Is there any advantage to using Thunderbolt with an HDD RAID 0 drive?

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Level 2

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Is there any advantage to using Thunderbolt with an HDD RAID 0 drive?

For video editing, I have an older Thunderbolt 2 HDD RAID set up which was hooked into my iMac. Now I have a Mac mini. My question is, with port speeds so high, even USB 3 is 600mb/sec, is there any advantage using an HDD RAID 0 set up through a faster port when the HDD RAID is limited to about 180mb/sec, which is clearly much lower than even the USB 3 port, never mind the much faster Thunderbolt ports?

I am moving to SSD for far better read performance, but also wanted to know about how to use this RAID disk now (which might include selling it!!)

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Apr 4, 2022 12:29 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

67,606 points

Apr 4, 2022 1:08 PM in response to Cartoonguy

As you say, the drive will be the limiting factor.

An SSD will provide much better throughput.

You may want to keep that RAID for archiving, and use an SSD for editing.

Selling it or not? I guess it depends on how much you get for it versus a comparable size HD.

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Answer 2

Cartoonguy Author

Level 2

154 points

Apr 4, 2022 1:34 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Yes, the RAID can certainly be used for back up like any old HDD, I suppose, but it only has a Thunderbolt 2 port on it, so selling it might benefit someone who wants to use it on an older Mac and I could buy a single new drive to replace it. Or, I suppose I could buy one of those docks where you slot the drive in and toss the enclosure.

Anyway, you are saying that it is true that the port speed would make zero difference when it is limited anyway by the disk itself. So a RAID 0 HDD would be just as fast using USB 3 as it would Thunderbolt 4 because in both cases, it would never reach the throughput limit. Is that right?

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Answer 3

Cartoonguy Author

Level 2

154 points

Apr 4, 2022 2:51 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

So I also have a single drive HDD by Lacie, which is both USB 3 and Thunderbolt 2. I was thinking that by using the Thunderbolt 2 connection, I was getting the fastest speed, but in reality, no difference because, as above, the disk speed doesn't exceed USB 3, so why would anyone have paid extra for a Thunderbolt connection for an HDD? Is there some secret benefit to Thunderbolt for an HDD which I'm not getting?

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