External HD question

[andwutt]

looking to run my sample library from an external drive fast enough to handle the load. what exactly am i looking for? any suggestions?
right now i'm using a Seagate Backup Plus for Mac and it's noticably slower then my main drive while running Ableton.

[fishmonkey]

an SSD in a good USB 3.0 enclosure...

[mihai]

lol unless you're loading massive libraries the ssd is overkill. most usb3 hdds with good ratings should be fine, plus live loads samples in ram by default so there's no speed bottleneck there.

[fishmonkey]

lol unless you're loading massive libraries the ssd is overkill. most usb3 hdds with good ratings should be fine, plus live loads samples in ram by default so there's no speed bottleneck there.

i prefer fast, light, and quiet drives, especially for an audio production setup...

[mihai]

modern hard drives haven't been too loud. and again, unless you're loading 32/192 orchestra libraries or mixing large audio files of that fidelity an ssd isn't really needed especially with live loading samples in ram.

[fishmonkey]

if you have the $$ get an SSD. if not, get a fast hard drive in a good USB 3.0 enclosure...

i prefer to buy the enclosures and drives separately, as most off-the-shelf external hard drives have average performance and longevity...