Editing on an External Hard Drive?

MadMaverick wrote on 1/20/2016, 12:27 AM

I've heard someone say that it's bad to render onto an external hard drive (bad on the hard drive). Is it also bad to edit on an external hard drive? Would editing/rendering move faster if I was doing it on my computer (C Drive I guess I should say).

Comments

VMP wrote on 1/20/2016, 1:38 AM

That depends on your external hard drive.

If it is very fast in its transfer-rate then it should work.
Fast drives support and connect using USB 3.0, SATA or similar interface.
Especially if it is SATA then there would be no difference with an internal drive (the current standard for connecting internal drives is SATA too).

The fastest workflow would be IMO to put all the files on a fast drive like the Samsung SSD PRO.
But many read & writes could reduce the lifespan of a SSD.

When using traditional hard drives it is suggested that when rendering you render to another drive than the drive that has the source files, due to the mechanical head otherwise reading and writing the files simultaneously.

But I have done both on single SATA hard drives without noticable speed drop, I usually walk away while files are rendering anyway.

Personally I would never use an external drive for anything except backing up, there are so many things that could go wrong, when plugging the external drive in and out, (intentionally or unintentionally) there are many things that could cause lose of data.

VMP

PeterWright wrote on 1/20/2016, 3:15 AM

I do most of my editing on external drives - it means I can open a project on different computers if I need to, and I also have all work for particular clients on particular drives. Never lost any data this way.

The hardest thing is imagining how hard those read/write heads are moving when I render!

videoITguy wrote on 1/20/2016, 1:26 PM

In the old days the USB 2.0 interface was a problematic situation for high-speed read and write hanging from OS system issues and the hardware protocol.

Given that you can now get USB3.0 with superspeed enhancement protocol on (some) motherboards, a modern drive thru that connection is just as good as any internal drive working off SATA protocol.

I use both external SSD as well as many as 5 USB3.0 concurrent hook-ups hanging off a well-equipped mobo with absolutely no problem

xberk wrote on 1/20/2016, 4:42 PM

Yep. I often use small USB 3.0 drives (like Toshiba Canvio Connect II) that don't require any power block, just the USB 3.0 connection. Very convenient. Works well enough for me but I wouldn't say it's as fast as my 7200 rpm internal drives.

John_Cline wrote on 1/20/2016, 5:28 PM

Probably because the Toshiba Canvio Connect II is a 5400 rpm drive.