Any advantages using a USB 3.0 SSD and making one?

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Level 7

21,066 points

Any advantages using a USB 3.0 SSD and making one?

1. To save money I am toying with the idea of making a USB 3.0 SSD rather than buying a ready-made one.

It appears it is just a matter of buying a 2.5" SATA SSD and pushing/plugging it into a USB 3.0 hard drive enclosure costing less than £10 . . . a job taking no more than a minute.

Is it really that simple or are there any potential pitfalls?

2. What would be the advantages of using such an SSD and any suggestions on the best way of using it?

Final Cut Pro X, macOS Sierra (10.12.6), 27" 5K iMac, Mac mini i5 2.5GH

Posted on Dec 25, 2017 5:48 AM

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Answer 1

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Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

64,502 points

Dec 25, 2017 1:51 PM in response to Ian R. Brown

I did just that and I am very pleased.

My productions are relatively short so they fit in a smallish SSD. Performance is great even doing multicam and recording in 4K and delivering 1080p.

When done I offload material to a larger HD and use the SSD for the next one.

Pretty great and inexpensive.

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Answer 2

Ian R. Brown Author

Level 7

21,066 points

Dec 25, 2017 1:59 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Thanks Luis.

I assume that you just put the Library on the SSD and all the editing is done on it. Do you also use it as the destination for exporting/sharing a movie or would you share to the boot drive?

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Answer 3

fox_m

Level 6

12,226 points

Dec 28, 2017 4:00 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

I'll second what Luis has posted. I've done the same, a couple of Crucial 2 1/2" internal SSDs put into enclosures. I would recommend that you get enclosures that are UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) compatible. (I think most of them are these days). What's the big deal about UASP? https://blog.startech.com/post/all-you-need-to-know-about-uasp/

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Answer 4

Dec 27, 2017 4:54 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

Ian R. Brown wrote:

Thanks Luis.

I assume that you just put the Library on the SSD and all the editing is done on it. Do you also use it as the destination for exporting/sharing a movie or would you share to the boot drive?

That is a perfectly fine way to do it.

I tend to prefer external media, but there is nothing wrong with having the media inside the library, and store it in the external SSD.

The way I'm working right now, I have the library in the internal, and media in the external.

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Answer 5

Ian R. Brown Author

Level 7

21,066 points

Dec 28, 2017 4:10 AM in response to fox_m

Thanks fox_m. I am getting a Crucial 275GB SSD and an Orico enclosure that supports UASB.

The SSD is due today but the enclosure was ordered separately and was estimated to be here next week!

How frustrating to have a useless SSD.

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Answer 6

Ian R. Brown Author

Level 7

21,066 points

Dec 28, 2017 4:57 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Another question!

If I put an OS such as High Sierra on the SSD/USB3 combination and used it to boot into my old 2012 Mac mini would I see an improvement in performance over the internal HDD spinner?

Finally, I notice that this topic now resides in the iMac Forum . . . I was sure I had posted originally in the FCP X one.

Has it been migrated across or is my memory defective?

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Answer 7

Dec 28, 2017 6:47 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

Your memory is not defective. You did post in the FCP X forum, or I would surely have missed your post.

Sometimes, moderators move posts to a different forum when it appears that they belong elsewhere (possibly by request from higher level users). In this case it seems to be a mistake.

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