Mac OS on External HDD for Video Editing : Your Thoughts

[qmoreaudefarges]

Hello all,

I currently am the happy owner of a Macbook Air 2015 Model with MacOS High Sierra (10.13.6).
I started getting into VIDEO EDITING and MOTION DESIGN recently (mainly as a hobby/personal interest). Unfortunately, my Macbook has a VERY hard time handling 4K VIDEO EDITING (all my holiday movies and various videos are now shot in 4K).

To solve this issue, I am planning to buy a HIGH END WINDOWS laptop (and also because my DESKTOP WINDOWS PC dates 6 years ago).

Note that I don't want to go into a Macbook Pro config (given the mixed reviews on the latest series, and also the ridiculous high price). Nonetheless, I like the MacOS environment and would need to keep it for VIDEO EDITING (Motion, Final Cut Pro, and other softwares I have only available on MacOS).

Consequently, I was thinking into going for a Hackintosh Config on an External HDD to boot from (I have a 1Tb HDD that I can salvage from my 6-year old DESKTOP PC, or I may buy a new one, I have not finalized my decision yet).
I don't want to go into a Windows/Mac dual partition on the laptop's HDD
And yes, I know Hackintosh is not ideal and a bit complex to set-up, but since it would be for very limited and recurring tasks, I don't mind spending a bit of time on it and set it up once and for all.

Can you give me your thoughts about the above ?

Also, I have the following questions :
# Do you guys confirm it's possible to boot from an External HDD with MacOS, if configured as a Hackintosh?
# In order to get optimal performances, what kind of connection would you recommend ? Thunderbolt 3 ? Or USB 3.0 would be enough to read/write for VIDEO EDITING ?
# Is it still possible to benefit from an WIFI INTERNET CONNECTION in such case ? Or does Hackintosh only works with Ethernet ?

Apologies for the long post above, and looking fwd to hearing your feedbacks !

Quentin

 

[Someone Somewhere]

I can't speak on the hackintosh part specifically, but is there a reason you're going for a new laptop vs upgrading/replacing the desktop? You typically get much better performance and lower cost with desktops, plus they're more flexible in terms of things like large amounts of storage and multiple drives.

You'd presumably keep the macbook for the next while for where you do need portability.

 

[qmoreaudefarges]

Hello Someone Somewhere

Thanks for your swift reply.
I'm gonna be on the move much more often from now on, hence why I have decided to invest into a new laptop.
I understand DESKTOP PC are still the best choice when it comes to pricing and flexibility/upgrade as you say, but it does not suit my needs at this stage.

Cheers !