Hardware for 4k 10 bit transcoding - what storage speed do I need?

[cniekirk]

I'm looking at this refurbished mini PC on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225999737728?...media=COPY


I think 8th gen i3-8100T should meet my transcoding/performance requirements. However, when it comes to bulk storage, are external HDD's speedy enough to store my media? I'm looking to rip loads of 4K BR's as well as standard BR's & am looking to maximise my storage while not breaking the bank (I know I can encode with Handbrake but I'm looking to store in the highest quality because I have a pretty decent TV/Audio setup, so not just for mobile/tablet viewing). As it's a mini PC, would accessing the drives externally via USB 3.0 even work for my use case? 

If anyone can point me in the right direction, even if that's "save up and don't cheap out", I'd greatly appreciate it.

[TheDreadPirate]

Regarding storage, USB 3 storage is more than fast enough. Technically speaking, USB 2 is fast enough.

Regarding the PC's CPU. As long as your have only one client needing tone mapping (converting HDR to SDR), that CPU is fine. For SDR to SDR transcoding, that should be able to handle several more clients.

So the question of whether it is enough depends on the answers to those questions.