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Storage
Could someone help me pick a new drive for a scratch disk?
Currently I’m using a Western Digital 1TB MyBook and it’s just killing me.
I shoot DVCPRO HD on P2 from an HPX170 and edit on a Macbook Pro unibody 2.8 ghz with 4 gigs of ram. I was thinking the 3TB G-RAID 3 and a good eSATA expresscard. I’m currently editing with FCP though I will be getting Avid MC in the next couple of weeks.
I was also thinking about maybe a G-DRIVE mini at 7200 rpm as a portable to use as a scratch while on set if I fill up a P2, or to just take things back and forth with me.
I was also looking into some of the ExpressCard 34 SSD’s. Does anyone know of a good, fast one?
Any suggestions on the expresscards and the hard drives would be greatly appreciated. I was thinking about building a RAID but I need to have a quad interface as i import P2 with a dual adapter and therefore must use the expresscard slot at that time and scratch through firewire. otherwise the G-SPEED would have looked like a great option. I’m also on a bit of a budget so I am trying to get as much bang for the buck as I can. I just want to make sure that everything will be fast and reliable.
Thanks Everyone!
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7 Replies
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Do you want speed, protection, or both? Both means more money.
SPEED – G-Raid3, CaldigitVR at Raid 0
Protection…CalDigitVR, but Raid 1.
Speed and Protection (Raid 5), Caldigit HDone, MaxxDigital Evo HD, Dulce systems…Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Caldigit VR.
Express 34 sata card go to OWC macsales.com.
Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Board of Directors
Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group -
On the road I use 2 CalDigit FirewireVR’s a RAID1 for my P2 cards and a RAID0 for scratch disk. It’s been my setup for 2 years at FW800 speeds and the Duel Adapter in the slot. Never a problem and always gets the job done. In my office I’ve still got a CalDigit S2VRHD and am getting ready to upgrade to HDone.
Good Luck.
Tom Chartrand
ShorelineDigital -
Just out of curiosity, why is that particular WD drive killing you?
Dual 2.7 GHz G5, 4GB RAM, ATI Radeon 9650, Xserve RAID, AJA IO, 2 20″ Cinema Display, FCP Studio 2 (6.02), OS X10.4.11
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The drive is killing me because it is not running fast enough and gets too hot in the plastic enclosure with no fan. It causes me a lot of difficulty in general. Also, whenever I edit off of it with eSATA, it screws up my computer when I am rendering or exporting to quicktime by freezing the OS and forcing me to restart the computer and whatever else I was doing that made the drive freak out.
In terms of the recommended drives, the CalDigit VR looks fantastic but is certainly more expensive than the G-RAID 3. I wish that I could have flexibility of RAID 0 or RAID 1 or the speed of the HDone in RAID 5, but money is unfortunately the deciding factor between the two drives. I like the ability to swap out drives in VR and the LCD display and the cooling looks great. Basically, my question at the end of the day is, are the advantages in the CalDigit worth the price over the G-RAID 3? I could do the CalDigit but that would mean taking a hit to the quality of a portable drive and/or an expresscard SSD.
What do you think?
And thanks so much for the help!
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[Matthew Sonnenfeld] ” at the end of the day is, are the advantages in the CalDigit worth the price over the G-RAID 3?”
You yourself said it. Ability to do Raid 0 or Raid 1, ability to swap out drives…and the LCD interface where you can format the drive, name the drive, and monitor all the internal things like temperature. If that is worth it for you, get the drive. If not, get a G-Raid3. Ultimately the decision is yours, we just make suggestions and recommendations.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
I think that i’m going to go with the 2 TB CalDigit VR and run with that in RAID 1 and when I fill that up I can always get new drive modules and keep going. That seems like the most economical way for me now and the best set up for the long run. This way I won’t be spending much over the G-RAID3 and I can still get the other drives that I need. The ability to expand really appeals to me, as does the LCD screen and RAID 1 option of course.
Thanks so much for all of your help!
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