2 Replies Latest reply: Nov 14, 2009 3:04 PM by Bill Hunt RSS

    Advice on Scratch Disk & Hard Drive Allocation in new computer

    Matthew A Kraus Community Member

      I would appreciate some suggestions on scratch disk and hard drive allocations.  I am preparing to buy a new Dell XPS computer to use with CS4.  It has 3 hard drive bays. I am considering 2 options.  Any suggestions or preferences?  Or is there a better way?  I already have EHD and Drobo for backup so that is not an issue.

       

       

      1.    Drive 1 – OS and Program Files - 250 GB @ 7200

      Drive 2 -  Data Files and photos – 1 TB @ 7200

      Drive 3 – Scratch Disk – smallest drive I can get at 10,000

       

      2.    Drive 1 – OS and Program Files – 250 GB @ 7200

      Drive 2 – 1 TB @ 7200 partitioned into 2 partitions

                         Partition 1 – Scratch Disk – 10 GB

                         Partition 2 – Data Files and photos – the rest of the 1 TB

       

      Is there much gain having scratch disk on a separate drive at a fast 10,000 compared to having it partioned on a 7200 drive?

       

      Thanks,

      Matthew Kraus

        • 1. Re: Advice on Scratch Disk & Hard Drive Allocation in new computer
          Zeno Bokor CommunityMVP

          For scratch disks the VelociRaptors aren't that good anymore, they're starting to show their age. The advantage of 10k RPM drives lies in their low access times but they haven't been updated in about a year and can't keep up with the current crop of 7200 RPM drives in things like average write speed which is probably the most important thing for scratch drives. Currently the fastest drive is arguably the F3 series from Samsung:

          http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/10/06/samsung-spinpoint-f3-1tb-review/1

           

          Don't bother with 250gb drives, they're too old/slow. I'd say get 2-3 F3 drives and call it a day.

          • 2. Re: Advice on Scratch Disk & Hard Drive Allocation in new computer
            Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

            Matthew,

             

            I'd go with smaller and fastest for C:\ with OS and programs only

            D:\ would be say a SATA II 1 - 1.5TB for media

            E:\ would be same for Scratch Disks

             

            Only question would be where to put your Page File. You could experiment with it also on C:\, the default, or moving it to D:\ as it would see the most use with the intialy read, and then the write on Save/Save_As. Whichever way you go, I'd look into setting it statically to 2 - 2.5x your installed RAM.

             

            I do similar for my AV workstation, which also sees heavy PS usage. The only difference is more internals for Video, Audio and Exports.

             

            Do not do any partitions, as they will be bottlenecks and will not give you anything. They are left over from OS's past.

             

            Good luck,

             

            Hunt

             

            PS - here's a good ARTICLE on HDD's. It's basically for use with an NLE for video editing, but much applies to PS too.