New FCP setup on new iMac for a legacy FCP user

Years ago I used FCP versions 1.2 (G4 optimized to take you back in time), 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and finally 4.5.  I lost interest in video at that point in time.  Back then I frequented 2-pop daily and learned a whole lot about sound, picture, and of course, FCP

Now I have decided to start a YouTube channel for motorcycle vlogging and just placed an order for a new 27" iMac with a 2 TB internal SSD drive.  In prior years, I would configure my own G4 or G5 with two internal hard drives in addition to the stock boot drive.  The operating system and Final Cut Pro were installed on the original boot drive, but all capture and scratch files were kept on the other two internal drives.  I'll keep my mid-2004 MBP for legacy needs and yeah I know the M1X is about to debut in a new MBP but the time is right for this upgrade.

It appears FCP uses new terminology with regard to "library" and half a dozen other terms I'll have to become familiar with, but can someone tell me if I am better off adding some sort of external drive for storing media and scratch files or is the modern SSD internal drive fast enough?  If an external drive is preferred, how fast a drive should I go with?  I can get a 7,200 rpm 4 TB SATA drive with USB 3.2 with claimed transfer speeds of 283 MB/Second from OWC for under $200.  I think my old G4 ATA drives could handle about 12 MB/second but DV25 only required 3.2  Now if it is recommended that I pony up for an SSD drive I can certainly do that.

While I like to do my own research and will have to learn the new way of doing things, I can use the help on initial setup to get me going on the right foot.  And whether it is ideal or not, I ordered the iMac with FCP pre-installed.  

I imagine I should add Compressor and Motion as well.  Funny how cheap all this stuff is.  FCP used to run $1,000 as did DVD Studio Pro.  Now content is delivered online.  We've come a long way in 20 years LOL.

Thanks.

Greg 

I have decided to try my luck with an OWC 7,200 rpm 4 tb hard drive and just see how it works out. The price was low enough that if need faster speed, I can add an SSD drive in the future.

Thanks.

G

Theoretically SSDs can be (but not always are) fast enough to keep Libraries on. Small Libraries, but not large ones. The problem is that even with an SSD system drive, that drive is still the slowest part of the system, and the data bus between it and the CPU & RAM is limited. Not as limited as with HDD, but the technical issue is not 100% solved with SSDs.

Rule of thumb, secondary drives, fast ones. Internal secondaries and external RAIDs are fastest. SSDs faster than HDDs. Get what you can afford. For HDDs larger is faster (read/write heads are made much faster in larger drives, much faster).

You should be good with that 4TB internal to put your Libraries on. I keep all my media internal to my Libraries, as well as my cache and have never had issues using a large Promise external RAID 5.

Other folks will have their takes on the matter. It is always a balancing act no matter what.