External SSD for video editing.

[Holtravis]

Right now I'm editing video on my 2015 13 inch macbook pro. It has 512 gbs of storage, so I imported about 200 gb the other day and got to editing. The computer handles it pretty well, but recently I've heard that importing all the footage to the drive on the computer is not that efficient. Can you edit video straight from an external ssd or hdd, and if you can, how does the speed compare to using the native drive on the macbook? Thanks

[Moderator note: moved to best forum]

[R Neil Haugen]

Bill Gehrke​ ... The Expert on real-time testing & hardware issues for the Adobe DVA's, recommends the Samsung T3 drives via USB3 as the biggest help for laptops to get a decently fast second drive. Real-time sustained read/write speeds while PrPro is running is crucial, and other drives simply don't come near.

Neil

[Bill Gehrke]

Yes I have even edited simple XAVC-S Sony 4K 100 Mbit/s footage on my USB 3.0 port on my PC laptop that is slightly older than your Macbook Pro with the Samsung T3 USB 3.1 portable SSD.  I assume you have a Thunderbolt port on your Mac so that might also be usable but the T3 is the only solution that s well tested.  I put all Project and Media on the T3 but do leave the Media Cache folders on the default OS/Applications SSD.  If you have another computer some place you can plug the T3 in and edit away.

[FG001]

Using the T3 for almost a year now without a hitch (knock on wood). Its USB3 so I can do my AE/Premiere stuff on my MBP while travelling and then just plug it into my PC workstation (with Paragon mac drive reading software installed) and continue working on a big screen.

[CMILD561]

Sorry to rehash and old thread but this seems to apply perfectly to me.  Would I benefit by buying a new external SSD and using it solely for all my footage as compared to the write speeds I get from my internal SSD reflected below which also has the rest of the operating system on it?

[exile1972]

You should never put your media files on your OS drive. All media should be located on a secondary drive - either internal or external.

[Bill Gehrke]

We are now getting to the point that, that rule may have to change.  I actually ran a test that had everything on one much better M.2 PCIe gen 3 x4 SSD and with my Premiere Pro BenchMark (PPBM) and found only slight difference between that run and a multiple SSD   Of course a lot depends on your media and workflow.  I did this because some new and smaller laptops only have one intertan super speed SSD to see if this was practical and I deemed it a very usable configuration.  But here is the performance of one of the best.

[RuralAccent]

That's really interesting, Bill. I have a M.2 NVMe ~500GB drive in my laptop. It runs the OS, PrPr, media, scratch and export. It does so very well. I have a spare 500gb crucial mx500 SSD that I was originally going to use to shift the OS and apps onto, but honestly, I'm not sure that that will give me much of a speed advantage given I'm only a hobbiest. What do folk think? Is it worth the hassle of cloning the OS across to see or am I just as well sticking with everything on the NVMe? Or would using the SSD somewhere in the mix still be a good idea? Thank you ☺️

[Bill Gehrke]

I do not think it is necessary.  I actually tested a single M.2 Pcie Gen 3 x4 single top quality SSD and my PPBM tests showed no problems.  If you go to this page and scroll way down you can see my data.

As long as you do not run out of storage space you will be fine.  If you can install that second SSD, use it for archiveing finished projects

[ECBowen]

These look very interesting as well for those with USB3.1 or TB3

USB-C M.2 Drive Enclosure - USB 3.1 (10Gbps) | Drive Enclosures | StarTech.com

Netstor Technology

Eric

ADK

[Bill Gehrke]

WOW there is an old forum friend still among us. Hello Eric!

I may try the Startech out, but of course if I have a M.2 PCIe x4 drive I surely would use it where I got full speed out of it.  I quickly looked at prices 

I think the Netstor is potentially a good fast Thunderbolt 3 box for the M.2 PCIe Gen 3 x4 carrier but it fails on the portability category as you have a big box plus a power brick.

Thanks much Eric!  Great to hear from you.

[ECBowen]

Hello and glad to be in the Adobe forums again. The external USB3.0 and 3.1 M.2 storage enclosures are definitely the option for mobile workflows at this point. The Netstor unit would be for those who need mobile high performance storage which normally allows the option to plug in devices to power. You could always use the USB3.1 storage units for mobile scenarios where you cant plug in for power.

Eric

ADK

[R Neil Haugen]

Wonderful to see you back, Eric!

And great comments, also.

Neil

[RuralAccent]

Thanks, Bill. That was my thought - seems like NVMe drives are fundamentally altering all of these long held principles of multiple drives. As I do photography post Pro on my laptop as well, I think I may use the crucial SSD to store and process stills in order to free up room on the NVMe for video. I may use it for an extra level of back up too. Certainly no harm in having it installed in the laptop as well!

[RuralAccent]

That's really interesting, Bill. I have a M.2 NVMe ~500GB drive in my laptop. It runs the OS, PrPr, media, scratch and export. It does so very well. I have a spare 500gb crucial mx500 SSD that I was originally going to use to shift the OS and apps onto, but honestly, I'm not sure that that will give me much of a speed advantage given I'm only a hobbiest. What do folk think? Is it worth the hassle of cloning the OS across to see or am I just as well sticking with everything on the NVMe? Or would using the SSD somewhere in the mix still be a good idea? Thank you ☺️

[tonyk16244512]

I am using Samsung T3 SSD Drive from last 8 month. It has a storage capacity of 2TB has read and write speed is just amazing. And after using it for more than 6 months I can say that is one of the best external SSD drive for Mac or any other users.