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Increasing multi-clip performance, newer Mac Pro, or newer drives in RAID, or both?
So question, limited budget at the moment, which is more likely to improve multiclip performance, I have Mac Pro 1,1 Dual Core 3Ghz, 12 GB ram, perhaps getting a bit long in the tooth, with an Areca ARC 182 controlled 8TB Proavio RAID, using 8 x 1TB WD Caviar Green drives, which I’ve been considering swapping for 8 x 2 or 3TB Hitachi Deskstar drives.
I currently do motorsport the races are typically 12-15min multiclips shot in Pro Res LT (100Mbps) straight off the camera chips by Atomos Ninja, and converting Go Pro or Contour onboard cameras to Pro Res LT all in 1080 HD.
I’m getting 9 angles running well in multiclip, on unlimited RT, after that it begins to struggle, with 12 angles being where editing becomes virtually impossible, such is the degraded previews.
Lately I’m being presented with up to 15 angles.
So…
What will might give me the most improved performance for the $? I could get 8 drives for about £1600 (or what’s that around $1800)? Or I could pick up a fairly well specc’d second hand or refurbished 8 core Mac Pro 4,1 for around £2000 ($2300), probably can’t afford both? Or indeed would either make any difference, is the pipe between Mac and RAID the limiting factor (miniSAS)?
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3 Replies
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Well, GREEN drives aren’t the best for video. They are GREEN because they are low energy consumption..thus slower than normal. Typically they are 5400 RPM (too slow for video period), but even at 7200, they do things like spin down when not in use and other things to conserve energy. You don’t want that with video. You need Caviar Black or Enterprise level drives.
And for that many streams, you need I very fast connector type. eSATA will be too slow. Firewire…forget it. Mini SAS would be a good connection. Fibre, GigE Ethernet. FAST connection type. Even Thunderbolt is too slow for this many streams.
OK, in checking out the drive enclosure, I see that you have SAS. Good. Now put in some fast drives!
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Chris Simpson] “What will might give me the most improved performance for the $?”
It’s the throughput of the raid, not the computer, that primarily determines multiclip performance.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf -
Thanks guys.
So, given the Areca is top of line raid controller card, and miniSAS is a good pipe through which the data is put, then faster drives would be your recommendation?
Don’t worry I won’t hold you to it. I’ve had suggested drives, particularly Caviar Green drives maybe a limiting factor to what is an ambitious amount of data to move.
I’ve had Hitachi Deskstars recommended by both my RAID vendor and Proavio. I see mention of Caviar Black, Enterprise drives, the latter quite expensive. Compatibility & drive bang for the $?
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