Proper HD set up ?
Hello,
Could anyone help me out with a hard drive set up? I want to maxiumize the system as much as I can. I have a SSD for the OS (Windows 7, 64bit) then I have two optical drives; one 2tb and the other a 1tb. I want Ntrack to be the priorty for the system, I have a laptop for the normal computer BS. I would appreciate any suggestions but for now these are my questions; 1_Should I run Ntrack from the OS drive or is it better to install it on one of the optical drives? 2_Even though audio recording/editing is the main purpose of this build I will be doing some graphic work as well, so should I partion a space for pics and video or store on the other drive? 3_Which drive should the VSTs and such reside, should they be on the same drive as the ntrack working folders and all the WAV files or would it be better to keep them on a different drive fromo the WAV files?
This is logical to me; OS on the SSD, Ntrack along with working folders, WAV files on the 2Tb, VSTs etc on its own partion on the 1TB, with pix and vid on the 2nd partion of the 1Tb.
Please let me know,
Hey, sorry I have one other question. Where should I install the software for my in/out and control surfaces?
Using the SSD drive may alter the way that things have been set up before - but I don’t think so.
The advise I have always followed was to setup the operating system and the programs on the fastest drive.
That would also include the VST plugins I think.
Record to the second drive - a 7200 should do fine - call it the Music drive.
This way the only thing the Music drive doesn’t have anything to do except track the sound files.
The theory being that the Boot drive can be busy processing exe files while the Music drive just tracks sound. You might be able to run more tracks onto a SSD, but if I only was using one, I’d make it the operating system drive. I suspect you can get more tracks than you will need using the SSd for the operating system.
If you haven’t done this before: it is also important to find an organization method for your sound files.
A couple of "tricks:"
Before recording select File > New and then save it with the name of the recording .
Example: Love me Tender.
N-track will create the all its files including the sound files all named Love Me Tender L1 (left side track 1)
Love ME Tender R1 ( right side track 1)
Love me Tender L2, Love me tender R2 and so on for as many tracks as you cut.
You can record everything to a “Workspace” (Music Temp)
Move everything named Love ME Tender with the File > Move/ Rename File command OR set up a sub directory named Love Me Tender and record everything to that from the start.
Use One of these methods from day one. The naming of the files will save you great heart ache and putting everything in one sub-directory will save you a great deal of time.
I’m saving up for a SSD drive.
Should be great.
Bax
This isn’t 1998. Quit over analyzing. And what do you mean by optical drives? CDROMs and DVDs are optical drives. Do you mean external perhaps? All that said… to answer your question, stick N on the system drive, record to one of the (assuming you meant) external drives. Frankly, in this day and age, this sort of deal is really unnecessary. Additionally, why partition video from audio? There is no performance reason to do this. OYu may want to separate VSTs onto a different physical drive from the audio IF they are sample based VSTis, otherwise, you can just put them on the system drive. However, most sample based VSTis will let you place their sample data at a separate place from the actual VST DLL… so in that case put the VST DLL on the system drive and put the samples somewhere else.
Bax, Thanks I have learned the hard way about saveing files, I have just finished going back through years of hard drives collecting all my projects. What a pain to manually find the WAV files. I now am saving as a packed song file.
Bubbagump, thank you as well, its been about since 98 since I last built a system, LOL, I have been using laptops mostly since then. The optical drives are standard internal SATA hard drives. Excuse my lack of computer expertise. Contrary to what you both have said I have herd that it is better to have the OS on its own drive so that it will not bog down the DAW. My idea of keeping the video and audio seperate was so that the drive will not have to work as hard to find the audio data. Its stems from the same concept of putting the VSTs on their own drive which it seems to me that you agree with.
Yeah, don’t bother partitioning out the audio and video. There is zero benefit assuming they are on the same physical drive.
VSTs on a separate drive only makes sense IF they are sample dependant (SampleTank, BFD, EWQL Orchestra, Kontakt etc). If they are simply effects, there is no point. Same deal with the DAW itself… once it is loaded to RAM, the hard drive is out of the picture. Sure, you might maybe possibly cut down the start time of loading the DAW by a fraction of a second, but that is not worth it to me to jump through 100 hoops. Again, stop thinking 1998. This is like worrying about the carburetor’s fast idle adjustment on an electronic ignition vehicle. That old stuff don’t apply no mo.
For what it is worth, hard dives are NOT optical drives. CDROMS and DVDs are optical. Hard drives are magnetic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_disc_drive
OK, you know how it is, you are building something new and want to make it as best as possible from the start so you don’t kick yourself later. Thanks for the input and clearafication on the drives. Any thoughts on DSP PCI cards?
ECHO MIA work.