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CC268
CC268
Inspiring
September 12, 2018
Question

Internal or External SSD for editing?

  • September 12, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 12304 views

Hey guys,

I've been doing a lot of research on how to optimize my storage for video editing (without spending a fortune). I originally built this PC for gaming, so I only have one 250GB SSD and a 1TB WD Blue HD. See here if interested: https://pcpartpicker.com/b/bcnnTW

I found this video and their subsequent article to be very informative: Optimizing Storage for Premiere Pro - YouTube

I notice a lot of people are editing off of an external SSD instead of an internal one. Why is this? A typical setup usually looks something like:

C Drive: OS & Applications - 250GB SSD or M.2 SSD

D Drive: Project & Source Media, Media Cache & Scratch - 500GB-1TB SSD (INTERNAL or EXTERNAL)

E Drive: General storage

Cloud Storage, NAS, etc

In some cases folks even do a configuration like such:

C Drive: OS & Applications - 250GB SSD or M.2 SSD

D Drive: Project & Source Media - 500GB-1TB SSD

E Drive: Media Cache & Scratch - 500GB-1TB SSD

F Drive: General storage

Cloud Storage, NAS, etc

The configuration above seems probably excessive for a hobbyist like me.

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    1 reply

    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil Haugen
    Legend
    September 12, 2018

    External drives, other than say the Samsung T5 drives, don't really have the sustained read-write for too much. But still at times if you must, they're useful when splitting things to different drives for best overall performance. The T5's are great over a USB3/3.1 drive port.

    The option they show with three internal SSD's is really a good one, with the Nvme drive for projects/media. And you can use the old spinning discs even in external applications for storage and backing up things.

    Neil

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
    CC268
    CC268Author
    Inspiring
    September 12, 2018

    Thanks for the quick response. So the internal SSD is still really the way to go...

    I would go the route of a M.2 NVME for the projects/media, but I would need a 1TB M.2 which isn’t cheap. So a normal SSD (Samsung 860 EVO) would have to do. I believe they state the performance difference between the standard SSD and M.2 NVME are very minimal. I would likely buy a 250GB M.2 for my OS/programs and use a normal 1TB SSD for projects/media.

    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil Haugen
    Legend
    September 12, 2018

    If at all possible, run on a 500GB Nvme for projects/media. Move projects (including media folders) onto the Nvme in active work, off to clear space when not being worked for a while. It gives in most systems enough of a boost of sustained read/write to be worth the while.

    I've got the Nvme and the 860 in internal operation, the Nvme is definitely faster. Although I have 6 internal SSD's ... OS on a 256 Samsung SSD, the Nvme, and four other Samsung drives. Also a 4-TB spinner. And a couple more 500GB SSD's via USB/3 connection for some of my storage.

    Neil

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
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