internal or external drives for media? at DVinfo.net

Aric Mannion · May 21st, 2010, 10:07 AM

Internal drives are supposed to be faster, but it's not recommended to work on them because you could lose everything if your computer breaks or is stolen. But what produces the fastest render times?
For example is it best to have your media and project on an external firewire drive and render to the internal? Or vice versa? Specifically with a Mac Pro and After Effects.

Chris Davis · May 21st, 2010, 11:59 AM

eSATA drives are as fast as internal drives, sometimes even faster. Firewire 800 is a close second. Forget USB and firewire 400.

BTW, external drives can break just as easily as your computer. They can also be stolen too.

Sareesh Sudhakaran · May 23rd, 2010, 09:33 PM

external hard drives - eSATA connection. I would stay away from firewire and USB since the standards can change soon and eSATA is the best bet. However, firewire is the next best option for rendering and using after effects. The most important thing is to always have a large amount of RAM as well.

Denny Lajeunesse · May 25th, 2010, 10:01 PM

USB 3 is out now. Will likely take a bit till it's in all the new hardware but it has speeds up to 4.8 Gbps. Wish my fairly new MB had it.

There's an external Black Magic Intensity box that uses USB 3. HArdrive cases can't be far off.

I think it will pass by eSATA only because you can still plugs usb 1 and 2 devices into a usb3 port. Can't do that with eSATA.

USB 3 Connectors are the same as 1 and 2. USB 3 Cables are not.

There are also hot swappable SATA bays for hard drives.

I like externals for portability. You can move from station to station if needed. You can also grab them in a hurry if your house catches on fire!
Big deal with externals quality case. A cheap enclosure with crappy electronics can be a nightmare.

Chris Davis · June 3rd, 2010, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denny Lajeunesse

you can still plugs usb 1 and 2 devices into a usb3 port. Can't do that with eSATA.

Actually, you can. My laptop has an eSATA/USB combo port. It takes USB 1.1, USB 2.0 and eSATA. Pretty clever.

Denny Lajeunesse · June 3rd, 2010, 03:36 PM

Neat.

Well if I upgrade my Brand new MB with USB3 I'll have to make sure it's a ESATA/USB3 combo.

Can't believe my new MB is lacking both!

I just installed a 2TB HD. I like that you can't accidentally unplug it.

Next I'll probably put a 2TB in an enclosure for portability.

Jeremy Hughes · June 7th, 2010, 11:03 PM

I run raid configured HDs externally and have backup running to protect them. Its not going to make an enourmous difference for you in AE or another compositing program though since each frame renders so slowly in most cases. Its more important in this case to get as much RAM as you can.

Aric Mannion · June 8th, 2010, 02:26 PM

I have to format my new external firewire drive for my mac. I used to select "journaled" but someone said for video it's best to be non-journaled. Which is better?

Don Blish · July 6th, 2010, 04:08 PM

There is no difference in formatting of a basic (non RAIDed) disc whether it is in a USB enclosure, an eSATA enclosure or on a SATA connection but stored inside your machine....so there is no difference in risk.

I think the risk people talk of is when discs are under a RAID arrangement off the motherboard or other raid controller AND THE RAID CONFIGURATION IS NOT BACKED UP. [sad voice of experience here]

I have had a nonRAIDED root discs where the boot sector went bad or OS was unbootable, moved it to a different machine and recovered all the user data off of it.

Use computers long enough and you will get much "training" you did not bargain for!

Denny Lajeunesse · July 8th, 2010, 01:56 PM

Well... it does have to be in a format that the computers you will be using it with will read. You have to install software to read a mac filesystem in windows, for example.

May 21st, 2010, 10:07 AM	#1
Aric Mannion Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 616	internal or external drives for media? Internal drives are supposed to be faster, but it's not recommended to work on them because you could lose everything if your computer breaks or is stolen. But what produces the fastest render times? For example is it best to have your media and project on an external firewire drive and render to the internal? Or vice versa? Specifically with a Mac Pro and After Effects.

May 23rd, 2010, 09:33 PM	#3
Sareesh Sudhakaran Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 1,385	external hard drives - eSATA connection. I would stay away from firewire and USB since the standards can change soon and eSATA is the best bet. However, firewire is the next best option for rendering and using after effects. The most important thing is to always have a large amount of RAM as well. __________________ Get the Free Comprehensive Guide to Rigging ANY Camera - one guide to rig them all - DSLRs to the Arri Alexa.

June 7th, 2010, 11:03 PM	#7
Jeremy Hughes Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 276 Images: 2	I run raid configured HDs externally and have backup running to protect them. Its not going to make an enourmous difference for you in AE or another compositing program though since each frame renders so slowly in most cases. Its more important in this case to get as much RAM as you can. __________________ www.elevate-m.com filmvideostuff.blogspot.com

July 6th, 2010, 04:08 PM	#9
Don Blish Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Portland OR Posts: 227	Internal basic disc not a risk There is no difference in formatting of a basic (non RAIDed) disc whether it is in a USB enclosure, an eSATA enclosure or on a SATA connection but stored inside your machine....so there is no difference in risk. I think the risk people talk of is when discs are under a RAID arrangement off the motherboard or other raid controller AND THE RAID CONFIGURATION IS NOT BACKED UP. [sad voice of experience here] I have had a nonRAIDED root discs where the boot sector went bad or OS was unbootable, moved it to a different machine and recovered all the user data off of it. Use computers long enough and you will get much "training" you did not bargain for!

May 21st, 2010, 11:59 AM	#2
Chris Davis Trustee Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Willmar, MN Posts: 1,400	eSATA drives are as fast as internal drives, sometimes even faster. Firewire 800 is a close second. Forget USB and firewire 400. BTW, external drives can break just as easily as your computer. They can also be stolen too.

May 25th, 2010, 10:01 PM	#4
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	USB 3 is out now. Will likely take a bit till it's in all the new hardware but it has speeds up to 4.8 Gbps. Wish my fairly new MB had it. There's an external Black Magic Intensity box that uses USB 3. HArdrive cases can't be far off. I think it will pass by eSATA only because you can still plugs usb 1 and 2 devices into a usb3 port. Can't do that with eSATA. USB 3 Connectors are the same as 1 and 2. USB 3 Cables are not. There are also hot swappable SATA bays for hard drives. I like externals for portability. You can move from station to station if needed. You can also grab them in a hurry if your house catches on fire! Big deal with externals quality case. A cheap enclosure with crappy electronics can be a nightmare.

June 3rd, 2010, 03:36 PM	#6
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	Neat. Well if I upgrade my Brand new MB with USB3 I'll have to make sure it's a ESATA/USB3 combo. Can't believe my new MB is lacking both! I just installed a 2TB HD. I like that you can't accidentally unplug it. Next I'll probably put a 2TB in an enclosure for portability.

June 8th, 2010, 02:26 PM	#8
Aric Mannion Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Posts: 616	I have to format my new external firewire drive for my mac. I used to select "journaled" but someone said for video it's best to be non-journaled. Which is better?

July 8th, 2010, 01:56 PM	#10
Denny Lajeunesse Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kelowna, BC [Canada, Eh!] Posts: 257	Well... it does have to be in a format that the computers you will be using it with will read. You have to install software to read a mac filesystem in windows, for example.