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Single hard disks will work, but don’t equal the performance of the laptop itself, or these other two options. However, for best results, you would be well-advised to consider an external SSD if you want speed, or a RAID if you need more storage space. While there is a benefit to storing everything on the internal hard disk – portability and speed being two of them – using a second drive allows you to move projects between computers, as well as access to your data in the event your computer goes into the shop.
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Second, while Apple has expanded – and vastly improved – the speed and storage capacity of the MacBook Pro, I still recommend storing projects and media on an external drive. Both these interfaces work better on larger screens. Whether you are running Premiere or Final Cut, larger screen sizes help. However, the MacBook Pro has enough power that you can reasonably consider it for your principle editing system, especially when you combine it with an external 5K or 4K monitor. There are many reasons to buy a laptop, with portability leading the list.
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