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eSATA vs USB 3.0
I’m looking to upgrade to a larger hard drive. My 2011 MacBook Pro supports 1 Thunderbolt, 1 FW800, and 2 USB 2.0 ports. Thunderbolt is quite expensive, though I realize it’s the quickest. However, for this project I’m working on, it is ProRes422 HQ footage and I cuta Trailer with no issues on FW800. I used to edit on eSata, but I recently bought a new (to me) Mac, and it does not support ExpressCard34.
We’re looking at footage being 10-bit ProRes422 HQ. I’m a big fan of G-Technology and would like to stay with RAID-0 if I can. I’ve found an adapter that can do eSata or USB 3.0 to Thunderbolt.
By using any conversion (USB 3.0 or eSATA) to Thunderbolt, how would this compare to editing on FW800? I believe RAID-0 has a huge advantage over non-RAID systems, correct?
Thanks for the advice!
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5 Replies
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Generally you can’t go from something else to Thunderbolt, only from Thunderbolt to something else. Can you show me what adapter you’re looking at?
Also, RAID0 has some advantages over a single drive, notably speed and capacity. However, RAID0 has no failover at all. If one drive in your RAID0 dies, you lose all of your data. Period. Just like if you have a single drive. If this is just a working drive and you store your data somewhere else and back up your RAID0 regularly (as in multiple times a day) you’re fine.
As for the original question, either USB3 or eSATA will be much faster than FW800. FW800 theoretical max is 800Mb/s, while USB3 is 5.0Gb/s and eSATA III is 6Gb/s.
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Tyler Chittick
Integration & Technical Support
Maxx Digital
http://www.maxxdigital.com
tyler@maxxdigital.com
714-374-4944 -
Thanks for the feedback. Here is the adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LOLBBQQ/ref=gno_cart_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I only ask because while Thunderbolt is the best connection, I may not have the budget for it. Looking the the next best affordable option.
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That adapter will work if you have a Thunderbolt port on your computer, which you mentioned that you do. Then, you can plug in your eSATA drive to the eSATA port on that adapter and that should work for you. That will be much faster than FW800.
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Tyler Chittick
Integration & Technical Support
Maxx Digital
http://www.maxxdigital.com
tyler@maxxdigital.com
714-374-4944 -
Got it. Thanks for the input! Wasn’t sure how USB 3.0 and eSATA stacked up. If I’m editing ProRes422 HQ footage, is RAID-0 absolutely necessary compared to a single drive config?
I originally got it so I could capture HDV footage directly to the drive and it helped slightly in FCP7.
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I’m assuming a RAID-0 config would have significant performance over non RAID?
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