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kentfromtx
kentfromtx
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Specific Setup for My Computer?

May 19, 2012 10:51 AM

Howdy all,

 

I've been reading all sorts of recommendations on how to setup your scratch disks in premiere and all I seem to find is a bunch of varying opinions from what seems to be very knowledgeable sources.  It seems that scratch disk setup is somewhat dependable on your specific system.

 

So I was hoping I could tell y'all exactly what I'll be working with and maybe get some good recommendations.  I've just recently installed Premeire Pro CS6 and have played around with some dinky sequences and videos just to familiarize myself with the program more but I would really like to get all my settings tweaked to the most efficient modifications before I start any real projects that will be saved.

 

Forgive me if anyone feels this question has already been answered elsewhere, but after days of reading I came to the understanding that some of the broad, generic answers seemed ambiguous to someone who isn't the best at figuring out technical situations.

 

Ok, so here's what I'm working with, and I'm already aware that it isn't the "ideal" computer but it's what I've got to work with and I think it will be sufficient for my amateurish/hobbyist needs:

 

My computer is an:

 

ASUS U52F-BBL9

 

System Type:  x64-based PC

Processor:  Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU  m 460 @ 2.53 GHz  2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)

RAM:  4.00 GB  (But I'm in the process of upgrading to 8 GB, which means I might have more questions in future)

Hard Drive:  500 GB (450 GB is free space)

OS: Windows 7

 

I also have 1 external USB 3.0 Hard Drive 1 TB (Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex) but I use it with my USB 2.0 ports

 

Should I utilize my external hard drive, or save everything directly to my computer.  And if I should use both hard drives, how should I divide them up.  The scratch disk tab gives options to save to 4 differenet locations, a place for:

 

Captured Video, Captured Audio, Video Previews, Video Audio Previews

 

All most all the files I will be working with will be imported video filed that come from my non-HD video camera or other various video files.  A very small amount of the video I will be working with will be captured from my very old mini-DV camcorder.

 

I already know some video geniuses will jump on this and set me straight, so thanks in advance.

 

PS- unrelated

Also, I am currently on the free trial I downloaded and will need to purchase before the end of this month.  I was hoping to purchase the disc version vs downloaded version and was wondering if I could just use the registration info and serial numbers from my box to activate the already installed CS6 on my computer, or will I have to uninstall then reinstall the new box version.

1210 Views   8 Replies   Latest reply: Andy Ramone, May 19, 2012 6:27 PM
 
Replies
  • Harm Millaard
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    1. Harm Millaard,
    May 19, 2012 11:13 AM   in reply to kentfromtx
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    Rough rule of thumb for transfer rates:

     

    • USB2:   around 20 MB/s
    • FW400: around 35 MB/s
    • FW800: around 50 MB/s
    • USB3:  around 80 MB/s
    • SATA:  around 130 MB/s (same with eSATA)

     

    These figures are applicable on disks with a fill rate of less than 50% and assuming modern disks. If fill rates increase, the transfer rates go down further.

     

    So you are not doing yourself any favors by using a USB3 drive on a USB2 connection. For the rest look at: Adobe Forums: Generic Guideline for Disk Setup

     
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  • kentfromtx
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    2. kentfromtx,
    May 19, 2012 11:26 AM   in reply to Harm Millaard
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    Thanks Harm,

     

    I was aware that using USB 3.0 wasn't beneficial, I was just trying to be as specific as I could on my hard drive model in case some brands/models were known to perform better/worse than others amongst people smarter than I. The reason I have a USB 3.0 is because hopefully in the near future I will get a more up-to-date computer that is USB 3.0 compatible.

     

    That being said, now I'm gonna check the forum you suggested, thanks.

     
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  • kentfromtx
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    3. kentfromtx,
    May 19, 2012 12:18 PM   in reply to kentfromtx
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    Dear Harm or somebody else,

     

    I've been studying the chart and posts on the thread you suggested and remember reading over it before.  One reason I was hesitant to just accept it and go with the reccomendatins was because I wasn't sure if the "2 Disk System" recommendations you are advising are for internal hard drives only or can be adopted for my USB external hard drive also. 

     

    Some other websites suggest using my portable hard drive, others say if it's only a USB 2.0 I'm probably better off just using my internal hard drive. Also, I'm embarrased to admitt it, but much of the terminology in the the chart, notes, and threads are Greek to me.

     

    So forgive me if this is rude for lack of effort on my end, but if you do recommend using my external hard drive in the "2-Disk" setup, and you were on my computer starting a new project in CS6 right now, what disk would you set the following drop down options to on the Scratch Disk Tab:

     

    Captured Video - Default = Same as Project

    Captured Audio - Default = Same as Project

    Video Previews - Default = Same as Project

    Audio Previews - Default = Same as Project

     

    Should I leave everything default, change it all to my portable hard drive, some of it to portable hard drive, or what?

     

    And also, I'm not sure what Media Cache and Page Files Are or if they're relevant in my situation.

     

    Sorry to keep bothering y'all with these stupid questions but I've been reading for the last week advice about this from all over the internet so I'm just gonna take whatever info I get from this last post and make it work even if it is baffling to my Premeire-ignorant brain. Thanks

     
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  • Bill Hunt
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    4. Bill Hunt,
    May 19, 2012 12:45 PM   in reply to kentfromtx
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    There are several ways to approach this, with pros & cons on each method.

     

    • Locate your Scratch Disks Same As Project, to keep them under the folder hierarchy for that Project. This is not the ultimate for performance, but makes cleaning out a finished Project easy. Same goes for locating Copies of your Assets in sub-folders, within the Project's folder hierarchy. This ARTICLE outlines the method that I use most often.
    • Locate your Scratch Disks onto other, internal, physical HDD's, and possibly RAID configurations with a dedicated RAID controller. This has the benefit of increaced performance, but means that to Delete a finished Project, one has to navigate to other HDD's. If I use this method, I create a new folder for that Project, name it the same as the Project's name on my other HDD, so I can then just navigate to that Project folder on each HDD, and Delete everything, including sub-folders below that. This would be the same for Assets, where one might spread those over several, internal, physical HDD's, and maybe RAID arrays. Performance can be enhanced, by judicial use of multiple HDD's, and especially with the correct RAID, with a dedicated hardware controller. One must just navigate to several HDD's, to Delete the entire Project.

     

    Good luck, and hope this gives you some ideas. In the end, it's really personal, and there is no ideal, regarding performance vs ease of management.

     

    Hunt

     
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  • Andy Ramone
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    5. Andy Ramone,
    May 19, 2012 2:56 PM   in reply to kentfromtx
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    kentfromtx wrote:

     

     

    So forgive me if this is rude for lack of effort on my end, but if you do recommend using my external hard drive in the "2-Disk" setup, and you were on my computer starting a new project in CS6 right now, what disk would you set the following drop down options to on the Scratch Disk Tab:

    basically, consider your set-up a 1 disk set-up until you get an extra internal drive, or atleast a 3.0 usb port. you could probably just buy a 3.0 usb pci card for your MoBo off amazon for a decent price.

     
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  • Andy Ramone
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    6. Andy Ramone,
    May 19, 2012 2:57 PM   in reply to Andy Ramone
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    Andy Ramone wrote:

     

    kentfromtx wrote:

     

     

    So forgive me if this is rude for lack of effort on my end, but if you do recommend using my external hard drive in the "2-Disk" setup, and you were on my computer starting a new project in CS6 right now, what disk would you set the following drop down options to on the Scratch Disk Tab:

    basically, consider your set-up a 1 disk set-up until you get an extra internal drive, or atleast a 3.0 usb port. you could probably just buy a 3.0 usb pci card for your MoBo off amazon for a decent price.

    there ya go, $25 bucks.

     

    http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-SuperSpeed-Express-PCIe/dp/B004G F1PC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337464616&sr=8-1

     
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  • kentfromtx
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    7. kentfromtx,
    May 19, 2012 3:38 PM   in reply to Andy Ramone
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    Andy,

     

    Sorry, I guess I should have mentioned my Asus U52F is a laptop computer. 

     

    Is this USB PCI card product compatible with laptops?  The technical data on the amazon page says "Requires available PCI Express (PCIe) port".

     

    Do laptops have PCI Express ports? If so, would it be visible externally or would I have to get to my motherboard?

     
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  • Andy Ramone
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    8. Andy Ramone,
    May 19, 2012 6:27 PM   in reply to kentfromtx
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    ah, laptop. have no idea then. lol.

     

    usually upgrades are fairly cumbersome, and sometimes expensive, to execute with laptops. towers give you expansion bays, laptops usually do not. hmmmmm

     
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