17 Replies Latest reply: Jul 15, 2010 10:08 AM by Christopher Duncan RSS

    Faster ponies and disk usage

    Christopher Duncan Community Member

      Just wanted to pop in and say thank to everyone, and Harm in particular, for all the help in getting a realistic setup for CS4. Rather than fight the underpowered box I had, I went with a new one. It's not likely to burn rubber skidding across the studio floor, but I think it's going to do just fine for the present. Besides, if I come in late at night and see my computers doing screaming cheetah wheelies, I'm off to the doctor to see about adjusting my medications.

       

      Short specs are a Dell Precision T3500, Quad Core Core Intel Xeon W3565 3.2GHz, Windows 7 Pro / 32 bit, 3 gig memory. I followed Harm's articles and advice on disk usage, etc. Well, as much as the budget would allow, anyway.

       

      I've gone with the 3 disk setup he recommended. The C: drive is the 300 gig that shipped with the box and is used for OS, programs and page file. The D and E drives are the 1tb Fujitsu 7200s he recommended, with D being dedicated to media and projects. The E drive has the previews, media cache and exports.

       

      In addition to the internal drives, I've added a small 2 disk Dlink NAS setup, RAID 1 with a pair of 2 TB drives. This is my general repository, where the gospel version of everything lives. When I want to work on something, I copy down from the NAS, and nightly backups copy the current working local stuff up to the NAS. RAID 1 for non realitime storage satisfies my current level of paranoia.

       

      Next time I get around to hardware, I'm considering replacing C with a SSD. I have one more hard drive slot in this box, so I'll probably add a fourth disk and move to the E/F as RAID 0 scenario.

       

      Anyway, that's the dog & pony show for the new box. Look for me in an After Effects theater coming soon as I pester that crowd for optimization tips. Thanks again for all the help. It's most appreciated.

       

      Chris

        • 1. Re: Faster ponies and disk usage
          Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

          Chris,

           

          Glad that the new machine is working out for you. I reference many of Harm's articles in several fora, as I agree with him, and he makes the points much better than I ever could. I just hope that the full attributions are done, so people will not think that they are MY ideas...

           

          Back when I was racing, the adage was often bandied about, "there is no substitute for cubic inches." Later on, this held for doing extreme 4-wheeling too. Oh, compression ratios and gearing did figure into the equation, but the general base theory was pretty good. However, this was also back when the 6 cyl. Porches beat my XKE, but maybe that was also a bit of OE too?

           

          A good workstation is something to enjoy, and utilize. There is little worse than trying to edit Video on an underpowered machine.

           

          Thanks for reporting good news,

           

          Hunt

          • 2. Re: Faster ponies and disk usage
            Christopher Duncan Community Member

            I got plenty of help from you, too. You ain't getting off the hook that easy. 

             

            Yeah, back in the day I was a small block Chevy guy, mostly because I couldn't afford anything cooler than Cameros and such at the time. Usually it was a van, though. Being a musician tends to put constraints on the coolness of your vehicles, although the girls didn't seem to mind.

             

            Having spent a previous lifetime as a professional software developer, I do love a nice, hot rod workstation. That said, these days I prefer to spend more time driving it and less time with the hood open. Probably why I screwed around as long as I did trying to shoulder the load of PrPro / AfterFx with the Windows equivalent of an AMC Gremlin station wagon (yeah, it'll get you there eventually, but trust me, it's not a pretty sight) before breaking down and getting something new.

             

            Hopefully now I can go back to concentrating on the music, video & other fun stuff and leave all this hardware tweaking to my (hopefully supressed) inner geek.

             

            Man, you had an XKE? I used to drool over those things. 12 cyclinders and pure style!

            • 3. Re: Faster ponies and disk usage
              John T Smith CommunityMVP

              >my XKE

               

              I always heard that the Jaguar's worst enemy was the Lucas "the prince of darkness" electrical system?

              • 4. Re: Faster ponies and disk usage
                Christopher Duncan Community Member

                Yeah, I heard they had wicked electrical problems as well. Still, it was an awfully cool ride.

                • 5. Re: Faster ponies and disk usage
                  Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                  John T.,

                   

                  That is so very true. For a bit, I wondered why the fuse box was behind the drop-down central dash unit. In no time at all, I learned why - you could replace those funky little Lucas fuses, while driving!

                   

                  My B-I-L, who owns a foreign car garage, had the "Lucas, Prince of Darkness" poster, with a Darth Vaderesque character with a "light-saber," that had burned out!

                   

                  I used to purchase the little Lucas, closed-core fan motors by the case. Those went out almost monthly, and were a hideous design - designed to fail. It was not until the Series II, that they did an open-core motor, and then went with two fans.

                   

                  Do not know how the newer Jags are, but wife wants to buy me one of the new (India now, and not Coventry) XK models. Think I will hold out for an Aston-Martin, or maybe the Bentley cabriolet. I mean HEY, I am the founding president of the PHX chapter of the "Trophy Husbands Club."

                   

                  If you do not mind oil stains on your garage floor, or do not like to tinker every weekend, do not even think about an older Jag.

                   

                  Hunt

                  • 6. Re: Faster ponies and disk usage
                    Bill Hunt CommunityMVP
                    Being a musician tends to put constraints on the coolness of your vehicles

                     

                    It's similar for an advertising photographer. In Colorado, the Chevy Suburban, and the Toyota Landcruiser ruled. I owned one, and my partner the other. Together, we could get an entire studio into the high-country, or into the Utah desert. Cool? Well, not so much. Utilitarian? Absolutely. Besides, I was married, and wife had the Saab 900-T, so "cool" did not have to apply to ALL vehicles in the family, right? For light to medium snow days, her car was great. When the snow got over about 12" the Landcruiser came into play. Now in AZ, my poor Landcruiser sees little "action," and has never even been off-road, like its predecessor (400,000 + miles) did. We do our "cruising" in wife's sedan. Life changes.

                     

                    Hunt

                    • 7. Re: Faster ponies and disk usage
                      John T Smith CommunityMVP

                      My slightly older cousin Bryce had a 426 Hemi Roadrunner which I was too young to drive (I actually think that if I had been older, I would have been too old to drive it... he was VERY possessive of that car!

                       

                      Later, I had a Dodge Dart GTS with a 340ci V8 engine and a HUGE 4 Barrel carb... it's a wonder I never had an accident in that monster

                       

                      Now, I have a 4 Wheel drive Mazda B3000 pickup truck for hauling the wife's plants & paver stones & yard scoops of potting soil

                       

                      Yep... things change

                      • 8. Re: Faster ponies and disk usage
                        Christopher Duncan Community Member

                        Yeah, but trading in lot of time on the road for the good life with a wife sounds like a Good Thing to me. 

                        • 9. Note to moderators
                          Christopher Duncan Community Member

                          I see this was moved from the Premiere forum to the lounge. I'd originally posted there so that I could reach the people who helped me with my thanks, but I can understand why it's more lounge material. Sorry 'bout that.

                           

                          LIve and learn. I'll do better next time! 

                          • 10. Re: Note to moderators
                            John T Smith CommunityMVP

                            >I'll do better next time

                             

                            Pretty soon, you'll be posting answers based on your experience, to help other people

                            • 11. Re: Note to moderators
                              Stan Jones CommunityMVP

                              The original post was fine.  But then you guys have to go and talk cars, cars, cars.  Then you get banished to the lounge.  Live and learn.  But that's not a bad thing, is it?

                               

                              Hey, Jeff, the yoodles are running low.

                              • 12. Re: Note to moderators
                                Jerry.K CommunityMVP

                                No problem, Chris.

                                 

                                Actually the ones you thanked all spend a lot of time in the Lounge. Who do you think keep the rubber tree plant in the corner so well watered?

                                • 13. Re: Note to moderators
                                  Christopher Duncan Community Member

                                  That's certainly the plan. I actually enjoy helping more than being helped.

                                  • 14. Re: Note to moderators
                                    Christopher Duncan Community Member

                                    >  But then you guys have to go and talk cars, cars, cars.

                                     

                                    Hey, he started it!

                                     

                                    No, wait, maybe I did.

                                     

                                    Nevermind...

                                    • 15. Re: Note to moderators
                                      Christopher Duncan Community Member

                                      I was going to ask how it got watered, but discretion got the better of me...

                                      • 16. Re: Note to moderators
                                        Bill Hunt CommunityMVP

                                        Chris,

                                         

                                        That was probably my fault (the MOD's say that EVERYTHING is), so I apologize. Harm should be by any day now, as he's in mourning over the World Cup results.

                                         

                                        Hunt

                                        • 17. Re: Note to moderators
                                          Christopher Duncan Community Member

                                          As long as I'm hanging out with the known troublemakers I know I'm running with the right crowd!