Harddrives for Editing?

F

FixMix

Active member
I have a small (Intel Q8200) desktop PC for editing. I only do smaller projects and edit a lot with Premiere CS4 and After Effects.

How many harddrives should I have in my PC to optimize my performance.

1. For the OS obviously. Can I have the program files on that too?
2. One for the source material (fast and big enough to hold as many projects as I want to work on at a time)
3. One as cache for the programs?
4. Output disk for rendering
5. An external drive/data server for storage purposes.

Looking forward to read your opinions.
 
OS and program files should go together in my opinion. There's not really any point in having a separate cache drive. Otherwise the layout is fine.
 
Thank you so far :)

I guess 3 drives should be fine. 4 would be perfect then.

What kind of drives would you use if having a RAID system is NOT an option (no onboard RAID controller)?
 
Well if you're not using a raid then a large SSD for Programs and OS, A VelciRaptor for Masters and a fast(ish) drive such as a sumsung F3 for a scratch disk.

You'd also need external hard drives for backup.

Ideally, you should have

1 x SSD
- Os + Programs

3 x 500GB F3's in Raid 5
- Video Rushes (High Read Speed = Multiple Video Streams)

2 x 500GB F3's in Raid 0
- Video Scratch Disk

2 x 500GB F3's in Raid 0
- Audio Scratch Disk

2 x Raid 1
- Video Masters

Nightly backup to a Raid 0 NAS.

But it all adds up in costs.
 
The next question would then be: RAID Controllers: are PCIe cards working well? What kind of motherboard are we talking about here? Like with 4 PCIe 16x slots?
 
You only need a slot for graphics and an 8x slot for your raid card, but this means you'll end up getting a new motherboard.

You may be able to find a single lane PCIe Card but i doubt it will have 8 ports.
 
Smifis said:
Well if you're not using a raid then a large SSD for Programs and OS, A VelciRaptor for Masters and a fast(ish) drive such as a sumsung F3 for a scratch disk.

You'd also need external hard drives for backup.

Ideally, you should have

1 x SSD
- Os + Programs

3 x 500GB F3's in Raid 5
- Video Rushes (High Read Speed = Multiple Video Streams)

2 x 500GB F3's in Raid 0
- Video Scratch Disk

2 x 500GB F3's in Raid 0
- Audio Scratch Disk

2 x Raid 1
- Video Masters

Nightly backup to a Raid 0 NAS.

But it all adds up in costs.
Click to expand...

I dissagree with the need for external hard drives to back up data because they cost a lot more than internal drives. I would rather use hot swappable drive bays as opposed to external hard drives.
 
Couldn't a hot swappable drive be considered as "external"?

Considering that it itself is not part of the main computer system but rather an add on with can be removed with ease thus making it external to the system so an external hard drive.

You can also make your own external hard drives, all you do it buy an external enclosure for £15 (about $20) and stick any hard drive you want inside.
 
Smifis said:
Couldn't a hot swappable drive be considered as "external"?

Considering that it itself is not part of the main computer system but rather an add on with can be removed with ease thus making it external to the system so an external hard drive.

You can also make your own external hard drives, all you do it buy an external enclosure for £15 (about $20) and stick any hard drive you want inside.
Click to expand...


No they can not be consider external because you do not need the power cord like many external drives and you are not paying for the enclosuer. OEM internal hard drives do not have the fancy packaging making them realy inexpensive compared to external drives.

Your second option requires you to plug in the power cable and have your hard drive clutter up your desk. You can do it if you want to but I don't think it is wise.
 
medeamajic said:
No they can not be consider external because you do not need the power cord like many external drives and you are not paying for the enclosuer. OEM internal hard drives do not have the fancy packaging making them realy inexpensive compared to external drives.

Your second option requires you to plug in the power cable and have your hard drive clutter up your desk. You can do it if you want to but I don't think it is wise.
Click to expand...

Do you really think it's wise to be handling hard drives on a regular basis?

If you're backing up to a "hot Swappable" hard drive which is in all the time, it may as well be plugged in inside, and that makes it venerable to power problems and wear and tear.

Many people do not consider this backup up. I most defiantly do not. Should there be a fire, you cant recover the data because it'[s in the same place. a few tape drives in a fire proof safe in a different building is ideal but too extravagant for most.
 
Smifis said:
Do you really think it's wise to be handling hard drives on a regular basis?

If you're backing up to a "hot Swappable" hard drive which is in all the time, it may as well be plugged in inside, and that makes it venerable to power problems and wear and tear.

Many people do not consider this backup up. I most defiantly do not. Should there be a fire, you cant recover the data because it'[s in the same place. a few tape drives in a fire proof safe in a different building is ideal but too extravagant for most.
Click to expand...


An esata, Fire Wire or even USB could have the sasme fate should your power go out. The hot swappable bay is just that buddy. I can take out my hard drive and mail it to you if you need proof. You could then place it in your safe to find out you have no clue about what you are talking about. I can do the same thign as you except my solution is much less expensive than yours and a tad bit neater.

Please watch my video again. If you did not watch it then I suggest you do so before posting again.
 
How does Drobo-Pro stack up agianst traditional raids for editing?

Was thinking about getting one, filling it with 8 1TB drives and going into the PC via i-scsi
 
medeamajic said:
An esata, Fire Wire or even USB could have the sasme fate should your power go out. The hot swappable bay is just that buddy. I can take out my hard drive and mail it to you if you need proof. You could then place it in your safe to find out you have no clue about what you are talking about. I can do the same thign as you except my solution is much less expensive than yours and a tad bit neater.

Please watch my video again. If you did not watch it then I suggest you do so before posting again.
Click to expand...
What video?

I do not need proof. sure you can remove the hard drive but I'd rather not handle bare hard drives on a regular basis, especially when i have the portability of external hard drives.

Everybody is entitled to their own opinion and there is no stone written rule. There is no need to go and get your knickers in a twist :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)


N635DC said:
How does Drobo-Pro stack up agianst traditional raids for editing?

Was thinking about getting one, filling it with 8 1TB drives and going into the PC via i-scsi
Click to expand...

I havn't had first hand experience with the DroboPro but looking at a few reviews on the internet (such as http://tech.tbreak.com/2009/12/drobopro-review/ ), IMHO the performance is less than what i'd expect from something that costs over $1000.
 
FixMix said:
Thank you so far :)

I guess 3 drives should be fine. 4 would be perfect then.

What kind of drives would you use if having a RAID system is NOT an option (no onboard RAID controller)?
Click to expand...

You can build a software RAID 0 (striped volume) in Windows without having to have a RAID controller. Use "Disk Management" for that. You should get decent performance that way... much better than a single drive by itself.
 
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