SanDisk Photo Professional 4TB G-Drive Pro space grey HDD Instructions
- June 3, 2024
- SanDisk
Table of Contents
SanDisk Photo Professional 4TB G-Drive Pro space grey HDD
NEVER STOP CREATING
Storage probably isn’t the most exciting piece of gear you have, but it is
an integral one. Whether you’re constantly on the go and need portable
solutions to offload and back up your library, or just need to manage your
work, the right setup can save you time, money, and heartache. We’re going to
help you find the right solutions for your needs and break down some best
practices that can help keep your shoots moving and your images more secure.
G-DRIVE SSD
PERFECT FOR:
High-Speed/Portable/Outdoor Offload, Library, & Backup; Tethered capture.
The G-DRIVETM SSD is a great all-around option for most photo professionals. It is bus-powered (no separate power supply) so you can take it anywhere, and with up to 4TB² capacity, you’ll be able to offload any size card, or several, even if they’re full. The IP67 rating – up to 3-meter drop⁵, and 2,000lbs crushproof – means this drive can handle most environments in stride. With its up-to-1050MB/s1 read speed and built-in heat sink you can offload, work, and handle video when you need it on the same drive without losing performance to thermal throttling. Ultimately, whatever project you’re taking on, this portable SSD will have you covered.
Highlights
Up to 1050MB/s1 Read Speeds; 256-bit AES-XTS HW Encryption; Up to 7x Faster than Most Portable HDD’s4; Up to 4tTB²; Super-Durable Design; 5-year Limited Warranty.
G-DRIVE ARMORATD
PERFECT FOR:
Low-Speed/Budget/Travel Offload, Library, & Backup; Client Drive.
This drive is your basic and budget-friendly option. It’s good for letting you stay mobile and keeping up to 5TB² on a single drive. Whether you produce a lot before you can access your master library, need to take a chunk of it with you, or if 5TB² is enough to keep a backup of everything, it’s a lot of capacity you can throw in a bag. It’s built to survive if you’re always on the go, or if you just always want to keep a backup on you. As with any typical 2.5” bus-powered drive, it may not be up to handling heavy processing or video, though. If you need more oomph there, you can opt for the G-DRIVETM SSD for your primary with the ArmorATDTM as your slower and cheaper backup.
Highlights
Up to 5TB²; Rugged Durability; 3-year Limited Warranty.
G-DRIVE G-DRIVE PRO
PERFECT FOR:
Both:
Mid-Speed Library; Studio/Budget Backup; G-DRIVE PRO: Daisy chain additional
drives/devices w/ Thunderbolt 3.
These are the standard ‘go-to’ desktop drives that give a lot of capacity and functionality for the cost with up to 20TB² for either. Both the G-DRIVE and G-DRIVE PRO offer the same 5-year warranty for enterprise-class drives, the difference with the Pro is, it adds ThunderboltTM 3 giving you the ability to daisy chain multiple drives and/or devices together. This can make getting those backups made or incorporating them into the rest of the gear in your setup easier and takes only one system port. If you don’t need that functionality you can save a little with the G-DRIVE model which will offer you the same speeds and capacity as USB.
Highlights
Both:
Up to 20TB²; 5yr Warranty G-DRIVETM Pro: Daisy chain over Thunderbolt 3.
3-2-1: The Gold Standard
The ‘Gold Standard’ for protecting your work is the 3-2-1 Rule: THREE copies, one that you work off of, and two backup4 copies; saved on TWO different types of storage (HDD/SSD, Cloud, etc.); ONE copy stored in a different location in case of fires, accidents, etc. The key is to keep your backups current; otherwise, they’re not very good backups. Set up a system that works for you and your team if you have one. When you travel, don’t pack copies together, even if it’s just between home and the studio. This way, if a bag is lost or stolen, then all your work isn’t gone as well. If you’re looking at the cloud for one copy, there are lots of options. Whatever you choose, just be mindful of accessibility and duration of downtime to recover, then make sure they’re acceptable.
Tip:
If the cloud doesn’t work for you, and a second location is hard, try a fire-
proof safe, safety deposit box, or even the glove compartment of your car.
To SSD, or Not To SSD…That is The Question
SSDs are great, but there are differences to know between them and HDDs. First, like any drive, SSDs are NOT failproof and don’t last forever, so no matter what you’ve heard, you still need a backup. HDDs are best for cost-to- capacity but are usually slower than SSDs. You can get HDD RAIDs to increase speeds and/or add redundancy, but you may not need all that space and added cost. There are SSD RAIDs, but they are overkill for most. Keep in mind that editing photos is different from editing video, and most RAW files will write in less than a second to any HDD. In the end, SSDs are fast but more limited in capacity. Ultimately, both may have a place in your workflow; just pick what fits your needs and your budget, not the hype.
Tip:
Unless downtime hurts you, back up an SSD with a less expensive and slower
HDD. This gives you a setup that can meet your needs without breaking the
bank.
Those Bothersome Backups
What we described in 3-2-1 about managing backups may sound like a lot of work, but how many hours’ worth of work do you have sitting on that hard drive? How many setups? How much post-processing? If the idea of losing your work makes you anxious, but you’ve been lax on backups in the past, you need to set up a system. Get your drives lined up, make a workflow, and automate as much as you can. It might take some time to dial it in, but once you do, you’ll breathe easier knowing that everything you do is that much safer. Remember, just because you’ve never had a problem before, doesn’t mean it can’t happen to you. Don’t lose your work.
Tip:
Simplify your workflow with software that will automatically run your backups
on a schedule. Check out Chronosync and Carbon Copy Cloner for local copies,
or Carbonite for offsite storage.
- Based on reading speed, unless otherwise specified. As used for transfer rate, megabytes per second (1 MB/s) = 1 million bytes per second. Based on internal testing; performance may vary depending on the host device, usage conditions, drive capacity, raid configuration, and other factors.
- As used for storage capacity, one gigabyte (GB) = one billion bytes, and one terabyte (TB) = one trillion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on the operating environment. For G-RAID Shuttle 4 & Shuttle 8: Speeds vary by RAID configuration. Stated speeds are based on RAID 0 mode; the default is RAID 5, which has lower speeds.
- Based on reading speed. Based on internal testing.
- Always follow backup best practices and do not rely solely on any RAID’s redundancy as your ‘backup’, because a backup is only a copy that exists on a physically separate device.
SanDisk, the SanDisk logo, the SanDisk design, SanDisk Professional, the SanDisk Professional logo, G-DRIVE, G-RAID, G-SPEED, and SanDisk Extreme are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the US and/or other countries. macOS is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. The CFast 2.0 logo is a trademark licensed by the CompactFlash Association. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. Pictures shown may vary from actual products. Product specifications are subject to change without notice.
© 2022 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.