-
MacBook Pro External Drive Configuration
I am doing video editing while on travel. I can’t carry around a desktop+monitor, so my MacBook Pro is what I will need to use. Currently, I shoot in H.264 at 1080p then convert to ProRes 422 for editing. Most of the work is then exported back into H.264 for viewing on the web (but I also burn some DVDs from time to time).
I do not have enough room on my internal drive for storage of the original and ProRes 422 files… because of this, I have been using a 2TB G-Drive for storage of everything FCP related (video, scratch, FCP workspaces, exports, etc.). Each time I get back to the office I backup the files onto my desktop RAID and move a copy to my off-site backup. When I finish a project I remove the related files from the portable external drive, so rarely come close to filling-up the drive.
I have recently purchased a 2TB G-RAID (RAID0) and was planning on using it for storage using the 2TB G-Drive for additional storage and back-up of the RAID0 while traveling. Currently the drives are connected using FW800, but I will be getting an expresscard to run these off eSATA soon.
What I would like to know… what is the best configuration for using these drives? Should I keep the FCP scratch files on one drive and the video file storage on another? Should I have the scratch files or the video files stored on the RAID0? The opposite? Should I use (a small part) of my internal system drive for some files, if so… what?
Thanks in advance for any information!
-Todd…
Computer Specifications:
15″ MacBook Pro (Unibody)
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1067MHz DDR3
MacOS 10.5.8
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256MB) and NVIDIA 9600M GT (512MB)
Internal: Hitachi HTS723232L9SA62 (320GB @ 7200rpm)
External: 2TB G-RAID (eSATA/FW800)
External: 2TB G-Drive (eSATA/FW800) -
4 Replies
-
You say you have a 15″ MacBook Pro (Unibody) but you also say you plan on getting a esata express card. Only the 17″ unibody has an express slot.
“I do not have enough room on my internal drive for storage of the original and ProRes 422 files”
NEVER edit from your system drive it has enough to do just running the OS and applications. Making the same drive access big media files atnthe same time will hinder performance.
**Hindsight is always 1080p**
-
Sorry, you are correct… it is not a unibody. I have the “Late 2008” version which does have the expresscard slot (full specs).
I understand that the system drive has lots to do running the OS/Apps/etc. I would prefer to have all of the video related files (media itself, cache, project files, etc.) on the external drives, but didn’t know if there was any benefit to having the project files on a different drive than the media and scratch/render files (even if it was the system disk).
If you have one RAID0, what is more important to have on it… the media or the scratch/render files?
My current thought is to have the media (video files themselves) and the project files on the G-DRIVE… and the scratch/render files on the G-RAID (being backed-up to the G-Drive). Is this the best way to do it, or would it make more sense to have the scratch/render files on the G-DRIVE and the media/project files on the G-RAID?
-Todd…
-
Oh, and if it makes any difference… the video files are captured in H.264 and stored on memory cards inside the camera (GoPro HD). I transfer the video files directly to whichever drive will be for media storage. So, if I understand it correctly, having maximum write speeds for “capture” (no dropped frames) wouldn’t be an issue… since it’s just a transfer of an file.
I would like to be running the setup that results in faster viewing/editing/rendering/exporting…
I guess that brings-up one more thing… with the media and scratch/render files on different drives, where would I want to use for exporting the final edited videos? Whichever is faster (RAID)? The drive that is different than the scratch/render files? The drive that is different than the media?
Thanks again for all the help!
-Todd…
-
Hi Todd,
As with any FCP project, it can only perform as fast as it’s slowest link. So if you are using the GRAID for render files, FCP will run as slow as the FW800 can handle.
I wouldn’t really recommend breaking up the project files into different drives, it can complicate things and you won’t see any speed boast. As long as you have enough space to run everything off of the GDrive, that would be the fastest (once you’re running eSata).
Many people recommend having the project file on another drive, mostly due to the fact the the media drives are so heavily used, that they would be more likely to fail. I know in a lot of post-production environments, at the end of the day the editor will save a copy of the project file onto a another drive/directory so they have that as a backup in case the drive fails. I would recommend that type of workflow for you.
Good Luck,
Todd at UCSB
Television Production
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up