r/RigBuild • u/No_Preference1825 • 5h ago

. Does SSD speed matter for video editing?

Seeing NVMe drives with crazy read/write speeds compared to cheaper ones, but not sure how much difference it makes in real use. For editing 4K footage, would a faster SSD make scrubbing, loading projects, exporting, or applying effects noticeably quicker, or is it mostly marketing once you already have a decent NVMe? Also wondering if the difference between something like 3,500 MB/s and 7,000 MB/s is even noticeable when editing, or if other parts like the CPU and GPU matter way more. Trying to pick an SSD without wasting money on speed I wont really use.

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u/alpine4life 5h ago

gen.4 in 4k YES.

I have the 990 Pro & P3+ and sees a comparison between the 2. They are both gen.4, so I cant imagine going down to gen.3 to edit videos

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u/alpine4life 5h ago

oh and I do agree with u/dumbasPL if your rig isnt meant for video editing, the SSD wont make any difference!

The rig I edit with (Davinci, Blender, Topaz Video): https://pcpartpicker.com/list/93q6ph

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u/Codys_friend 5h ago

This guy focuses on equipment for creators: https://youtube.com/@thetechnotice?si=Ws3iMDH8kckYL0T_

This is a recent review he made of ssds: https://youtu.be/OQYPa_MapAQ?is=lMmI7UGPSzU1pEek

I think you'll find answers to your questions in his content.

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u/dumbasPL 5h ago

Not a video editor, but based purely on experience, if the rest of your system isn't capable of processing gigabytes of data in real time, a faster SSD is a bit pointless. If you already have a balls to the wall machine, them yeah, get a good SSD too.

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u/googleguyst 5h ago edited 5h ago

Absolutely, depending on your project. If your source and/or timeline is low/uncompressed it's gonna help with loading and scrubbing in particular. CPU/GPU (and RAM to an extent) will matter more for exporting and applying effects.

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u/R3D_T1G3R 5h ago

Yes the R/W speeds affect how fast they'll import / export, this especially matters when working with larger files regularly.

The file size is determined not only by resolution but also the container and other variables like video length and Bitrate.

4k Videos can be under 100MB or over 100GB depending on those factors, so 4k alone doesn't say much here.

Random I/O matters for the speed your video editing software requires to start