Have to make final decision on new HD configuration.

Right I am running dangerously low on storage on my Mac Pro, which currently has a 500GB system drive and a 320GB Audio Drive (with a 30GB partition for current projects). My plan is get some external enclosures for the two current drives and buy a totally fresh set of drives to work with. I plan on only keeping things I actually use on the computer and being strict with my file management.

 

Here are my current options:

 

Option A

System Drive - WD Velociraptor, 600GB, 10,000rpm, 32MB Cache

Audio Drive - WD Black Caviar, 1TB, 7,200rpm, 64MB Cache

General Drive - (same as audio drive)

TOTAL STORAGE: 2.6TB

TOTAL COST: around £380

 

Option B

System Drive - Seagate Barracuda XT, 2TB, 7,200rpm, 64MB Cache

Audio Drive - (same as system drive)

General Drive - (same as system drive)

TOTAL STORAGE: 6TB

TOTAL COST: around £400

 

My other question is about reinstalling everything. Is this a good idea? I've got all of my Install DVDs etc. Can you think of a reason why this would be a massive mistake?

 

Cheers for any advice you can give. Very open to ideas as I really have no way of comparing HD configurations.

I always prefer to have my system drive and audio drive separate, plus another drive for samples. I'd probably go for Option A. Plus then it's easier to upgrade again if you want more audio drive space at some point rather than having a single drive for everything (even if it is partitioned).

I think you misinterpreted the first bit. Both of the theoretical configurations have 3 separate HDs:

 

- One for the System (OS, Applications etc)

- One for the Audio (Sessions and Samples)

- One for everything else (iTunes library, Photos, Films, Documents etc)

 

I wasn't sure what you meant about the first one being more upgradeable?

Option B all the way. You don't need 10,000rpm. 10,000rpm drives spin faster, which means they heat more, draw more power from your computer's power supply, and are less reliable. Plus I like Seagate, and I don't like WD. With 3x 2TB Seagate drives, you're set!

Brilliant! cheers for the reassurance. That should last a while anyway (...I hope )

 

About the re-installing. How do you thing I should approach it? Take the old drives out and put them in external enclosures and put all the new drives in at once and install OS x on one of them? or should I do it bit by bit leaving the two drives in for the moment and transferring my samples to one of the new ones?

 

never done this before, I want to make sure I don't make a mess of it.

Hmmm, it's kinda of a 6 in one hand, half a dozen in the other-type question. Both methods have pros and cons. If you don't have TONS of samples I would just put all new drives in, install OS X on one, and then move what needs to be moved from the external to another internal drive. If you have TONS of samples, then a SATA transfer will be faster, so leave that sample drive in, put the new ones in and do your transfer...

I read 'same as system drive' meaning all on one drive in the second configuration, without seeing the total drive space calculation sorry about that. Hazards of quickly reading while moving back and forth between doing something else.

 

Option B is better value for the money and that's a lot of storage space.

Might want to check on a solid state drive for the system drive from what I hear from my geek buddies, I'm still using my 7200 rpm for the system drive. May be worth a look...oh raid array for the audio stuff you can't lose too..

SSD = Still too expensive

Raid array = not faster for audio. Makes sense for video.

Might want to check on a solid state drive for the system drive.

 

If you have money oozing out of your ears and no window to throw it out of, maybe.

 

Look, when it comes to computers, faster is not always better. A RAID array is not ideal for audio, in many (most) cases it will perform slower than a good old regular 7,200rpm SATA drive, and be less reliable. An SSD, in certain conditions, can also be slower than a SATA drive (depending on the SSD drive, the firmware it's using, and how many write/erase operations have been performed on it).

 

7,200rpm SATA drives is the tried and true pro choice. It's solid, it's plenty fast enough, has a short seek time, a buffer that's larger than you'll ever need, doesn't make your computer overheat, doesn't suck all the power out of your computer's power supply, doesn't make crazy rattling noises, and ... well it just works.

Might want to check on a solid state drive for the system drive.

 

If you have money oozing out of your ears and no window to throw it out of, maybe.

 

Indeed...

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/5222555339_e3afbb2c0a_z.jpg

 

Although, to be honest, even the smallest one on this list holds an equivalent of 85.000 Double Sided Double Density 3.5 floppy disks... 8)