Working off External Hard Drives

[Emma Vincent]

Hi Brian! I am working through Damien's Bridge class and trying to overhaul my workflow. I was attempting to implement Damien's recommendation of NOT working off an External Hard Drive (as I currently do) and asked a question regarding saving images to my desktop and was referred to this thread by Damien: 

https://ask.damiensymonds.net/topic/33422-ive-been-saving-on-my-desktop/ 

After reading (and comprehending that it is a terrible idea to save things to your Mac desktop) I noticed at the end your recommendation that if your internal Hard Drive is tiny you ~can~ work off an external which I think is my best option. I am currently saving for a computer upgrade so I am looking for help with a Band Aid for my ancient 2014 MacBook Air. 

After reading this thread: 

 

I am trying to compare: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ND4DV9M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1 and it's counterpart that appears to be more portable: https://www.amazon.com/G-Technology-G-Drive-Portable-External-0G10348/dp/B07G4DWPCP/ref=sr_1_4?crid=NQ0Y98YWZGKO&dchild=1&keywords=g-technology+4tb+g-drive+with+thunderbolt&qid=1624424637&s=electronics&sprefix=G-Technology+4TB+G-DRIVE+thunder%2Celectronics%2C174&sr=1-4  

Is there any reason I can't go with the more portable option? As long as I am okay with it sucking my battery since it doesn't have its own external power source?

Additionally-  I am looking for your advice on if you think I will be okay working off of a USB 3.0? Or do I need really need make the leap to a Thunderbolt? 

Thank you so much in advance for your help! 

Emma 

 

[Brian]

Yes, the more crap you have on the Mac Desktop, the slower it runs. As I've written in my article, the MacOS treats each and every file/folder as an open Window, for lack of a better term. Got 1000 photos of the Smith-Jones Wedding? That's 1000 "Opened Windows," plus a few more for each of the folders!! If anything were to get corrupted, the Desktop...whether it's a Mac Desktop or Windows Desktop, that's where it will happen. Believe me, I've seen what happens with corrupted profiles and Desktops. When things go wrong, you lose stuff.

Personally, I work of an External Drive, with one caveat! My EHD is a fancy Thunderbolt 3 12TB G-Drive. That EHD  is very fast. It's like working off an internal drive.

I would not be working off the EHD if it was a USB drive, 2.0 or 3.0 if I had a choice.

Of course, if you have a Laptop that only has a 128 or 250GB drive, it may not be physically possible to edit a whole session off of the internal drive!

So now you choices, personally, I would get the one that isn't as portable if you are looking to edit off of them. Why? Traditional Spinning HDs come in two flavors, a 5400RPM version and a 7200RPM version. What's the difference? SPEED. You can work off a 7200RPM drive, even if it is "USB 3.0." Is it ideal? No. However, I wouldn't bother with a 5400RPM model. How can you tell? 7200RPM drives suck up more power and need a external power supply; that's the dead give-away. You need to be really picky in your situation on what you purchase.

Honestly? If you are looking for portability and speed, I'd skip a classic EHD altogether, and go for a Sandisk 2TB SSD Drive. (The new generation / latest model, it has a faster through-put.) The 4TB model is a bit pricey, at $900. Give it time, prices will come down eventually in a few years.

21 hours ago, Emma Vincent said:

Or do I need really need make the leap to a Thunderbolt? 

Should you make the leap to Thunderbolt? Yes, if your Mac Laptop has Thunderbolt 3 port, by all means TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!!!

My fancy G-Drive has Thunderbolt 3 Ports AND a USB 3.0 port. Of course I only use the TB3 port with that drive. One other thing is the G-Drives come Mac Formatted, but if you do get the Sandisk, please drop me a note first, we will need to properly setup that drive for use with the Mac. It takes about 5 minutes, but it needs to be done before you store anything on that drive.