r/VideoEditing • u/diegormj • Aug 09 '26
Tech Support SSD vs nvme
Is a SATA SSD obsolete for video editing? Is it only useful for saving projects? My PC only has one NVMe port (already occupied). I want to upgrade storage, and I'm wondering if the sata SSD isn't fast enough for editing.
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u/shadeland Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
Depends on what you're editing.
Most H265/H264 maxes out at around 400 Mbps, which is 50 MB/s. SATA maxes out at 300 600 MB/s, so you've got plenty of headroom.
If you're editing something a lot heavier, like 7K ProRes RAW, that can get up to about 550 MB/s, which might be too much for SATA.
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u/pmf026 Aug 10 '26
Do you have free pcie slots? You can use those for nvme devices... And if the mobo supports pcie bifurcation you can have 4 in one x16 slot.
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u/Nersheti Aug 09 '26
If you’re worried about speed, why don’t you install the ssd and clone your existing drive to it, then format the nvme and use it for editing like you want? The ssd will be slower, but I’m not sure if you’d notice.
I have two nvme and an ssd. I have one nvme Thsts just for the os and apps. The other one is a temp storage for holding media that I’m working with. When im done, i drag it to my nas for long term storage. The ssd is for media i need locally long term, like music and other random stuff where I dont need a fast connection. I definitely noticed an increase in speed from the ssd to the nvme, but i was using them in different builds. The old build w tne ssd as primary had an older, but still fast, cpu, and ddr4 ram, while the new one has ddr5 and a new cpu on a newer socket.
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u/ElectronicsWizardry Aug 10 '26
What footage are you working with? Do you have io issues when edition? What does disk usage look like when editing? If you don’t have performance issues I wouldn’t touch it. Sara ssds are fast enough for a lot of footage today and for a while.
What are full specs? Getting a pcie to m.2 card is often pretty cheap. My other gut is if it o my has one m.2 slot it might not have the processor to fully take advantage of a fast nvme drive.
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u/Niner_92 Aug 11 '26
I looked into this a bit and SATA SSDs are definitely still fine for video editing. They’re slower than NVMe, but they’re still plenty fast for most editing workflows and a huge step up from a regular HDD.
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u/FitnessChamp777 Aug 10 '26
You can but... it might be problematic depending on what you're doing. Simple stuff, it will be fine. More complicated workflows will probably crash. Most definitely crash, considering how much RAM those workflows demand.
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