question on running two hard drives, different speeds

[zephtragic]

So I'm thinking about upgrading my macbook pro's harddrive. It's currently running a 250gig 5400PRM.

 

I'd like to get an SSD drive but it seems a bit pricey for me at this time and I've also read some not-fun stuff about SSDs being finicky (usually problems with their firmware.)

 

I still might get an SSD I'm not fully decided yet. If not, then I'll get a 720gig 7200RPM drive.

 

I'm currently thinking that I will be setting it up so that my Macbook will be running both the old and the new drive so my question is this:

 

What should I have on each drive?

 

Should I have the operating system and Logic program running on the 5400RPM and all of my music projects and samples on the 7200RPM(or solid state) drive?

 

What should I move to the faster drive and what can stay on the slower drive for me the get the best in terms of stability (for live performances) and speed boost?

[David Nahmani]

There's no absolute answer to your question:

 

- The system drive is the one that contains OS X, your applications, your factory samples, loops etc...

- The 2nd drive is the one that contains your project folder and their associated audio files.

 

OS X is transferred from Disk to RAM when you boot your Mac.

OS X uses the system disk to page RAM in and out (so basically uses the system disk as you use your Mac).

The Logic app is transferred from Disk to RAM when you open Logic.

Your Logic project file is transferred from Disk to RAM when you open your Logic project.

The audio files are streamed from Disk when you play your project.

Etc....

 

So for example if to you being able to boot up a bit faster, to open Logic quicker, to open your Logic project files quicker, and have your Mac seem generally snappier is the priority, your system drive should be the fastest.

 

If on the other hand you're using a lot of simultaneous audio tracks that need to be streamed from the 2nd drive when you play your Logic project and you're running into limitations (Hard Disk Too Slow errors) then that 2nd drive should be the fastest.

 

But there's no "winning combination", if one drive is faster and the other is slower, then some tasks are going to be slower and others are going to be faster. It's a matter of understanding how your Mac and Logic both use the different drives and which tasks you'd rather speed up (at the expense of the other tasks).