Which Hard Drive is better for me? (Mac)

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porkplan

New member
I'm just a hobbyist/ amateur when it comes to music production. So im not sure if I should get the higher end hard drive.
I am using a 21.50nch, mid 2011 iMac

Im choosing between these 2 :

LaCie 1TB Rugged Hard Drive Triple USB 3.0 (5400 RPM) - Apple Store (U.S.)

LaCie 1TB Rugged Thunderbolt/USB 3.0 Hard Drive - Apple Store (U.S.)

I use Logic Pro X. And I would like to use it for other digital files as well since I do photography and RAW files are space consuming.

Which would you recommend? Thanks! :)
 
Depends what exactly you're using it for - most people would put their software on the laptop itself and use this sort of drive for backup purposes, in which case it doesn't really matter and I'd get something cheaper, they both seem expensive to me.

However if you're wanting to use these as a live, real time drive in recording, again it depends exactly what part they're to play in the recording... hold VSTi samples? stream the audio files?

I'm not a Mac guy so I'll let someone who is, come along and steer you.

RAW files are big, but they don't DO anything - they're still pictures... they just sit there and you edit them in an image editing program. Requires no real speed, just space.
 
Never get a 5400rpm drive. Always go with 7200rpm.

I have the same exact iMac and I only use Glyph quad-interface (usb2, firewire400/800, eSata) drives (I use firewire800).
I got my current 1Tb project drive for $180 at Amazon.
Well worth the little extra money for the drive recovery warranty and my previous 5-year-old Glyph is still running strong.
 
Looks like the only difference is $50 for Thunderbolt interface. If you're going to use the drive for recording, you'll want the faster throughput 10Gb/s vs 5Gb/s). If you're going to use it to back up what you've recorded, save the $50.
 
Those are not too expensive in mac money, but bear in mind you can get a 2TB Seagate for $100 (Seagate Dashboard 3.0 is available for MacOS). Use a USB 3.0 drive (or a pair). And BTW, you can split up your library between several drives and pull instruments from different drives (speeding up the access times). You should not have any problems with 5Gb/sec transfer rate to do what you're seeking (especially if you spend $200 on two 2TB drives instead of $200 on one 1TB drive).
 
BroKen_H said:
Looks like the only difference is $50 for Thunderbolt interface. If you're going to use the drive for recording, you'll want the faster throughput 10Gb/s vs 5Gb/s). If you're going to use it to back up what you've recorded, save the $50.
Click to expand...

You don't need thunderbolt. A 7200rpm drive on FireWire or usb3 can stream well over 100 tracks.
 
Sorry im not very good with technical terms like rpm. So basically I any kind of hard drive will do the job for me? Or do you have specific models that you would recommend?
 
So basically i just need a hard drive with 7200 rpm. And either on firewire or usb 3? And it should do the job for recording purposes on logic pro x on my 2011 mac?
 
RPM is revolutions per minute. Refers to the platter speed inside the drive.

The $100 Seagate I was referring to was STDR2000100. It is a 5400 RPM drive.
7200 RPM externals are few and far between, but Axis Velocity (google it) from Drive Station fits that bill and works for mac OS. 2TB unit is $130. OR Fantom Drives GF3B2000UP at $119. Either should work for what you want to do.
The Seagate would not be underkill, but might bottleneck under extreme pressure.
 
" It is a 5400 RPM drive.
7200 RPM externals are few and far between,"

You had me worried for a moment there Ken! But I ran Speccy and indeed my Seagate Expansion Desk USB 3.0 drive IS 7,200 rpm! £70 from Maplin and silent.
As it happens, just an hour ago I shifted 7.1G of various files from the Desktop over to it and that took a sniff under 7 minutes. Good? Bad? Whatchathink?

Dave.
 
BroKen_H said:
I think that sometimes it's good to be wrong. :D
Click to expand...

And yes that happens...

I am not sure Seagate even makes a 5200 RPM drive anymore...

Oh yeah, they do for 2.5" drives.


Still cheaper to buy an external case and drive. $59 for 1TB. At least where I live it is.

Wish I lived closer to China. Half that price I would assume. :)
 
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jimmys69 said:
And yes that happens...

I am not sure Seagate even makes a 5200 RPM drive anymore...

Oh yeah, they do for 2.5" drives.


Still cheaper to buy an external case and drive. $59 for 1TB. At least where I live it is.

Wish I lived closer to China. Half that price I would assume. :)
Click to expand...

Well my Seagate is 2TB and £70 is close to $100? That is not bad for UK let me tell thee!

Now I was not that good at Geography at school but I think Aus' is closer to China than either of us and they get shafted for electronicals worse than we!

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Well my Seagate is 2TB and £70 is close to $100? That is not bad for UK let me tell thee!

Now I was not that good at Geography at school but I think Aus' is closer to China than either of us and they get shafted for electronicals worse than we!

Dave.
Click to expand...

Go figure that!

Trade relations and politics. Some things I do not wish to talk about. Argh...

:)
 
Hi. Are 7200 pm hard drives essential for my purposes? Cause i cant seem to find any in my country. Anywhere i ask they only have 5400s :)
 
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