5400 RPM is good for most software?

SLavictoire

SLavictoire

Well-known member
Hi, it's been a long time since I posted here.

I'm about to buy a new computer, since the one I use cannot process a simple timelapse in 4k normaly without crashing or being real slow.

So I've found a nice laptop with nice specs, except for the HDD, wich is a 1,5 To at 5400 RPM. Is it good enough to run essential programs like Adobe Premiere, After Effect and a more demanding program like 3Ds Max?

I don't intend to put my footage and renders on this HDD, but on a G-Speed external disk with thunderbolt or USB 3.

Thanks!
 
Certainly not ideal, but if you are just running the software from it it will probably be OK for rendering, just slow to use. Why not bust it open and replace it with an SSD?
 
Spin speed isn't a very good way of determining drive performance these days. A lot of modern 5400 rpm drives will actually out-peform 7200 drives from several years ago. Most modern hard drives of larger capacities use perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) where the binary is written in a stack instead of side by side, so the data points end up closer together thus requiring less movement from the read head.
 
As others have suggested, replacing the drive with a SSD ( solid-state drive ) will greatly improve the performance.
 
A decent internal 7200 WD drive or a SSD internal is the best way to go, especially with the prices these days. Even those hybrid drives are pretty zippy.
Amazon.com: Seagate 1TB Solid State Hybrid Drive SATA 6Gbps 64MB Cache 2.5-Inch ST1000LM014: Computers & Accessories
If your editing large video, especially thinking about multicam and 4K stuff. Your also gonna need to consider an external raid or an external SSD drive, thats gonna be your biggest bottle neck.
Ive seen some pretty interesting portable Thunderbolt Raid drives arriving on the market.

A newer 5400 drive will actually run everything pretty fast, once its loaded the program... so your internal probably shouldn't be your biggest concern. With that said, once you go SSD you NEVER will go back... they make your computer feel like you've just jumped 4 years in (loading) speed.
 
SSDs are pretty life-changing. I have a 2009 mac pro that got a new lease on life with SSDs.

I had a discussion with an Adobe tech on C.Cow - for after effects speed, he told me the #1 improvement is an SSD and use it for programs and scratch (at least in the case of AE) - then faster drives or raids for footage.

An optimal laptop solution is an SSD boot drive, and also replace the DVD drive with the biggest SSD you can afford.
 
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