What size hard drives for video editing-OS, Media Cache & Scratch, Project, Storage?

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What size hard drives for video editing-OS, Media Cache & Scratch, Project, Storage?

Looking at this setup, what is the minimal and acceptable size for the Media Cache & Scratch files?
  • OS - 250gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD
  • Project files - 500gb Samsung 960 EVO M.2 NVME SSD
  • Media Cache & Scratch files - ?? 120gb or 320gb 7200rpm HD or 250gb or 500gb EVO 850 SSD.
  • Storage/Backup - 2tb 7200rpm HD


Will going 7200rpm HD for the Media Cache & Scratch files cause a bottle neck? Do you need a large size drive or will 120gb fast drive do?

I would use this setup mostly for 1080p video editing and the occasional 4K video. Software will be Premiere Pro CC and the FREE version Davinci Resolve.

Is there a better configuration I should use?

Thanks.
 
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I suggest reading through this article even if you're not using Premiere Pro and a Windows PC. Don't just jump to the conclusion. Seems like a pretty thoughtful discussion of the issues. Read the comments, too; some good extensions of the discussion. One thing I'd change, though, is using SSDs for source media...that makes sense for shorter work, but for long complex verite docs, that'd require A LOT of SSDs.... But after reading through all the tests in the article, you'll have a sense of what you'd want to change. And the basic recommendations are pretty good, I'd say.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015.4 Storage Optimization
Written on November 30, 2016 by Matt Bach
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Adobe-Premiere-Pro-CC-2015-4-Storage-Optimization-854/


For you, if you can swing it, consider a bigger OS/Software SSD; 250GB might be enough for today, but a 500ishGB (or bigger) SSD isn't all that expensive these days.
For media cache and scratch files, a SSD will be much peppier/smoother than a spinning-disk HD. This is pretty well covered in the article, I'd say.

Yes, SSDs cost more than HDs...but SSDs really aren't all that expensive...especially when the cost is spread out over every edit session. :)

Well that's my take.
 
If you have m.2 drive capability I would consider using it for the system/programs drive. I have a new build with a Samsung 960 Evo 250GB m.2 and it is blazing fast. On my motherboard it is next to an air intake fan for low temps. My A/V storage is on an assortment of SSDs.
 
Mark Williams said:
If you have m.2 drive capability I would consider using it for the system/programs drive. I have a new build with a Samsung 960 Evo 250GB m.2 and it is blazing fast. On my motherboard it is next to an air intake fan for low temps. My A/V storage is on an assortment of SSDs.
Click to expand...
I actually have an M.2 drive but I plan to use it for the Project files.

@Jim
I did read the article but still getting my head round it. Is it necessary to have a large Media Cache and Scratch drive? What would be the best minimum and also the best general size? Is 120gb SSD be enough?
 
reviving an old thread

I'm using Davinci 15 and want to make some informed hardware purchases to improve Davinci

I edit 1080p on Mac OS and currently have all my media on 7200rpm HDD via USB-3.(RAID 0/1 capable)

I have another USB-3 RAID enclosure and am able to purchase either a thunderbolt-1 4bay RAID and a USB-3 4bay RAID at a good prices.

So, thats the hardware side.


My aim is to start shooting 4K (hybrid camera or BMPCC 4K, drone, GoPro) and would like to make informed hardware purchases so that editing is as smooth as possible.

My question is: what type of drive (SSD/HDD) & capacity, and what enclosure/ port type (USB-3/TB-1) would you suggest I store
source files
cache files
media files



Thanks
 
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