External sample hard drive solutions for iMac with limited ports...

[Ryanguy]

Hi, need advice for external sample hard drives for iMac. it's a 2019 Retina 5k 27-inch, 3,5 Ghz 8-core Intel Core i9

It has (2) Thunderbolt 3 ports, currently being used for:

1. Apollo Twin X
2. 1TB external SSD drive (currently)

It also has (4) USB 3.0 ports, which I'm using for:

1. MIDI keyboard
2. USB hub for iLok
3. PreSonus Faderport
4. -OPEN-

Note: I need to have an external monitor (4k) as well. This could be done via the Thunderbolt 3 port with a cable (though I really don't want to waste that for a simple monitor), or via the USB 3.0 port, with a dongle...although most are limited to 30hz instead of 60hz (unless you spend $$$). Maybe this isn't an issue since I'm not gaming or anything...I'm not really that knowledgeable regarding monitor specs...I just need a higher resolution monitor so I have more real estate on the screen.

Question....not sure which way to go here. My current SSD is practically filled up with one orchestral library, so not sure what everyone else does. Should I get a hub of some sort? A multiple drive bay??? Surely I'm not the first person to need more storage on a computer with limited ports.

Am I overthinking all of this somehow? These sample libraries are so big, it doesn't take much before these huge drives fill up.

Advice???

 

[Markdvc]

In terms of an external drive, or drives, lots of options. Quick and very portable would be the Samsung T7 - I have a 2TB version of this, I use it for Final Cut Pro Projects running on an intel Mac Book Pro 2019. The drive can read and write around a GB per second, it should be plenty fast for running even larger sample libraries, VSL, Spitfire and this like. Alternatively, you could look at any of the SATA SSDs, which may be less expensive. You could then choose an external case, maybe something like these:

860 EVO SATA III 2.5zoll SSD | MZ-76E4T0B/EU | Samsung Deutschland

Samsung 860 EVO is a Solid State Drive(SSD) powered by V-NAND technology for upgrading desktop, laptop, and gaming PC.

www.samsung.com

Ugreen USB C 2.5 Inches SATA III Hard Drive Enclosure

UGREEN 2.5" Hard Drive Enclosure USB C 3.1 Gen 2 to SATA III 6Gbps for SSD HDD 9.5/7mm External Hard Drive Disk Case w/UASP Compatible with WD, Seagate, Toshiba, Samsung

www.ugreen.com

HTH, kind regards

Mark

 

[Ryanguy]

Thank you Mark for the advice. But what if my library is 8-10 TBs or more? what do most people do in that case? Does anyone have any experience with Thunderbolt 3 hubs or docks?

 

[Markdvc]

Thank you Mark for the advice. But what if my library is 8-10 TBs or more?

Then you need larger drives. SSD gets expensive for that amount of space. What sort of data are we talking about?

what do most people do in that case? Does anyone have any experience with Thunderbolt 3 hubs or docks?

I use a Belkin TB dock with my Mac Book Pro, depending on what I'm doing I may have several Metric Halo ULN 8 and 2882 connected by MHLink per Ethernet trhough it, along with a UAD Octo and then various USB devices, including this, containing two 8 TB WD Drives: OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual eSATA
I was also running a PCIe/M2 system in a belkin PCIe/TB case, consisting of 4 Samung 980 Pro 2 TB chips installed in a sonnet silent card, also attached to the hub. Very fast but very expensive. Since then I have that card internally in my studio Mac Pro, running Samples, Video and current audio projects.

kind regards

Mark