Which type of hard drive should I buy?

El_Mayo · Oct 18, 2012, 11:07 AM

I've started a Filmmaking course and I need a hard drive to store all my videos. I'm thinking an external HDD would be ideal, but could I edit and render videos stored on the HDD at a reasonable speed? Or would I have to copy from external to internal HDD before editing?

Or would a USB3 external be fast enough to edit from? I'll be using the HDD with both Windows (Premiere) and Mac (Avid)

Fourstaff · Oct 18, 2012, 11:12 AM

Depends on your needs, I find internal ones much better, and if money is no objection SSD is super wonderful. However, at the end of the day unless you are good with compression and prioritising space I think the bigger the better, regardless of medium (internal, external, etc).

erixx · Oct 18, 2012, 11:43 AM

Do not go external. USB 3 / Thunderbird external is fast for casual use, but working on movie projects? No.

Maybe E-Sata if your case has that slit.

Big SSD are becoming cheaper... I would get one at least for your working projects, and a 2T HDD SATA for storing (plus another 2TB for backups, int or ext)

largon · Oct 18, 2012, 02:30 PM

Buy 3+ drives and put them in RAID5. You get speed and safety.

El_Mayo · Oct 21, 2012, 07:41 PM

Would a green drive be okay for storage of clips? Or would it be too slow to edit from

Fourstaff · Oct 21, 2012, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by El_Mayo

Would a green drive be okay for storage of clips? Or would it be too slow to edit from

Too slow is subjective. However, I personally think the difference between Green and Black drives are not that significant. Others might find Black drives much better.

drdeathx · Oct 21, 2012, 08:17 PM

With the price of SSD's being low that would be my call but they cost more than platter drives. You could go a Solid Stae drive for your OS and proograms and get a 1.5T(HDD) drive for the movies and move them back and forth between the 2.

Aquinus · Oct 21, 2012, 11:47 PM

Since video editing does a lot of saving and can have huge file sizes, I don't recommend an SSD.

Kreij · Oct 21, 2012, 11:59 PM

When you are video editing, RAM is your best friend. I would start by loading all the RAM you can in your mobo. If 8GB is the max for you mobo, you may want to consider one that will hold more.
If that is not doable, I would get the biggest SSD you can afford. Keep your current (working) projects on that and when you are finished with them off-load them to whatever kind of HDD you like.

Just my 2 cents.

Delta6326 · Oct 22, 2012, 01:05 AM

I would get this, 2x Western Digital Red WD20EFRX 2TB IntelliPower 64MB... and or SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256B/WW 2.5" 256GB SATA I.... Fast ram is important my cousin does video editing for a online sports show he has said that sense he got a SSD it has made things much faster also.

micropage7 · Oct 22, 2012, 01:17 AM

search the drives that have bigger cache
it would help when you are running in heavy task

Wrigleyvillain · Oct 22, 2012, 02:51 PM

Yeah if you do go external definitely eSATA or USB3 if possible.

redeye · Oct 22, 2012, 03:34 PM

speed is king in videoeditting.... thus all the 1337 suggestions do not mean anything... so i would find out what video-editor you are going to use and use the suggestions that the software gives you....

or because speed is king in editting, external drives are out... (but using a thunderwire on a mac might be good)

thou, in editting you probably are going to use cut-lists, and prerendered video for speed in editting (the original video is reduced in size to speed up the editting searches etc.. so the speed of the hard drive is really important...

TL;DR. the wd red drive 3TB is a good one ... silentpcreview.com or storagereview.com have good reviews of it.

if you are going to be using a laptop for editting... (GASP) go with the mac and a thunderbolt drive (expensive YES) but, before the iPhone craze, Apple was known for editting on a laptop.

if using premiere... just get what the prog/teacher suggests and learn the Techniques of editting... skill/talent/ability is more important than the equipment.

Wrigleyvillain · Oct 22, 2012, 04:37 PM

I'm presently looking at drives too, something I am not usually in the market for, but have different needs than you. I want to test various storage solutions and RAID levels with an emphasis on server-based workload so I moreso need lots of drives as opposed to lots of space. So, for me, the best deals I am finding right now seem to be 1TBs for around $70. I'd rather buy a bunch of good 500Gbs but hard to go that route when I can't find them cheaper than $50.

Yeah that WD red 3TB seems to be a good option for you. Dunno about UK prices either, though...

Oct 18, 2012, 11:07 AM	#1
El_Mayo Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 2,100 (1.41/day) Thanks: 1,262 Thanked 193 Times in 155 Posts System Specs	Which type of hard drive should I buy? I've started a Filmmaking course and I need a hard drive to store all my videos. I'm thinking an external HDD would be ideal, but could I edit and render videos stored on the HDD at a reasonable speed? Or would I have to copy from external to internal HDD before editing? Or would a USB3 external be fast enough to edit from? I'll be using the HDD with both Windows (Premiere) and Mac (Avid) __________________ Battlefield 3: My Battlelog Twitter

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Oct 18, 2012, 11:43 AM	#3
erixx Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Moorsoldaten barracks Posts: 2,183 (1.90/day) Thanks: 708 Thanked 312 Times in 250 Posts System Specs	Do not go external. USB 3 / Thunderbird external is fast for casual use, but working on movie projects? No. Maybe E-Sata if your case has that slit. Big SSD are becoming cheaper... I would get one at least for your working projects, and a 2T HDD SATA for storing (plus another 2TB for backups, int or ext) __________________ "Where's Carmack when you need him?" by cadaveca

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Oct 18, 2012, 11:12 AM	#2
Fourstaff TPU Janitor Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Science Museum, Londinium Posts: 5,950 (4.70/day) Thanks: 261 Thanked 1,457 Times in 1,208 Posts System Specs	Depends on your needs, I find internal ones much better, and if money is no objection SSD is super wonderful. However, at the end of the day unless you are good with compression and prioritising space I think the bigger the better, regardless of medium (internal, external, etc).

Oct 18, 2012, 02:30 PM	#4
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Oct 21, 2012, 07:41 PM	#5
El_Mayo Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 2,100 (1.41/day) Thanks: 1,262 Thanked 193 Times in 155 Posts System Specs	Would a green drive be okay for storage of clips? Or would it be too slow to edit from __________________ Battlefield 3: My Battlelog Twitter

Oct 21, 2012, 08:17 PM	#7
drdeathx Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chicago burbs Posts: 1,453 (0.99/day) Thanks: 39 Thanked 322 Times in 262 Posts System Specs	With the price of SSD's being low that would be my call but they cost more than platter drives. You could go a Solid Stae drive for your OS and proograms and get a 1.5T(HDD) drive for the movies and move them back and forth between the 2.

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Oct 21, 2012, 11:47 PM	#8
Aquinus Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Dover, New Hampshire, USA Posts: 4,218 (8.86/day) Thanks: 1,254 Thanked 1,304 Times in 969 Posts System Specs	Since video editing does a lot of saving and can have huge file sizes, I don't recommend an SSD. __________________ MyHeat

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Oct 21, 2012, 11:59 PM	#9
Kreij Hardcore Monkey Moderator Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Cheeseland (Wisconsin, USA) Posts: 12,107 (5.28/day) Thanks: 591 Thanked 5,488 Times in 2,932 Posts System Specs	When you are video editing, RAM is your best friend. I would start by loading all the RAM you can in your mobo. If 8GB is the max for you mobo, you may want to consider one that will hold more. If that is not doable, I would get the biggest SSD you can afford. Keep your current (working) projects on that and when you are finished with them off-load them to whatever kind of HDD you like. Just my 2 cents. __________________ Cloud (noun, singular): A dynamic arrangement of multiple potential single points of failure, with a user at one end and their data at the other. Get more tech news on a wide variety of topics at NextPowerUp

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Oct 22, 2012, 01:05 AM	#10
Delta6326 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Iowa, USA Posts: 3,285 (1.80/day) Thanks: 557 Thanked 597 Times in 437 Posts System Specs	I would get this, 2x Western Digital Red WD20EFRX 2TB IntelliPower 64MB... and or SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256B/WW 2.5" 256GB SATA I.... Fast ram is important my cousin does video editing for a online sports show he has said that sense he got a SSD it has made things much faster also. __________________ Diablo III- Delta6326#1894 TechPowerUp WCG Forum Skyrim Skill Perks By Delta6326

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Oct 22, 2012, 01:17 AM	#11
micropage7 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia Posts: 3,674 (3.20/day) Thanks: 189 Thanked 835 Times in 549 Posts System Specs	search the drives that have bigger cache it would help when you are running in heavy task __________________ :: New Cases, Tips And All About Your Cases Visit CaseGear :: Don't Ever Ask About Love And Honesty That You Don't Ever Have

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Oct 22, 2012, 02:51 PM	#12
Wrigleyvillain Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,497 (2.20/day) Thanks: 1,523 Thanked 1,572 Times in 1,115 Posts System Specs	Yeah if you do go external definitely eSATA or USB3 if possible. __________________ “i dont care what consoles have they dont have mouse and keyboard” -crazyeyesreaper

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Oct 22, 2012, 03:34 PM	#13
redeye Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: mississauga, on, Canada Posts: 124 (0.14/day) Thanks: 5 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts System Specs	speed is king in videoeditting.... thus all the 1337 suggestions do not mean anything... so i would find out what video-editor you are going to use and use the suggestions that the software gives you.... or because speed is king in editting, external drives are out... (but using a thunderwire on a mac might be good) thou, in editting you probably are going to use cut-lists, and prerendered video for speed in editting (the original video is reduced in size to speed up the editting searches etc.. so the speed of the hard drive is really important... TL;DR. the wd red drive 3TB is a good one ... silentpcreview.com or storagereview.com have good reviews of it. if you are going to be using a laptop for editting... (GASP) go with the mac and a thunderbolt drive (expensive YES) but, before the iPhone craze, Apple was known for editting on a laptop. if using premiere... just get what the prog/teacher suggests and learn the Techniques of editting... skill/talent/ability is more important than the equipment.

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Oct 22, 2012, 04:37 PM	#14
Wrigleyvillain Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,497 (2.20/day) Thanks: 1,523 Thanked 1,572 Times in 1,115 Posts System Specs	I'm presently looking at drives too, something I am not usually in the market for, but have different needs than you. I want to test various storage solutions and RAID levels with an emphasis on server-based workload so I moreso need lots of drives as opposed to lots of space. So, for me, the best deals I am finding right now seem to be 1TBs for around $70. I'd rather buy a bunch of good 500Gbs but hard to go that route when I can't find them cheaper than $50. Yeah that WD red 3TB seems to be a good option for you. Dunno about UK prices either, though... __________________ “i dont care what consoles have they dont have mouse and keyboard” -crazyeyesreaper

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