What is an SSD?
SSD stands for Solid State Drive. It is a storage device that contains non-volatile flash memory and it is used in place of a hard disk because it provides much greater speed than HDD, Do you need a Solid State Drive (SSD) for video editing?
It depends, on your work type, your workload, or the type of video editing software you use. SSDs are very well worth it to have if you use your pc for video editing purposes. It affects several factors but most significantly it’s about read/write speed and data transmission speed.
Why SSD is better than HDD?
SSDs are much better than HDDs in many terms-
SSD’s consume less power and are more shockproof. They have greater speed as most HDDs can reach a read/write speed of about 150MB/ but 2.5″ SATA 3 SSDs are more than three and a half times faster and can achieve read/write speeds of up to 550MB/s.
The NVMe SSD drives that can be mounted on the computer’s motherboard have read/write speeds up to 3500MB/s. This huge speed difference matters when it comes to editing videos which Includes video and audio clips loading, adding filters and plugin effects, the playback of your project timeline, rendering, exporting, and more.
In today’s times, 4k and 8k video quality is becoming normal for big production companies, professional videographers, and YouTubers.
The higher quality videos have a large file size which will harm loading and rendering times that’s why you need a computer that can keep up with your high-quality video editing demands.
But along with CPU and GPU, the performance of the hard drive in your computer also plays a huge role in the loading, editing, rendering of your videos. That’s where an SSD plays a major role.
What size SSD should I buy?
SSDs come in many ranges, although this range is not as wide as that for HDD drives. So you will find them available in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB sizes.
- So If you are looking for a boot drive for your operating system and some apps then the 250GB and 500GB will be enough to give your system a speed boost without breaking your budget.
- If you’re looking at an SSD for your video editing you might consider a 500GB if you are only editing HD1080p, but I would recommend that you get at least a 1TB drive for good processing speed for higher resolution videos.
- For higher capacity, SSDs prices start to get eye-watering. So if you are using an SSD for video editing and an HDD for storage of completed projects, at present the largest capacity SSD I would buy is 2TB.
- If you are a videographer or professional video editor, you are going to be working with a high data rate of 4K and up to 8K RAW video clips, it’s not just your camera that you will be spending a lot of money on. With 4K and 8K files being large you’ll quickly fill up a 1TB SSD, so you will need to invest in 2TB or 4TB SSDs.
Is 500GB SSD enough for video editing?
500 GB SSD is a decent storage capacity for the masses. For video editors, it’s just not enough. A 500 GB storage would be able to house your multiple large software and OS. But 500 GB is not the one to choose if you wish to store video files in it.
A 500 GB SSD could store 120-180 hours of H.265 HD video. It is enough to accommodate at least 20 hours of H.264/AVC 1080p video. The storage of raw 1080p or 4K videos is not possible with a 500GB SSD. But, if you manage to use an HDD for the storage of your videos, it could work for you.
Is 1TB SSD enough for video editing?
1TB SSD would be enough for Videographers and video editors who work on a few HD1080p and some 4K projects. But if you are regularly working on video projects, especially high bitrate 4K and even 8K video, you’ll want a higher capacity SSD.
While 1TB of storage seems like a lot of space, you need to keep in mind that a 1TB SSD will cost significantly more than a 1TB HDD. SSDs are 4 times faster than HDDs and NVMe SSDs are up to 10 times faster than HDDs.
Why is NVMe even better than SSD for video editing?
For faster loading speeds, you should consider NVMe M.2 for video editing purposes. NVMe technology delivers up to 10x faster read speeds than standard SATA 3 SSD drives. In terms of loading effects and frames, the increased read speed will translate into a real-world performance difference you can see.
If you’re dealing with large videos, you’ll want increased read/write speeds so that you don’t waste time waiting for your editing timeline to load, Storing 250-360 hours of H.265 720pHD video is possible with a 1 TB SSD. And a 1 TB SSD can store 30-60 hours of H.264/AVC 1080p video.
You might be able to store one or two hours of raw 1080p videos on a 1 TB drive but storing even an hour of raw 4k video would not be possible.
What storage system should I choose for my PC?
The solution could be using an HDD for storing your video files and using an SSD for your operating system and video editing software. Using an SSD and HDD hand in hand will solve the storage problems without compromising workflow speed and productivity.
Final Conclusion
For an optimal video editing experience, I would suggest you choose at least 1 TB SSD. But, if you are a professional or a regular video editing who tends to store raw videos alone, this storage space might not be enough for you.
So, make sure to have an HDD for raw data storage and an SSD for storing OS and applications.
I hope this post helps. Thanks for reading.