Best Portable Hard Drive For Pro Audio Mac Users
Choosing Between External Harddrives for Recording on Apple Laptops
Jul 12, 2009
Although mobile audio recording without an external hard drive is possible on all new MacBook or MacBook Pro Apple laptop computers, it is not recommended and is seldom suitable for the demands of professional audio users.
In a typical mobile recording situation, the laptop’s internal hard drive is engaged in running the system software, the related drivers and the digital audio workstation or sequencer application. Moreover, any active virtual instruments or plug-ins place further demand on the laptop’s internal hard drive.
When the highly intensive tasks of reading and writing audio files are added to this workload, the common results are glitch-ridden audio recording, DAW software crashes, and in some extreme cases, complete hard drive failure. The easy and obvious solution is to add an external hard drive.
Benefits of an External Hard Drive for Mobile Audio Recording
Dedicating an external hard drive to audio capture and playback will take a lot of pressure off of the laptop's internal hard drive thus leading to better overall system performance and more professional results when recording and monitoring audio on location.
Furthermore, using an external hard drive greatly reduces the amount of heat produced inside the laptop meaning a longer lifespan for not only the internal hard drive but for all the internal components.
An external hard drive is also a great solution for transferring large sessions from a recording location to a recording studio and an ideal place to store large sample libraries.
What to Look For in an External Hard Drive for Mobile Pro Audio
While budget and size restrictions must be addressed when choosing an external hard drive, there are a few technical details specific to mobile audio recording that users should also consider.
Data transfer speeds for external hard drives are dependent upon the type of interface used. USB 2.0 boasts transfer speeds up to 480Mbits/second whereas FireWire 400 and 800 will transfer at up to 400Mbits/second and 800Mbits/second respectively. While USB is less expensive and more common, FireWire is faster, supports bus-powered operation and is generally accepted as the standard for mobile pro audio connectivity.
However in recent years, connectivity has become less of an issue as many external hard drives now offer both USB and FireWire connectivity. It is also worth noting that all new Mac laptops have USB ports but Firewire 400 is not supported on some of the newer generations of MacBooks.
For optimal performance when working with audio files, the rotational speed of an external hard drive should be 7,200 RPM and no lower than 5,400 RPM. Hard drives that rotate at 10,000 RPM and over are best avoided by the majority of users because they tend to be excessive, expensive and prone to shorter life spans.
Capacity is another important issue and is totally dependent on budget. More often then not it pays to buy the largest capacity drive affordable.
Further Considerations for Mac Laptop Pro Audio External Hard Drives
External Serial ATA (eSATA) is another connectivity option for external hard drives. At 3.0 Gbits/second, eSATA drives have much faster transfer rates than USB or FireWire drives. However, eSATA drives are a more expensive investment because they require purchasing a separate eSATA card. Moreover, eSATA is only an option on Apple laptops with an ExpressCard slot. At the time of this writing, the current 17-inch MacBook Pro is the only new Mac laptop with an ExpressCard slot.
Unlike other digital audio workstation software, Pro Tools users are unique in that they must make sure that all external hard drives are Pro Tools compatible. Digidesign’s hard drive requirements vary depending on the version of Pro Tools software that is being used.
Which External Hard Drive is the Best for Recording Audio on a Mac Laptop?
The cheapest external hard drive solution for recording audio on a Mac laptop is a high speed USB 2.0 flash drive. Also known as or thumb drives or memory sticks, these drives are inexpensive and can work for location recordings with limited inputs and limited budgets.
On the other end of the spectrum are the external hard drives made by companies such as Glyph and Rocstor. These hard drives are specifically engineered for the demands of professional audio and video environments. Consequently, these drives tend to cost more money but are also backed by solid warranties.
Regardless of which hard drive is chosen, a portable external hard drive is necessary for professional results when recording audio on a Mac laptop computer. Each user's specific budget restrictions, capacity requirements and size limitations for an external hard drive will dictate which one is the best choice.
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