIDs etc but am none the wiser. I don't want it to be overkill either.

Would this one be good enough: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BBZ4Q0C/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc =1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Or is it better to use for backup and should I go for the TB version: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FIYJ7LG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc =1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

 

Or would a USB3 be fast enough with a dual RAID0 type drive? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Desktop-External-Drive-WDBLWE0080JCH-EESN/dp/B00L9 0DX04/ref=pd_sim_147_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YFMN75KFN652T20XB40B

 

Price differences are quite extreme and I don't quite know how much of a real difference it would make to my editing.

I did struggle with my 2010 macbook pro and an external 5400rpm portable hard drive so would like to avoid this situation.

Many thanks in advance!

iMac with Retina 5K display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 3, 2016 2:35 AM

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Q: large external hard drive for fcpx editing

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  • by BenB,

    BenB BenB Sep 5, 2016 6:53 AM in response to jewingy
    Level 6 (9,816 points)
    Video
    Sep 5, 2016 6:53 AM in response to jewingy

    For a Promis product, you MUST use the Promise utility to set it up.  Do NOT use the Apple software to do that, you'll have issues.  I've been using Promise RAIDs for more years than I can count.  Definitely use the Promise software to set it up, as Tom says, RAID 5.

     

    The lights on the front of the enclosure will tell you when a drive is failing or has totally failed.  The RAID's response will slow a great deal, also.  You have to match the make/model of the drive, so getting one via Promise could ensure your stability and data safety. 

     

    RAID redundancy is NOT the same as a backup.  If a second drive starts to get unstable at the same time, you lose all your data.  Just be warned.

     

    I actually got an empty P2 four bay Pegasus enclosure, and put my own 4TB drives in it (from my old aluminum case Mac Pro).  But I'm a retired IT engineer.  If you're not comfortable with that, just purchase drives from Promise, you'll be safe.

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