How to Save Money on Storage on the PC

How to Save Money on Storage on the PC

If you’re like me and take thousands of photos and footage in 4K you’ll quickly learn that the most expensive part of media production will turn out to be the storage. In this guide I share the secret I have learned that both saved me money on storage but also provided faster hard drive speeds for video and photo editing.

Most hard drives come with enclosures. If you go to the store or search online for an external hard drive, they’ll come with a power cord and USB 3 and a hefty price per terabyte. The Problem is USB 3, yes its faster than USB 2 by a lot, but it’s still not ideal for photo or video editing. I find its good for backups and other types of long-term storage. However, for media production it’s just too slow.

The solution to this is an eSATA connection. Now if your Desktop PC doesn’t have an eSATA port it is extremely easy to install one. I use the StarTech.com 2 Port SATA to eSATA Slot Plate Bracket which you can Find here: https://amzn.to/37gkV8Z

All you have to do is open the PC and attach the sata cable to the sata port on the motherboard and screw the plate bracket to the case and you’re done. It should take less then 10 mins to do.

The joy of this eSATA port is that it’s a direct connection to the motherboard. Meaning that any drive you connect to these ports will be treated the exact same as a hard drive installed inside the PC. Which also means that it will have the fastest connection possible with very low latency.

Now here is the part that will save you money. Once you have your eSATA port installed you’ll need a hard drive dock. I recommend the StarTech.com USB 3.0 / eSATA Dual Hard Drive Docking Station which you can find here: https://amzn.to/367n9Y9 . I have two early versions of this dock from 2014 and they still work great. This dock also comes with USB 3. So, if you want to connect it to a PC with out eSATA like a laptop or a Mac you still can.

  The final step is the hard drive. Now you’ll be able to order any internal SATA hard drive you want. Purchasing an internal hard drive is always cheaper then ordering an external hard drive. You’ll find you’ll be able to get an extra terabyte or two for the same price as an external hard drive. Especially if you’re editing a lot of footage and UHD footage you’ll find that the more terabytes the better.  The gold star of hard drives is the Western Digital Black Edition hard drives. It will save you money but there a little expensive compared to other hard drives. This is because they are enterprise hard drives that are meant for extreme usage. Video editing is something that would constitute extreme usage. You can find the Western Digital Black Enterprise hard drive here https://amzn.to/2Fdq4D3 .

If You really need a lot of storage space like me, but need it at an affordable price, then an alternative hard drive is HGST Ultrastar. With all the footage, rendering and photographs LCD-Production expands at a rate of about 2-3 TB a month. This is mainly due to the new 5K VR content and 4K films rendered non stop. I use the HGST Ultrastar 7K4000 HUS724030ALA640 (0F14689) 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive which you can find here: https://amzn.to/357Xmhc depending on the quantity available the price can vary from $40 - $50 USD. However, keep in mind that this is a 3TB hard drive. Compared to an External 3tb hard drive which cost between $70 - $100 USD this will save you a lot in the long run especially if you’re going to need several hard drives down the road.

Now in order to use this system all you have to do is connect the dock to your computer and slide the hard into the dock. When you first install the hard drive, you’ll need to format it. For video editing I recommend formatting with an exFAT partition. This will allow for file sizes greater then 4GB which is something you’ll need when processing large files. But that’s really all you need to do. Just remember to always eject your hard drive before you unplug it or remove it from the dock and you’ll be good to go. Also never bring any magnets around any hard drive internal or external, iPads, phone cases, speakers all can have magnets and they’ll destroy and entire hard drive faster then you can say oops.

I hope this you find this guide on how to save money on storage for the PC helpful and I hope it saves you a lot of money in the future.

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