External SSD via USB 3.0 vs internal SSD

F

firehawk

Veteran
Looking at using an SSD via USB adapter cable to connect via USB 3.0 port (Samsung EVO 970 or Samsung QVO)
How does it compare in speed to the same SSD internal?

It would be for a client so I can just keep all their project files on a dedicated SSD so I can work on desktop using the drive and then take it to their location for final edits via my laptop.

So I'd start the project on my desktop using the external drive and then go to their location with my laptop to finish final edits with them. Their projects are adding up in size over the years so this seems like good solution?
 
Yeah, that is what I have been doing since 2012 (although if I ever edited again like that I'd have to get a USB-C adapter). It's also the way I transfer footage in the field.

I used these StarTechs: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._0_to_2_5.html

It works well, but USB 2/3 is limited by its I/O vs. internal SATA.

But the playback and transferring speeds in general are still a delight over spinning drives. Highly recommended.
 
On M1 Mac my primary editing drive is an external M.2 drive in OWC envoy enclosure connected via usb-c. I was doing a 4k multicam project and the bottleneck was the decode not the hard drive speed. I created a proxy and edited like butter.

USB 3.0 is slower so I wouldn't expect it to be as snappy as usb c or an internal.
 
Thanks Norbro. I use all internal Samsung SSD drives in my older edit PC but wasn't sure if using external Samsung SSD would compromise speed.
The cable you linked is like what I have
 
Thank you Peter. The only ports that both my edit laptop and edit desktop have are USB 3.0.
Hmmm.. My desktop does have E-Sata and the laptop has USB-C, so maybe I could get whichever adapter cable is fastest for each separate machine and then plug the shared SSD into it for each machine
 
If the PC is really old you may not even see a difference, but there could be a difference of a few hundred MB/s depending on the hardware and the drive (I haven't checked your drive speeds).

But I wouldn't worry about it, and if you have the adapter now, could you do a test and see? It sounds like you'll be using your computers to edit?
 
BTW, you could use software to check out the reading/writing of the adapter and drive you have...maybe see what kind of numbers you get just to know?
 
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