storage suggestions for laptop

[parthibaraj]

Hi,

buying a custom built laptop from eurocom. It has 2 m.2 SSD slots and 2 HDD slots. The seller gives one HDD hitachi 1 TB travelstar 7200 RPM at $40 along with the laptop setup. only the first hard disk comes at lesser price. Rest all over priced. so not going to buy from them.

now suggest me to fill up other 3 slots. (cost effectively). Just a beginner. purchasing mainly for learning and practicing.

1. how much capacity I need for boot drive and which SSD to choose. maybe a possible dual boot. not decided yet

2. how much capacity I need for scratch disk and which SSD to choose.

3. how much capacity I should put in HDD and 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm. any hdd suggestions? since I have not put in any data, should I go ahead setting up the RAID now itself? or it is based on necessity? any other general advice should do. going to use premiere pro , after effects, cinema 4d.

[RoninEdits]

you will need to find out about the m.2 slots, if they can hold sata and/or pcie. the two m.2 might be the same kind and both hold the same kind of m.2 ssd's, or they might be different m.2 slots and each hold a different kind.

for capacity it depends how much space you need for active media projects. at lower capacity it can be affordable for one super fast m.2, like the samsung 960 evo, rather than multiple slower sata ssd, like the samsung 850 evo.

so your setup would be:

1- samsung 960 evo 500gb or 1tb for os/apps/cache/media/projects (yes these drives are that fast)

1- 1tb or 2tb 2.5" hdd to hold backups and finished/archived projects.

if the laptop cannot hold a pcie m.2 ssd like the samsung 960, you may have to use sata ssd m.2 like the samsung 850 evo. this setup is also more cost effective when needing more than 1tb of working ssd space. if you need to cut costs you could also use the media/projects or os/apps ssd for cache. some options:

1- samsung 850 evo (m.2 or 2.5") 250gb or 500gb for os/apps

1- samsung 850 evo (m.2 or 2.5") 250gb or 500gb for cache

1- samsung 850 evo (m.2 or 2.5") 500gb or larger for media/projects

1- 1tb or 2tb 2.5" hdd to hold backups and finished/archived projects

if you are planning on using the hdd(s) for media to save money:

1- samsung 850 evo (m.2 or 2.5") 500gb for os/apps/cache/projects

1 (or 2 in raid-0) - 2.5" 7200rpm hdd for media

1- external hdd for backups &archived projects

[parthibaraj]

Thanks for your detailed answers. helps a newbie like me. Here is the exact specs Eurocom Model Specifications 

up to 4 physical drives:

- 2x M.2 2280 SSD PCIe 2x/4x or SATA

- 2x 2.5" 9.5mm/7mm HDD/SSD/SHDD

- RAID 0/1

Four M.2 slots

-1st: WLAN M.2 2230 Card with PCIe x2 and USB (A Key)

-2nd for SSD M.2 2280 Card with SATA / PCIe x2/x4 (M key)

-3rd for SSD M.2 2280 Card with SATA / PCie x2/x4 (M key)

-4th M.2 3042 for LTE or UMTS/HSPA

[RoninEdits]

looks like it should work with either samsung 960 or 850 m.2 drives. the samsung 850 are sata, while the 960 are pcie x4. when i click on the components tab on the webpage for the eurocom laptop you linked, it lists both samsung 960 and 850 as options too.

[parthibaraj]

I am getting used Oracle SSD at $150. should I get it http://www.oracle.com/us/products/servers-storage/storage/flash-storage/f80-ds-2043658.pdf

[RoninEdits]

the pdf shows a pcie x8 card, that won't go into the laptop. it might only be supported on a Sun computer as well, and not any windows computer. if its used, unless they have info on how much its been used it might have a short lifespan left. it also has much slower specs than a samsung 960.

[RoninEdits]

here is what the m.2 ssd's look like. very different from that oracle ssd, which is for desktop/server computers.

[Bill_Gehrke]

Also a board designed for databases is best for high I/O and is not optimized for large sequential operations like reading and writing video files

[Bill_Gehrke]

Wow!  I want one of those, it has all the bells and whistles of a great workstation.  If I were to get it I would opt for a SATA III 2.5 inch SSD like a Samsung 850 256 GB for my OS/Applications (if you are going to dual boot go for a 500 GB) and then like you mentioned get a M.2 PCIe x4 SSD like a Samsung 960 and install it in the first M.2 PCIe x4 slot.  If you can get the 1 TB 7200 rpm drive for $40 get it to use for on-board archiving and backup.  I do not find for my purposes that that a second fast drive is necessary for the cache's.  Only if you have huge projects with a 100 or more clips does it seem to be necessary.  We do not know your media, project size, workflow and applications so it is hard to recommend specifics.  You can always later take full advantage of the other 2 remaining storage ports and delaying purchase immediately will save you money and or allow you to get larger capacities when required.

[parthibaraj]

OK...  Here is the link to the page which gives the description...  If it doesn't go to the laptop nothing can be done.  I was thinking of using it for cache, media since it is 800 gb

https://www.techenclave.com/community/threads/oracle-f80-800gb-pcie-ssd-price-drop.182594/

[parthibaraj]

what MHz RAM I should get. thinking of getting 2 * 16 GB sticks. confused about the MHz. Or get the cheapest RAM?

and 16 GB enough or 32 GB. will be using after effects often

[RoninEdits]

after effects will like the 32gb. faster memory will have a minor performance boost in some situations, usually with gpu accelerated functions. on the webpage they list gskill ddr4-3000, which is an ok brand. they also list kingston and micron at ddr4-2400, those brands have better reputations.

[parthibaraj]

as per your suggestion, this storage setup should be enough to start with and even for some time to come.

1. 960 evo 500 GB m.2

2.  any HDD of my choice...

[parthibaraj]

One of my friends having Samsung 950 pro 512 gb.  Can it do the same work of 960 evo,  especially I am using it for beginner level stuff... 

Of course if the price is equal I may get 960 evo over 950 pro.  960 seems to be a better drive in performance.

[RoninEdits]

the 950 can work too