External Hard Drive specification for recording

I need some guidance on what kind of external hard drive I need to buy for my recording needs. 

I have Sonar X1 studio and I intend to use a 4 or 8 track audio interface. I will be using my laptop 90% of the time and possibly a desktop at other times so I will need USB 2.0, USB 3.0 & Firewire connections on the drive. I will be looking for a drive with 7200RPM with about 1TB of storage.

I am looking at the G Tech range of drives which provide the above specifications plus they are designer for audio recording. The problem I am having is deciding how much cache I need. I have seen posts online that indicate 32MB is the minimum cache requirement for recording. What role does the cache play in audio recording? Would I get away with 16MB?

I will mostly be recording on my own a couple of tracks at a time but I do want to have the capability of recording a couple of guys together say 4-8 tracks - Drums, bass, guitar and vocals say. I will most likely add some VST plug ins when mixing and I will look into getting a keyboard synth controller down the line to add some depth to the songs. 

Based on this how much cache would I need? Would the G Tech G Drive mini be adequate for my needs? http://www.g-technology.c...ducts/g-drive-mini.cfm
 

The cache matters. Get 32 MB or more.

I have used an IcyDock with hardware raid striping to get 2 drives working together to get close to double the speed of one.

I find I can get a single drive to drop out when recording 10 tracks at 88.2 24 bit. 9 Works.

Most of the time, I just use my laptop drives. I can record 6 tracks on my laptop at 24 bit 88.2.

I will say that I can do more when I use the recording tool that came with the RME UCX that records six channels to a single file. When I record separate files, the limit is lower.

If by external you mean a USB drive, I wouldn't advise putting audio on it. An eSATA drive would be ok though.

Bill51


USB 3 outperforms eSATA ...

Assuming he has USB 3 ports on his laptop and assuming it works. I've heard of problems with USB 3.

Thanks for the help guys. I will be buying a external hard drive that has USB3 connectivity for use with my current laptop and Firewire for use with my older PC. The only thing that I am unsure about is the ammount of cache that I require for my needs.

• Can anyone explain what the cache does in relation to audio recording?
• Does it help when writing the audio tracks to disc as they are recorded?
• Am I right in thinking that I will need a larger cache if I am recording a lot of tracks?
• Would 16MB be adequate for recording 4 tracks simultaneously?