Best Fast Hard Drive

The market is teeming with storage choices, from relatively modest 500GB to 2TB models, to multi-terabyte models with capacities reaching into the double digits.

Switching to a solid-state drive is the best upgrade you can make for your PC. These wondrous devices obliterate long boot times, speed up how fast your programs and games load, and generally. May 13, 2020 One of the fastest hard drives available, Western Digital's WD Black was constructed to boost the efficiency of any computer and it comes with a five-year warranty for added peace of mind. Sep 15, 2020 USB-C external hard drives offer fast data transfer and work well with new Macs and Windows laptops. It's always best to back up every bit of data, and having a copy in your external hard drive can help during tough times. This time, we thought to deal with the new USB C external hard drives for a change.

But finding the best hard drive for music production can come with its own challenges… Thunderbolt? USB type-C? Solid-state? Transfer speeds? etc. And with hard drive storage being cheaper and more accessible than in the past, there's no reason why you shouldn't invest in a couple of external drives to back up your valuable data, archive your projects, or free up space on your internal drive.

So in this post, we'll take a look at the top hard drives and solid state drives that you ought be using.

Top 5 External Storage Drives for Producers

Samsung Portable SSD T5

The Samsung T5 is one of the latest and most impressive SDDs, it's known for fast transfer speeds and the durability to hold up against the most demanding environments. It is available in several colors and fits neatly into your pocket or purse, giving you dependable storage wherever you go.

The T5 uses Samsung's V-NAND flash memory technology and has a USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface onboard. With transfer speeds of up to 540 MB/s, it is 4.9 times faster than comparable HDDs. Large project files, multi-gigabyte audio, high-resolution photos, and even 4K videos transfer within minutes, so you don't have to spend a lot of time backing up and archiving your precious data.

The fast transfer speed translates to smooth and effortless streaming as well. If you don't want to clog up your computer's internal drive with gigs and gigs of sample libraries, you can stream them from the T5 without so much as a hiccup. Of course, you do need to have a USB 3.1 Gen 2 port on your computer and enable UASP mode. But once you set everything up, you can pretty much rely on the T5 to stream your audio flawlessly.

Like all SDDs, the T5 does not have moving parts, which goes a long way in ensuring durability and reliability. Even so, the circuitry is protected by a sturdy metal casing that has been drop-tested from a height of two meters. Unless you are in the habit of drop-kicking your external drives, it's safe to say that the T5 will handle even the most rigorous studio use.

The T5 is compatible with Macs and PCs, and even smartphones and gaming consoles. It comes with USB Type-C to C and USB Type-C to A cables for maximum connectivity options.

Music producers find the T5 to be an excellent budget-friendly storage option. Some have purchased it thinking that they would get only a minimal speed boost but were surprised to see how much it shortened loading times. The performance boost was even more noticeable when loading up large project files from the drive.

With a maximum capacity of 2TB, the Samsung T5 isn't the largest drive around. Nevertheless, the speed and performance make up for the somewhat modest space, and it is inexpensive enough so that you could get a few for backup and archiving purposes.

Glyph StudioRAID Thunderbolt 2

The Glyph StudioRAID Thunderbolt 2 is billed as a 'production-grade' external raid hard drive, which is intended to speed up and enhance workflow. Quite an excellent choice for studio musicians, video editors, and anyone that needs rugged and reliable storage, the Glyph StudioRAID is especially suitable for backing up large DAW files, rendered audio, and humongous sample libraries.

The Glyph StudioRAID supports Thunderbolt 2, which gives you a comfortable level of future-proofing. It also has USB 3.0 connectivity, so it will work with a wide variety of devices and configurations. But what really speeds up its performance is the support for current hardware RAID modes, including 1, 0, JBOD, and SPAN. This versatility gives you quick and seamless access to your digital library.

Right out of the box, the Glyph StudioRAID is formatted for HFS+ with Journaling and Time Machine compatibility. If you are planning on using it on a Windows machine, you simply have to reformat the drive beforehand, which should take only a few minutes at most.

Like all respectable external hard drives, the Glyph StudioRAID comes in a robust metal enclosure, which protects it against the most determined bumps and jostles. It also has a built-in heavy-duty power supply and auto-sensing power feature, so you can pretty much just plug it in and get to work.

Other features include a soft-touch power switch and disk health monitoring. The Glyph StudioRAID supports drive capacities from 2TB to 28TB, so you can choose from cost-effective storage to near-limitless capacity.

Users of the StudioRAID have a great deal of confidence in Glyph, considering the company is one of the few that makes storage devices specifically for studio professionals. In most cases, the StudioRAID outperformed the closest competitor by a wide margin, streaming as much as 350MB per second. For handling multiple audio streams, the Glyph StudioRAID has proven to be unbeatable for many users.

The Glyph StudioRAID is admittedly a bit expensive, but you can't put a price on quality. Everything about the unit is noticeably high-quality, from the performance to the all-metal enclosure. If you want a dependable storage device that you can rely on for years, the StudioRAID is a great choice.

Glyph Atom SSD 1TB USB-C

If your needs are more modest, the Glyph Atom SSD is an excellent alternative to the monstrous multi-terabyte drives currently flooding the market. Offering up to 2TB of storage, it is better suited for transferring files and taking them on-the-go rather than archiving and sound library streaming. Even so, the Atom's features and trademark performance capabilities make it an essential studio tool that will find plenty of use in your rig.

Like its bigger brother, the Glyph StudioRAID, the minuscule Atom boasts of Thunderbolt 3 capability and USB-C 3.1 Generation 2 compatibility. It is also HFS+ preformatted right out of the box, with Journaling and Time Machine support. Like the StudioRAID, a quick reformat is all it takes to get it communicating with your Windows machine.

Where the Atom differs is in its form factor. Amazingly compact and lightweight, this will hardly take up any space on your desktop, sitting unobtrusively next to your studio computer. But even with its minute dimensions, the Atom delivers impressive performance, streaming data at a blinding rate of 560MB per second. You could easily drag and drop gigabytes of audio files to it all day and not lose precious minutes in the studio.

The Atom comes in an all-aluminum enclosure, which provides sufficient protection under most conditions. It is bus-powered too so you won't have to wrestle with a bulky, space-eating power supply. And for maximum connectivity, the Atom comes with a USB-C to USB-C (3.1) and a USB-C to USB 3.0 cable.

The Atom is available in capacities from 250GB to 2TB.

Unsurprisingly, most users of the Atom find it to be just as impressive as its bigger capacity brothers. Many are especially impressed at how much power and performance they can harness with a single USB cable, with no power supply in sight. As expected, the Atom is totally silent, and many users report being unaware that it is on if not for the bright LED light. Audio and video work is notoriously demanding on hard drives, but the Atom keeps up like a champ.

The Atom is a cost-effective solution for most storage and data transferring needs. It is inexpensive enough that you could simply purchase one for every major project you are working on. This is often preferable to relying on larger drives that could fail and take all your data with them.

LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt USB 3.0

LaCie has long been known for its reliability and performance, and the aptly-named Rugged is no different. Upholding the proud LaCie tradition admirably, the Rugged is the near-perfect solution for most every data storage need in the modern music production studio. With features such as USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectivity, the Rugged is well up the challenge of the most demanding music applications.

LaCie proudly proclaims the Rugged to be one of the fastest bus-powered storage devices currently available. This claim is no idle boast, as the USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectivity allows you to stream huge audio and video files without a hitch. In fact, the Rugged is designed to give you the perfect balance between speed, durability, and mobility.

The durability comes into play with the Rugged's ability to withstand drops from up to two meters, which should cover most typical studio situations. The drive also has IP 54-level protection against water and dust, so you can be sure that your data will remain intact even if you subject your equipment to rough and rugged road conditions.

The availability of USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports also ensures maximum compatibility with Macs and PCs. Whether you are looking for additional storage for your laptop or a quick and easy way to transfer files between remote computers, the Rugged is an ideal solution.

LaCie has seen fit to integrate the Thunderbolt cable into the drive's casing, so it is always there when you need it. A seemingly minor innovation to be sure, but it does help you avoid having to hunt for a Thunderbolt cable, which isn't currently ubiquitous in many studios yet.

LaCie drives tend to attract serious studio professionals in the video and audio industries. The Rugged certainly doesn't disappoint, with its fast and reliable performance in a portable and convenient form factor. In numerous real-world test scenarios, the Rugged has consistently proven its ability to mount quickly and stream data without issues.

The LaCie Rugged ticks all the boxes when it comes to reliable and convenient storage. It also comes with an attractive price tag, making it worthy of serious consideration for anyone looking for an inexpensive but dependable external hard drive.

G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE

G-Technology's G-DRIVE delivers all the reliability and performance you would expect from a state-of-the-art SSD drive at a price that won't break the bank. One of the most rugged external drives you will find at this price point, it even measures up against costlier models with its modern connectivity and data protection features.

With transfer speeds of up to 560MB per second, the G-DRIVE easily measures up to the demands of modern audio and video production environments. Even the largest data files zip back and forth within minutes, so you don't have to waste too much time on the necessary-but-tedious tasks of backing up and archiving.

The G-DRIVE has a USB-C port with support for USB 3.1 Gen 2 interfaces, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of desktop and laptop computers.

So far, so good. But where the G-DRIVE really leaves the competition behind is in its innovative data and mechanism protection features that ensure the utmost integrity of your file content. While most external drives are drop-tested to a height of two meters, the G-DRIVE is tested for three-meter drop protection. It also has a 1,000-pound crushproof rating and has IP67 protection against water and dust.

Enclosing the drive is an aluminum core casing that prevents overheating even at peak performance. This casing also serves to insulate the drive when it isn't being used.

The G-DRIVE is available in capacities ranging from 500GB to 2TB.

Many users found the G-DRIVE to be even faster than other higher-spec'd drives with similar capacities. The difference isn't night and day, but it does give many users a sense of gratification knowing that superior performance is available at a slightly lower cost from a lesser-known brand.

The G-DRIVE's small form factor also scored points among home studio owners who don't have a lot of desk space to spare. And with its proven protection features, the G-DRIVE is even well-suited for the demands of the road.

Ruggedness and reliability are what the G-DRIVE is all about, and it even delivers admirably in terms of speed. At this price point, the market is pretty much crowded with excellent external drive options. Even so, the G-DRIVE has what it takes to make it a serious contender.

How to Choose the Best External Storage Drive?

HDD vs. SDD

When choosing an external drive, the choice often comes down to hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SDDs). The traditional option is HDDs, which are cheaper and come with larger storage capacities. The downside is that HDDs are much more prone to damage when dropped or bumped, which could result in data loss. They are also heavier than SDDs, consume more energy, and have shorter lifespans. Even so, a good HDD from a reputable manufacturer should last for many years if you take good care of it.

SSDs are capable of faster performance, although this usually isn't a crucial factor for external drives. The best HDDs should be able to stream large audio files and sample libraries just fine for most purposes. In any case, SDDs generally have longer lifespans than HDDs. They are also lighter and run cooler. On the downside, they are more expensive than HDDs, especially when you go for multi-terabyte models.

Size and form factor

HDDs typically come in 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch sizes. Most external drives that come in dedicated enclosures contain 2.5' drives, such as the ones commonly used in laptops. You could, of course, purchase either a 3.5' or a 2.5' drive and place it in a suitable enclosure. This is usually a more cost-effective alternative to buying an external drive that comes in a dedicated enclosure, and you have a wider variety of disk capacities to choose from.

Traditionally, the main difference between the two form factors is that 3.5' HDDs can hold much more data. But this isn't necessarily the case anymore, as recent advances in technology have made it possible to store close to an equivalent amount of data in a 2.5' drive. One thing that hasn't changed though is that most 3.5' external drives still require a dedicated power supply, while most 2.5' drives can be powered off a USB port.

Connection type

All external drives connect to your computer via USB cables, whether they are HDDs or SSDs. But even USB connectors come in a few different types. Most older drives use Mini-B USB cables, which only works with USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 ports and devices.

The newer standard is Micro-B, which works with USB 3.0. Keep in mind that this cable isn't backward compatible with USB 1.1 or 2.0.

There is also a Type-C USB cable, which supports USB 3.0, as well as all earlier USB versions. An added benefit is that you can insert this type of cable in any direction, so you won't have to keep flipping the connector over to plug your external hard drive in!

Newer Type-C USB connectors work with Thunderbolt technology, which was initially compatible only with Apple devices. Thunderbolt 3 is now compatible with PCs, but keep in mind that while Thunderbolt devices work with all Type-C USB connectors, not all Type-C connectors support Thunderbolt.

If you want to future-proof your storage capabilities, you should, at the very least, go for an external drive that has a Type-C connector. Better still, look into a hard drive that supports Thunderbolt technology.

Storage capacity

The largest capacity HDDs you could get go up to 12TB or more. There are even larger capacity drives that can go up to 15 or 16TB, but these are generally intended for enterprise applications.

SDD drives were initially limited to smaller capacities, but you can now find SSDs capable of multi-terabyte storage. There is even an SSD that stores as much as 16TB of data, but as with HDDs, these are better suited for enterprise applications.

In any case, it is generally a good idea to go for external drives in the 4TB to 8TB range and divide your data between a few of them. This will provide you with enough storage space for all your projects, sample libraries, and backups, without costing you too much money. And with relatively smaller drives, there is less risk of losing all your data to a damaged single drive.

Transfer speed

Transfer speed is an important concern if you plan on streaming audio files, samples, and sample libraries from your external hard drive. A 7200 RPM drive will allow you to stream data much faster and with fewer hiccups than a 5400 RPM drive.

Transfer speed is less of an issue if you are planning on using your external drive only for backing up project files. Even so, it is probably best to go with a 7200 RPM drive as the cost difference over a 5400 RPM drive is marginal.

Failure rate

One other aspect you should look into is failure rate. SDDs do not have any moving parts, so they would theoretically last longer than HDDs. But if you plan on using your external drive only for backups and archives and don't run it continuously, you should be able to get many years of use out of it before you have to think about looking for a replacement.

Transfer speed

Transfer speed is an important concern if you plan on streaming audio files, samples, and sample libraries from your external hard drive. A 7200 RPM drive will allow you to stream data much faster and with fewer hiccups than a 5400 RPM drive.

Transfer speed is less of an issue if you are planning on using your external drive only for backing up project files. Even so, it is probably best to go with a 7200 RPM drive as the cost difference over a 5400 RPM drive is marginal.

Failure rate

One other aspect you should look into is failure rate. SDDs do not have any moving parts, so they would theoretically last longer than HDDs. But if you plan on using your external drive only for backups and archives and don't run it continuously, you should be able to get many years of use out of it before you have to think about looking for a replacement.

With HD footage and 4K video, film and video editors need more hard drive space than ever. The good news is, storage space is cheaper than it ever has been before, but there are also more external hard drives and RAID systems available for sale today than ever before. We've put together the following list of some of the best external hard drives for video editing and RAID systems for filmmakers.

The Best External Hard Drives for Video Editing

Not every hard drive is created equal. Everyone looks at price and storage capacity when they're comparing external hard drives but video editors need to have an additional factor in mind when they're choosing which hard drive to buy. That factor is speed. Both the speed of the drive itself and the speed of the interface with which it's connected to their computer. Most consumer hard drives have a rotational speed rated at 5400 RPM which isn't particularly fast when you're editing large video files. So editors that don't want their editing programs to be super slow when exporting and rendering footage with effects will want to stick to the faster (though more expensive) 7200 RPM hard drives. In order of fastest to slowest, today's fastest external hard drive connection interfaces are:

As you can see, Thunderbolt (available on Macs and a few PCs) is by far the fastest protocol available today for external hard drives and RAID systems (more on RAIDs a bit later). The next fastest available is eSATA which is a somewhat obscure format that is available on a few Windows PCs but never really gained much ground (and never made it to the Mac). Closely behind is USB 3 which is pretty ubiquitous these days and is far faster than its USB 2.0 predecessor. After that comes Firewire 800, a mostly Mac interface that was about twice as fast as USB 2.0.

Today if you're going to be editing video on a Mac we'd recommend getting an external hard drive that uses Thunderbolt to connect to your computer. If you have a PC, USB 3 is probably going to be your best option. Here are some of the best hard drives with both of these interfaces for video editing:

Just about every experienced film and video editor is familiar with LaCie hard drives: they're known for their good quality components and generally rock-solid reliability, which is exactly what you want when you're editing video. LaCie makes a range of speedy 7200RPM hard drives that use Thunderbolt and USB 3.1 (USB C) both to connect to your computer. We have no qualms about recommending the LaCie d2 Thunderbolt + USB C hard drive to video editors whether they're editing 4K video or just regular old HD video. This is a desktop class external hard drive for video editing, meaning it isn't bus-powered (you'll need to plug it into the wall for power in addition to plugging it into your computer).

One nice advantage of this external hard drive for video editors is that it has two Thunderbolt ports. Like its older predecessor Firewire, Thunderbolt is a daisy-chainable system, meaning that you can string together multiple hard drives and connect them all to your computer using a single Thunderbolt port. This can be especially handy if you're ports-constrained or editing using a lot of hard drives at once.

Also be sure to check out the mini orange rugged drives that LaCie makes for on-set usage or for ferrying footage from one computer to another.

For years Hitachi was known for making some of the best professional grade video editing hard drives around. When they sold their business the drive portion became G-Technology which has continued the Hitachi legacy of making excellent external hard drives for video editors. This G-Tech hard drive features a USB C port, allowing you connect with newer computers at blazingly fast speeds. Works with both Macs and Windows PCs.

The G-Drive spins at 7200RPM and weighs about three pounds and feels hefty in your hand– not like a cheap plastic hard drive that will topple on your desk. It also features an on/off switch, which some video editors prefer to have on their external hard drives. Available in sizes from 4 terabytes all the way up to 10 terabytes at a price so reasonable we suggest buying two of them (one to backup the first).

The Best RAID Systems for Video Editing

Western Digital

RAID systems consist of multiple hard drives bundled together. Because your computer can only read data off of a hard drive so fast, splitting a single file across two hard drives can mean your computer can read data twice as quickly. This can make the difference between unbearable sluggishness and silky smooth video playback when you're editing 4K video. Keep in mind though that for editors, even though some RAID systems might duplicate your files for performance reasons, RAID is not a backup. So you'll want to also have your footage backed up on a different system– perhaps a cheap but large external hard drive (consider something like this). With all that said, here are some of the best, high-performance RAID hard drive arrays for video editing:

Although RAID systems can be configured in several different ways, we recommend using them set to 'RAID 0' which allows for maximum read/write speed that editors demand when they're dealing with huge 4K and HD video files. This RAID array has two 6TB hard drives meaning its total capacity is 12TB of lightning fast storage. And you can connect it via either Thunderbolt ports (of which it sports two for daisy chaining purposes), or USB 3.0 ports.

It even sports two front-facing USB 3.0 ports so you can even hook up additional peripherals like other hard drives or a USB 3.0 memory card reader. WD also sells smaller RAID arrays with less capacity and a bigger brother 16TB version for a bit more.

This G-Technology RAID system features two 6TB hard drives allowing for a total of 12 terabytes of storage in RAID 0 ('striped') mode. It's capable of blazingly high speeds when connected either with the included USB 3.0 cable or Thunderbolt 2 cable.

Its internal hard drives are enterprise class and rated at 7200 RPM and like all hard drives and RAID systems in this article it works with either a Mac or a PC (though you may need to format it initially using the included software). It's also whisper-quiet so you can have it on your desk as you edit without the noise bothering you.

LaCie has been making professional grade external storage and RAID systems for years, and the one of their latest RAID systems is the 2big dual disk RAID system. It sports two 6TB hard drives which can be formatted either as a RAID 0 for 12 terabytes of fast storage, or a redundant RAID level such as RAID 1 which makes an exact copy of all data for a usable size of 4TB. This particular RAID system offers a USB 3.0 port for Macs or PCs as well as two Thunderbolt 2.0 ports for Macs to connect with. Both drives that this system comes with are 7200 RPM, so they're fast enough to read multiple uncompressed 2K 10-bit streams or a single 4K compressed video stream if you're not doing multi-cam editing. Offers sustained read speeds of 420MB/s, enough to edit or play back several streams of normal HD video at once.

Weighing 27 pounds (!) the LaCie 6big is truly a heavy duty RAID system for video editors. It features six hard drive bays, and ships with six four TB drives at 7200 RPM (depending on how you configure the RAID setup that gives you up to 24 TBs of storage to work with).

For connectivity, the LaCie 6big has two Thunderbolt 3 ports and one USB Type C port. Works with RAID level 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, and 50.

The G-SPEED Shuttle line of high performance RAIDs for video editing is the top of the line that G-Technology offers. It comes with eight hard drive bays (!) and is available with the following storage capacities:

• 24TB
• 32TB
• 48TB
• 64TB
• 80TB

Best External Hard Drive

This high capacity, high-speed RAID system provides you with a ton of storage available at high speeds with RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10, or RAID 50 configurations. Comes with dual Thunderbolt 2 ports for ultra high-speed transfers.

Frequently Asked Questions About External Hard Drives for Video Editing

Is a USB 3.0 External Drive Fast Enough for Full HD Editing?

There are several factors that influence the speed of an external hard drive. What port it uses (USB or otherwise) is certainly one factor. The speed of the storage is another (i.e. whether it's a slow 5400 RPM hard drive, a faster 7200 RPM hard drive or an even faster solid state drive). Generally speaking, USB 3.0 hard drives are usually fast enough to edit 1080p HD video. If they're solid state drives (SSDs), they'll almost certainly be fast enough for 4K media as well.

What are the best backup procedures for external hard drives?

For video editors, even though an external hard drive might cost only a few hundred dollars, its true value is the amount of money which it would cost to re-create the footage that's stored upon it. So if a hard drive contains footage that cost you $10,000 to shoot in the first place, think about the value of the hard drive as being $10,000 or more, not just the couple of hundred dollars that the hard drive cost you. Backing up your external editing hard drives is extremely important, and failing to do so can be a costly mistake.

We recommend purchasing hard drives and RAID systems for editing in sets of two: if you buy one 2TB hard drive to store your footage on, buy a second 2TB hard drive to store a complete backup of your footage as well. If your footage grows over time, make sure you either manually copy over additional footage from one hard drive to the other, or use automated drive cloning software like Super Duper to make sure both drives remain up to date. In cases where your editing system also stores render files, keeping these up to date across hard drives is generally less essential since if data loss on one hard drive occurs, you may have to re-render in your NLE no matter what.

Be sure to also back up your editing project file, be it a Final Cut Pro file, an Adobe Premiere Pro file, an Avid Media Composer file, Sony Vegas file or other project file type. For large projects, we recommend copying your project file and renaming it with the file date before each editing session, so you have a folder with all your old project files from previous days' editing sessions backed up just in case you ever need to access them– either because you accidentally deleted an important sequence/timeline from last week, or because the project file got corrupted and is no longer usable.

What is the best peripheral interface to connect an external hard drive using?

Right now the computer industry is slowly shifting port types as part of these transitions that seem to happen every few years. Here are some of the most common professional ports used by external hard drives for editing video:

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