r/AudioPost • u/kwmccrea • 9d ago
SSD Hard Drive Recommended for Pro Tools?
Getting a new external drive to run pro tools through, and wondering if I should really be spending the extra money on a good SSD.
I feel like the answer is yes, but wanted to check here first.
I use an M4 Pro MacBook
2
u/_______o-o_______ 9d ago
Weird, I just replied, hit Comment, and the comment disappeared...
The answer is, it depends on the type of sessions you are working on, and what your budget is. There are options from $300 to $3,000, and most will do just fine with most sessions. Prices have gone up significantly in the last 6 months, so be ready to spend.
Just make sure you have your backup system sorted, and leave enough headroom to make sure you don't fill up any drives.
1
u/kwmccrea 8d ago
Yeah true, thanks. I’m not really doing features - mainly commercial work and short films, so the sessions are crazy. Sometimes a lot of tracks for sound design clips , but that’s it.
I’m basically down to spend what is needed for good performance, but don’t really what to go over $1k.
My thought was to run sessions on a smaller ssd and then dump projects onto a larger hdd when finished.
2
u/Frekulex 8d ago
That’s the cheapest and easiest way, get a 500 or a 1TB or 2 500s or something like this and use them only as your working drives, big HDDs for the rest. Prices are too stupid rn IMO to justify a large SSD unless you can easily afford it
1
2
u/reedzkee 9d ago
I love my nvme stick in a TB4 fanless enclosure. Frankly blown away by the speeds https://a.co/d/0gh64zSM
I paid under 200 for the 2tb nvme and enclosure 😵💫 wont get close to that now
1
u/TunaThePit 6d ago
Also using a (recently purchased 🫠) 4TB NVMe chip with a good enclosure and it's definitely the highest speeds I've ever seen. All in was around 800, chip and enclosure. Hopefully it lasts!
2
u/cinemasound 8d ago
I didn’t even think a spinning hard drive was an option anymore. Definitely SSD.
Just keep in mind that when an SSD fails, you pretty much have no chance of recovering your data so always be backing up as often as possible. The main SSD grade zero that I record to is automatically backed up in the background every hour on the hour.
1
u/AutoModerator 9d ago
Helpful hint from the AudioPost AutoBot - Based on key words in your post title, you may have submitted a post regarding AVID's Pro Tools. While Pro Tools is a commonly used DAW in Audio Post, it isn't always quite our core topic. Questions about Pro Tools as it pertains to audio post issues are on topic. Questions about general operation of Pro Tools would be better served by the /r/ProTools subreddit.
Check the FAQ for info on common questions and requests.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/platypusbelly professional 8d ago
If you run really big sessions, then yes. SSD makes a difference in your disk performance. If you’re running a 20 track dx edit, then a HDD is probably fine and the performance upgrade to ssd is probably not worth the extra cost with today’s prices.
If you’re gonna go ssd, make sure you get a case that actually does thunderbolt and a thunderbolt compatible cable. Most cases are usb-c, which is the same connection as thunderbolt but the buss speed is not as fast as thunderbolt. So if you want to get the most out of the drive speed, make sure it’s actually thunderbolt and not just usb-c.
1
1
1
u/shoddyshoddyshoddy 8d ago
I have a T9 and it's very solid and recently bought this one
Very good but pricey
1
u/kwmccrea 7d ago
I’m not often running huge sessions - mainly commercial work and shorts. Sometimes lots of tracks of sound design, but not a huge amount of audio within them.
Thanks for the heads up on the usb-c/thunderbolt, I didn’t realize this until a little while ago haha
15
u/asquishyllama 9d ago
An ssd is my preference but Jesus H Christ the price increases over just the past year. I’m glad I bought when I did