External Hard drive?

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Level 1

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External Hard drive?

Here is my problem. I am a film-maker who uses final cut pro X. if you don't already know, final cut takes up a tremendous amount of space on my computer due to its backups, templates, etc... I would like to know the most efficient way to store files outside my computer(Macbook pro 13in. late 2015). If someone could tell me what brand hard drive is efficient and reliable, I would be very thankful. Also, any other storage suggestions would be helpful.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 3, 2016 3:16 PM

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Answer 1

Russ H

Level 7

22,432 points

Jan 4, 2016 8:09 AM in response to UltraMinkey

I can't offer useful comments on what drives are most reliable. A lot of stuff is posted about good/bad experiences with this brand vs that brand, but my view is that all drives tend to fail – at the worst possible time – regardless of the brand. So FWIW, back up – ideally 2X.

Store your libraries on a non-system drive. When you import, you are presented with a number of options. I would copy the media to someplace outside the library (to a location on a non-system drive) unless you're going to be working on multiple computers. Don't optimize media or create Proxies. If you have playback issues, you can always transcode later from the Browser.

Russ

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Answer 2

Jan 3, 2016 4:51 PM in response to UltraMinkey

OK, I'll bite:

I started editing using FCPX on an early MBP 2011 and used a handful of FW800 drives for external, non-live storage and an internal 750GB drive for any active editing via an OWC Optibay. Also had an aftermarket 128GB SSD installed in the system drive.
All backups were managed using a variety of Western Digital MyBook using Time Machine.
Upgraded to iMac 5K in 2014 and bit the bullet - moved to G-RAID Studio via ThunderBolt II by G-Technology.
Initially bought a G-RAID Studio 6TB and configured in RAID 1 which worked OK but limited performance to 50% of the claimed spec.
Snapped up a second G-RAID Studio 8TB this year and configured in RAID 0 for performance in lieu of redundancy.
Both G-RAIDs are backed up on a 6TB Western Digital MyBook via USB3 using Time Machine that I swap on a semi-regular basis with a twin 6TB Western Digital MyBook stored offsite (neither G-RAID units are full so this works).

Once my project work dies down, I plan to:

Reverse the G-RAID Studio roles to take advantage of space (8TB becomes 4TB RAID 1, and 6TB becomes 6TB RAID 0).
Upgrade my Time Machine drives to 8TB Seagate drives to prevent me running out of space.
Find another use for my 6TB Western Digital drives (they make for good secondary backups or for providing raw video to clients).

Further to the comments that Russ had, I never edit on my System volume and always ensure I'm cutting with ProRes 422 to keep things moving along nice and smooth.

Hope that helps!

Ryan

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