Best External Ssd for Video Editing – When buying an external SSD for the purpose of Video Editing there is a lot to look out for. We have created a list of some of the most important factors for using an external ssd for video editing. Which resulted in the above list of external drives that are suitable for video editing wether on Mac or Windows that will work with a variety of video editors such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas, Final Cut Pro, iMovie and many more.
We’re sure that as costs come down even further we’ll see larger storage capacities, and as new versions of USB and Thunderbolt are released we’ll see faster models as well, including the currently expensive nVME drives becoming more affordable. We’re excited to see what results from these future technologies!
ROUND UP
It’s easy to take external SSDs for granted these days. The ability to have these tiny little lightweight, sturdy, resilient drives that can store ridiculous amounts of videos and let us edit without taking up space on the internal drive is a godsend to many editors and filmmakers.
back to menu ↑1.SanDisk 1TB Extreme
Features
- Get NVMe solid state performance featuring up to 1050MB/s read and up to 1000MB/s write speeds in a portable, high-capacity drive that’s perfect for creating amazing content or capturing incredible footage. Requires compatible devices capable of reaching such speed. Based on internal testing; Performance may be lower depending on host device, interface, usage conditions and other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes.
- Up to 2 meter drop protection and IP55 water and dust resistance (3) mean this tough drive can take a beating
- Use the handy Carabiner loop to secure it to your belt loop or backpack for extra peace of mind
- Help keep private content private with the included password protection featuring 256‐bit AES hardware encryption (2)
- Back up mobile content quickly and easily thanks to compatibility with a range of USB Type-C smart phones
- From SanDisk, the brand professional photographers worldwide trust to handle their best shots and footage
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑2.Sabrent Rocket
Features
- SUPPORTS - Designed to work with both Windows and Mac OS, so you can transfer data between almost any computer in the world. Complies with trim, UASP, and firmware is upgradable.
- PLUG & PLAY - OS independent, and fully bus powered, No drivers required.
- SPEED - Ultra-fast 10Gbps throughput, low latency and power efficient. At up to 1000MB/s,
- DESIGN - Ultra slim aluminum alloy sandblasted shell. Sleek, Durable, and Convenient. Portable yet durable, ideal for traveling.
- USE - Perfect for a variety of uses including data transfer, high-speed storage, data backup, and more.
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑3.JOIOT 250GB
Features
- 【Shockproof & Drop Resistant】With rugged aluminum alloy body, makes portable SSD resistant to shock and vibration to protect the Portable Solid State Drive core and dissipate heat, and sleek design is easy to grip. Your digital data would be protected well whether in the office or outdoors.
- 【Ultra-Light Extreme Portable】Upgraded portable solid state drive with the size of 64.5x27.9x9.9mm/2.54x1.1x0.39inch and weighing 0.88oz, this portable SSD is ultra-light and mini. It is easy and convenient to carry. Portable solid state drive meets your portable demands anytime anywhere if any devices with USB slots can be accessed.
- 【Outstanding Performance】Supported by the built-in NAND Flash & USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface, external SSD hard drive offers 200MB/s write speed and 400MB/s read speed. Ideal for transferring large-sized data including 4K videos, high-resolution photos and more. Backward compatible with USB 3.0, USB 2.0.
- 【Fully Compatible】250GB external SSD hard drives are for you to select .Comes with USB A to C cable to connect with all computers with Type A port, Plug-and-Play for compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and Linux system and so on. Also supports laptops and smart phones with USB C port using a connector.
- 【Package & Guarantee】You can get 1* Portable Solid State Drive, 1*Type-A to Type-C Data Cable, 1*A to C Adapter, 1* Storage bag and we provide a 12-Month warranty for this Solid State Drive if there is any quality problem.
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑4.RAVPower External
Features
- Unmatched Performance: Cutting-edge reading/writing speeds up to 540MB/s, 5x faster than a conventional HDD, plays high-end gaming or 4K videos in seconds, no more waiting around
- Crafted to Perfection: As the most popular SSD for young adults, RAVPower SSD is crafted with zinc-aluminum alloy casing with piano-baked finish that’s delicate & comfortable touch and elegant simplistic design, provides higher resistance to shock and optimal heat dissipation
- Worry-Free Data Security: ATA lock technology and AES 256 bit hardware encryption s nobody but you, with the correct password, can read or write data to the SSD, keeps all your personal and private data away from unauthorized users
- Fully Compatible: Comes with USB C to C and USB C to A cables to seamlessly work with Windows PC (Windows 7 or higher), MAC (MAC OS 10. 12 or higher), Android smartphones or tablets with USB C port, iPad Pro, Xbox and PS4
- Professional Memory Hardware: Supported by the built-in NAND Flash & USB 3. 1 Gen 2 interface, together with Silicon Motion SM2258XT controller & JMS580 chipset for 10Gbps rate
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑5.VAVA External SSD Pro
Features
- Unmatched Performance: Cutting-edge read/write speeds up to 540MB/s, 5x faster than a conventional HDD, handles high-end gaming and 4K videos in seconds, no more waiting
- Built to Perfection: VAVA SSD Pro is crafted with zinc-aluminum alloy casing with piano-baked finish that’s elegant, delicate and comfortable to touch, providing higher shock -resistance and optimal heat dissipation
- Worry-Free Data Security: ATA lock technology and AES 256 bit hardware encryption s nobody but you with the correct password can read or write data to the SSD Pro, keeps all your personal and private data away from unauthorized users
- Fully Compatible: Comes with USB C to C and USB C to A cables to work seamlessly with Windows PC (Windows 7 or higher), MAC (MAC OS 10. 12 or higher), Android smartphones or tablets with USB C port, iPad Pro, Xbox and PS4
- Backed by a Trusted Supplier: The core components of this industry-leading external SSD Pro are supplied by one of the top 3 suppliers in the world, ensures unparalleled performance and incredible reliability from the Solid State Drive
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑6.Glyph Atom RAID
Features
- USB-C 3.1 Gen2, USB 3.0, Thunderbolt 3
- Up to 800MB/s Transfer Rate
- Compatible with Mac OS and Windows Vista
- Rugged Construction
- Fan-Less heat dissipation
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑7.G-Technology
Features
- A durable design with IP67 water/dust resistance, 3M drop tested, and 1000 pounds crush resistance
- Super fast transfer rates up to 560MB/s
- Latest generation USB C connectivity (USB 3.1 Gen 2)
- Shock and vibration resistant solid state drive
- With capacities up to 2TB in a small, light package (As used for storage capacity, 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes and 1 terabyte (TB) = 1 trillion bytes; Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment.)
- Order with your Alexa enabled device; Just ask "Alexa, order G Technology External SSD."
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑8.LaCie
Features
- Shock, drops up to 4 feet, dust and water resistant for all-terrain use
- For Mac compatibility this Hard Drive requires reformatting. Refer to Application Guide for more details
- Password protection built in. Maximum speed is 130 mb per second
- Uses USB 3.0 which is up to 4 times faster than USB 2.0 (USB 2.0 compatible)
- Includes 1-month complimentary membership to Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps Plan. Must redeem by January 31, 2020
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑9.SAMSUNG T7
Features
- FINGERPRINT SECURITY: SSD with fingerprint and password security
- BLAZING FAST STORAGE: Reads up to 1,050 MB/s / Writes up to 1 000 MB/s. Transfers files nearly 9.5x faster than hard drives
- LED STATUS INDICATOR: The T7 Touch features an LED square that illuminates to keep you informed of what your SSD is doing at a glance
- BUILT STRONG: Shock-resistant and withstands drops from 6ft
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑10.GNARBOX
Features
- USB-C (x2), SD and Micro HDMI ports
- USB-C transfer 350MB/s & SD backup 75MB/s
- Water, Dust & Shock Resistant
- Single-step backup with status & checksum
- Mobile apps for photographers & videographers
OUR TAKE
back to menu ↑Best External Ssd for Video Editing – BUYER’S GUIDE
Storage Capacity
You’ve probably heard size isn’t everything, that may be true but when it comes to capturing Ultra HD video that isn’t necessarily true. As a YouTuber or filmmaker you’re constantly producing large amounts of video in high resolutions that need storage. Therefore we would recommend at least 1TB for your needs.
Transfer Speed
Time is money my friend and YouTubers know this. Transfer speed is important and if a drive can shave down the agony of the waiting to write or read off of a drive then the external drive was definitely worthwhile.
SSDs come in 2 main categories of speed 500-600MB/s range as seen with the Samsung T5, Sandisk Extreme and the G-Technology Rugged SSD and the RAID 0 SSDs with a transfer speed of 750-950MB/s. These are exceptionally faster than traditional hard drives.
What is the difference between an SSD and an SSD in RAID 0?
RAID 0 are meant for Speed, but with speed comes a cost. A physical dollar cost as they are a lot more expensive but also at the cost of data redundancy which means the failure of one drive will cause the entire array to fail. Because the array has data striped across all of the drives, the failure will result in total data loss. However, SSDs are less prone to failure than traditional hard drives but glitches may still occur.
Therefore, RAID 0 in my opinion are not for long term storage but more for the capture, editing and transfer, a working drive.
Portability & Durability
Portability is key with external drives, wether you’re working from home but moving around with your laptop or travelling and exploring the size and durability of an SSD is quite important.
Most SSDs come with shock resistant drives and a rugged exterior, some are even water, dust and crush proof and drop proof of up to 2-3M. The most durable SSD mentioned above is the is the G-Tech Rugged SSD which has an IP67 Rating but is marginally larger than its competitors.
Hard Drives in comparison are not drop proof and are very fragile due to the moving parts in it, this is why we reccomend using an SSD.
Portability is also a key factor, if you’re someone who’s is travelling in lot on planes, trains and ubers or goes to co-working spaces most of these SSD drives are highly portable with the Samsung T5 being the sleek portable drive of choice.
Hard Drives are typically a lot heavier, larger and slower thanks to all the moving parts.
However, if you are looking for a middle-ground with ruggedness, portability and speed we would recommend the Sandisk Extreme.
Compatibility
Most PCs & Macs nowadays have USB 3.0. Its the most common. A lot of drive performance in terms of speed depends on your own setups specifications in terms of USB and how fast your internal drive can read/write too.
The latest USB 3.1 Gen 2 are backwards compatible with 3.0 and even 2.0 but you’re probably not using the outdated USB 2.0. If your computer/laptop does not have USB C it probably has a USB A Connector (Most Common USB) and these cables come available with most of the SSDs.
USB 3.0 performance tends to test with SSDs around the mid 400MB/s. While USB 3.1 (often referred to as USB 3.1 Gen 2) clocks in over 500 for most non-raid drives, and with RAID in the high 700’s-800MB/s. Mac users with Thunderbolt 3 and thunderbolt three drives have the fastest transfer speeds as highlighted with the Glyph Atom.
Frequently Asked Questions
back to menu ↑Should You Make Your Own Portable SSD?
If none of the drives we’ve selected for this roundup sounds appealing to you (or you already own an internal SSD that’s hanging around the house or office), there’s one more option available: SSD enclosures. These are plastic or metal housings into which you can put your own SATA 2.5-inch or M.2 solid-state drive to take with you on the go.
Enclosures come in 2.5-inch form factors (into which you would put a 2.5-inch SATA SSD) or M.2 ones. The stick-style M.2 SSD is much smaller and lighter, but know that M.2 drives themselves come in both SATA and PCIe bus flavors. You need to be sure your enclosure supports the kind of M.2 drive you’re putting in it.
back to menu ↑WRAP UP
Long gone are the days of needing some bulky huge external hard drives for your general storage needs. While video editors and photographers have typically had drawers full of drives taking up a ton of space, the reliance on slower spinning hard disks for daily use is thankfully coming to a close. You can now work directly off of USB attached solid-state drives, making video editing much easier, especially while traveling. There are a lot of choices out there, but we’ve narrowed down our picks for the best SSDs for video editing.
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