Hard Drives - What external HD's are you using for music production?

[IHateRap]

I'm going to be retiring my '09 Mac Pro soon. It has 3 OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6g ssd's in it. I was thinking I'd just buy a 4 bay enclosure and keep using them like I am now- one for projects, one for sample libraries, and the last for backup. They have read/write speeds of around 500 MB/s. How much speed do you really need for audio projects? 50 tracks maybe....I don't know. I'm not doing huge orchestral templates. On the other hand my next computer will have Thunderbolt 4 ports and taking advantage of that throughput intrigues me.

Also with the new Mac's and current faster hard drive tech is it even necessary to have separate drives for all the audio related stuff? Maybe just one 2-4 TB capacity external SSD with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity will be fine. Something like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094JTVKSQ/ref=twister_B0988YQBFZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Any thoughts?
Thanks

 

[Monkey Man]

How much speed do you really need for audio projects? 50 tracks maybe....I don't know.

I ran some experiments 20 years ago with a low-spec spinner (5200 RPM) and IIRC it managed 60 tracks easily.

On the other hand my next computer will have Thunderbolt 4 ports and taking advantage of that throughput intrigues me.

That throughput is waaay-overspec'd for any reasonable audio-track requirements.

Example:
MOTU's audio interfaces using its AVB system can be run via USB 2 for those who don't have Thunderbolt.
Initially, back in 2015, there was a limit of 24 simultaneous mono input and output audio streams.
A year or so later, rewritten drivers allowed you to take that to 32.
A little while later, MOTU blew everyone away by upping the limit to 64 simultaneous ins and outs (128 mono tracks).

That's over USB2!

So yeah, peeps often don't realise how meagre the requirements are for straight-up audio-track routing / recording. This is why I said what I did about your hard drive/s.

Also with the new Mac's and current faster hard drive tech is it even necessary to have separate drives for all the audio related stuff?

No it's not, but many, including myself, still like to keep projects and sample libraries on separate drives.

Maybe just one 2-4 TB capacity external SSD with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity will be fine. Something like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094JTVKSQ/ref=twister_B0988YQBFZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Yeah, it'll do the job.

As I said, some like to keep things separate 'though. Makes backup simpler for those with a more old-school mentality who refuse to use Time Machine or whatever.

 

[PurityS.L.G]

External HD's, its perfectly acceptable to run a 7200rpm or faster standard HD for audio projects and sound libraries. I can tell you from experience that SSD's can indeed be beneficial speed wise for your VST sound libraries but again, the extra cost it entails might or might not be worth it depending on your willingness to spend for it. Its not an OMG difference in load times. Your RAM CAS latency and native speed influence the speeds even more so, especially with Native Instruments stuff.

Also, take into account SSD's have limited read and write life so if you record a shit ton of content, that speed for your DAW session will come at a price with less longevity.

Oh, and people love to bitch, especially with online reviews. I've never had a single problem with WD, Samsung, Crucial or Seagate, as far as name brand goes. All rock solid and has never failed me on both SSD and HD fronts.

 

[Monkey Man]

Agreed. Peeps sometimes forget or aren't aware that you're looking at probably 300 -> 500 total-space rewrites for a decent SSD.

Whilst I've had a few drive failures over the years (mainly the old IBM Desk Star, also known as "Death Star"), my personal fave brand is WD. Their Caviar Black and Gold series drives are the shiz for audio work and reliability.

 

[PBGas]

Agreed. Peeps sometimes forget or aren't aware that you're looking at probably 300 -> 500 total-space rewrites for a decent SSD.

Whilst I've had a few drive failures over the years (mainly the old IBM Desk Star, also known as "Death Star"), my personal fave brand is WD. Their Caviar Black and Gold series drives are the shiz for audio work and reliability.

Yes...but who is writing the entire drive every single day? Chances are the SSD is going to last one a very long time, regardless.

 

[Monkey Man]

The rewrite limitation applies to any sector of the drive; I simply stated the maximum one could possibly get out of a drive in the interest of fairness.

Agreed 'though.

Also, if one used it for VI libraries it'd last "forever" 'cause you'd be mostly reading, not writing.