Best External Storage for Mac mini M4 for Music Recording?

[zionbrian]

Hi!

I'm getting a base model M4 Mac mini for music production. I have sample libraries that are HUGE and will need external storage.

Two questions, please:

1. Is it better to have one external hard drive to store all of my sample libraries and another external hard drive to store all of my recording sessions, or one single larger external hard drive to store both?

2. Either way, what would be the best types of hard drives that are going to be able to take full advantage of the speed of the Mac mini?

I would appreciate any help, please!

Thank you in advance!

Brian

 

[Fishrrman]

External SSD for samples (and another drive on which to back that up).

External SSD for completed/archived projects (and another drive on which to back that up).

Internal SSD large enough to hold "working projects" (and the rest of the things you would keep on an internal drive). MAKE SURE it's large enough so that about 70gb will always be left "free" (software updates these days require LOTS of free space).
(and of course the internal drive needs at least one backup, as well).

Backups could be HDDs if cost is a factor...

 

[haralds]

For the health of the drives, it is best to keep 20% or more free. On smaller drives, 70GB is a good number,
macOS does not behave well when it runs out of space. AFPS space reporting tends to lag.

 

[zionbrian]

External SSD for samples (and another drive on which to back that up).

External SSD for completed/archived projects (and another drive on which to back that up).

Internal SSD large enough to hold "working projects" (and the rest of the things you would keep on an internal drive). MAKE SURE it's large enough so that about 70gb will always be left "free" (software updates these days require LOTS of free space).
(and of course the internal drive needs at least one backup, as well).

Backups could be HDDs if cost is a factor...

Thank you!!! That is super helpful!

 

[zionbrian]

For the health of the drives, it is best to keep 20% or more free. On smaller drives, 70GB is a good number,
macOS does not behave well when it runs out of space. AFPS space reporting tends to lag.

Thanks so much!

 

[zionbrian]

External SSD for samples (and another drive on which to back that up).

External SSD for completed/archived projects (and another drive on which to back that up).

Internal SSD large enough to hold "working projects" (and the rest of the things you would keep on an internal drive). MAKE SURE it's large enough so that about 70gb will always be left "free" (software updates these days require LOTS of free space).
(and of course the internal drive needs at least one backup, as well).

Backups could be HDDs if cost is a factor...

Can I ask another question, please? Do you know what "kinds" of SSDs would be best that take the most advantage of the Mac mini M4's speeds so they don't create a bottleneck?

 

[PaulD-UK]

To match the internal SSD of the M4 you need Thunderbolt 3 or USB4 external drives.
Thunderbolt 4 is just for hubs and docks, so for drive enclosures TB3 is best, although USB4 is slightly faster.

For the actual SSD, Samsung or WD work well with Macs.

 

[zionbrian]

To match the internal SSD of the M4 you need Thunderbolt 3 or USB4 external drives.
Thunderbolt 4 is just for hubs and docks, so for drive enclosures TB3 is best, although USB4 is slightly faster.

For the actual SSD, Samsung or WD work well with Macs.

Thanks so much, Paul! I really appreciate it!

 

[zionbrian]

External SSD for samples (and another drive on which to back that up).

External SSD for completed/archived projects (and another drive on which to back that up).

Internal SSD large enough to hold "working projects" (and the rest of the things you would keep on an internal drive). MAKE SURE it's large enough so that about 70gb will always be left "free" (software updates these days require LOTS of free space).
(and of course the internal drive needs at least one backup, as well).

Backups could be HDDs if cost is a factor...

Thanks again! Also, would there be any downside to having a single 4 TB external hard drive to hold samples and archived projects, versus two separate 2 TB drives?

 

[carylee2002]

I would invest into a external raid system that holds 4 drives and use it for backups, storage and your samples. If you set it up correctly, as one drive dies, it can be recovered once you put in the new drive, aka Raid 5, all in one container. Another thing to invest in is a electrical line conditioner to run your rig through it along with a separate UPS system.

 

[zionbrian]

I would invest into a external raid system that holds 4 drives and use it for backups, storage and your samples. If you set it up correctly, as one drive dies, it can be recovered once you put in the new drive, aka Raid 5, all in one container. Another thing to invest in is a electrical line conditioner to run your rig through it along with a separate UPS system.

Thanks!

 

[penelope_bk]

Hi!

I'm getting a base model M4 Mac mini for music production. I have sample libraries that are HUGE and will need external storage.

Two questions, please:

1. Is it better to have one external hard drive to store all of my sample libraries and another external hard drive to store all of my recording sessions, or one single larger external hard drive to store both?

2. Either way, what would be the best types of hard drives that are going to be able to take full advantage of the speed of the Mac mini?

I would appreciate any help, please!

Thank you in advance!

Brian

To optimize performance, it's a good idea to split your sample libraries and recording sessions across different drives. For storage, use solid-state drives, preferably with USB-C or Thunderbolt connections, as they will provide the speed needed to take full advantage of your Mac mini.