-
New internal hard drive time…
Hello all…
My system drive is about to die (started giving errors and I had to boot from my OS X install disc to repair it with Disk Utility, so it’s death is near). I’ve got a Power Mac G5 Dual 2.7 with two 400GB drives & Final Cut Studio, and I’m probably going to go ahead and replace both drives.The plan I’ve thought up is to buy a small 10K rpm drive (WD Raptor maybe) for OSX and apps, and then get a PCI SATA controller and add a few 1TB SATA drives and run them under RAID 5 for media.
Does this sound like a sensible plan, or is there a way to have more performance/storage for less money with a different configuration (I’m on a limited budget… no huge SCSI RAID setups are gonna happen here).
-
7 Replies
-
[Micah McDowell] “The plan I’ve thought up is to buy a small 10K rpm drive (WD Raptor maybe) for OSX and apps”
Okay. Rather expensive however, and without much payoff for the extra price.
[Micah McDowell] “and then get a PCI SATA controller and add a few 1TB SATA drives and run them under RAID 5 for media. “
There aren’t a heck of a lot of PCI-x cards that do Raid-5 and you’re going to install them in what?
You will need to put the drives in an enclosure. Plus rolling your own raid-5 is not easy. And, there are few PCI-x solutions. So, that idea is not great. The only really good Raid-5 solution for your GS with PCI-x slots would probably be a CalDigit HDOne. Otherwise, you should be thinking about a Raid-0 sloution such as one by Firmtek, such as this one https://firmtek.stores.yahoo.net/sata2even4.html.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
-
Thanks for the reply!
So, is a 10K drive not worth the extra money? I know I can get way more capacity for cheaper otherwise, but the only thing residing on it will be the OS and applications, so it just needs to be fast.
As for how I am going to fit that many drives in a G5 without an external enclosure, I was thinking about using a Sonnet G5 Jive mounting kit (link) that’ll let me cram three extra drive bays inside the case… I’m not a big fan of extra enclosures all over the place unless absolutely necessary.
The CalDigit setup is very attractive but probably more than I need to spend right now. I’ll also look into what controllers I can find for PCI-X that’ll do what I want… I guess a RAID 0 would be ok.
-
The additional RPMs of the 10K drive are not going to do much for you as your system drive. As media drives there’d be a benefit, but your OS and apps load into RAM anyway. So, your machine will boot a few seconds faster and Final Cut Pro will load a few seconds faster. Woopty doo!
The Sonnet G5 Jive is okay, but of course, without any heat dissipation capability.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
-
About your only reliable option for RAID 5 on PCI-X is from Areca. they make 2 cards with external connectors, the 1110 will support up to 4 drives, the 1120 will support 8:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816151010
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816151011RaidAge makes enclosures for these cards. There are other enclosures that will work, as well.
Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/ -
The connectors on both Areca cards are external and can’t be attached directly to the SATA hard drives, so neither will work with the Jive internal mounting system.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
-
[David Roth Weiss] “The connectors on both Areca cards are external and can’t be attached directly to the SATA hard drives, so neither will work with the Jive internal mounting system.”
That’s right. That’s why I recommend an external enclosure. Areca does make other cards in the 11xx series that do have internal connectors, though.
Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/ -
[Micah McDowell] ” I know I can get way more capacity for cheaper otherwise, but the only thing residing on it will be the OS and applications, so it just needs to be fast. “
A 5400 RPM drive is fine for your system. Complete waste of money to get a 10k RPM drive for your system. Just get a big 7200RPM drive and you’ll be fine.
For a RAID 5 array, get an external box. The guys at MaxxDigital can help you out, they’re very knowledgeable on RAID 5 systems. I run their own branded units, Maxx EVO HD and am upgrading to their new Expando shared storage system, but they sell pretty much any brand of storage available.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up