Ableton Forum

I have just acquired a 2019 Intel Macbook Pro, having previously been using Windows. This will give me the possibility to install apps to external drives, rather than having to put all apps on the C: drive, and this will be handy because I will be installing quite a bit of bulky software and I only have 1TB of internal storage. What I am thinking of doing is putting all my audio production software, including Live, Komplete, and iZotope MPS; my audio libraries; and my audio projects on an external 2TB SSD. The precise capacity of drive isn't yet fixed, and I am also considering whether I should install video production software (I haven't yet decided which) to the same drive, which I might then also use for working on the video projects themselves (although working on the video projects on the internal storage is also an option).

The question I have is how fast do this drive and its connection need to be? Will normal USB 3 be fast enough for what I want to do, or will I be likely to regret not getting a significantly more expensive Thunderbolt 3 drive?

hi there ricecrispies,

i feel strangely compelled by your username.

1 TB of internal storage is a decent chunk. i recommend you install all apps and plugins and your most used software libraries on the internal drive. i would also use the internal drive as your working drive as it is much faster than an external drive will be. bigger sample libraries can go on the external drive.

using your internal drive for current projects also makes having a decent backup system more straightforward.

for external drives i usually favour buying a decent enclosure (e.g. one from OWC) and bare drive separately. as for Thunderbolt 3 versus USB 3, it mostly depends on how patient you are.

additionally, if you are doing big video projects then consider how much bandwidth you need — a single USB 3 drive might not cut it depending on how many streams of video you work with. Blackmagic Disk Speed Test is a good tool for checking this out:

https://apps.apple.com/au/app/blackmagi ... 4550?mt=12