I'm on the verge of springing for an install of two Vertex 3 240GB SSDs into my new iMac 27" i7. (Removing opt disk for 2nd SSD.) But I have gotten conflicting reports as to whether or not this is a good idea. I am doing a lot of video editing and was told to get external Raid 5 scratch, but I am at a loss as I thought the high-speed SSDs striped would rock. Can anyone explain the pros and cons of each?
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Two SSDs for iMac 2011
- Thread starter olindacat
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Waste of money getting two. Just get one SSD for your main drive, and get a large HD 1-3TB for your DATA. Your SSD will be doing all the work and use the other for your storage.
Raid5 also requires 3 HD minimum to start. You can run Raid 0-1 with just two drives.
I was going to RAID 0 the two 240s to give me one 480 SSD fast volume. I am concerned about stability as I hear RAID 0 is unstable. NOt having owned SSDs I don't want to blow it. I was going to leave the Mac upgraded 2TB HDD alone. Since I'm having iMac torn apart to install one SSD, why not the other for more capacity/speed. The RAID 5 was going to be on an external OWC Qx2 FW 12TB.
For video editing you want your OS and software on one drive and media on another drive or array. You should also have a separate means of backup.
Whether or not you would need a raid array would depend on the bit rate and number of video streams. If you are using multiple HD streams from a dSLR or high end HD camera then raid is the way to go. Raid 0 will be the fastest but offers no backup. The probability of failure increases with the number of drives in the raid 0 array. Raid 5 is not as fast but the parity is shared across the drives so if one drive fails, you can replace it without losing data.
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Whether or not you would need a raid array would depend on the bit rate and number of video streams. If you are using multiple HD streams from a dSLR or high end HD camera then raid is the way to go. Raid 0 will be the fastest but offers no backup. The probability of failure increases with the number of drives in the raid 0 array. Raid 5 is not as fast but the parity is shared across the drives so if one drive fails, you can replace it without losing data.
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If you decide to do it, you will want to replace your standard HD, not your Optical Drive. The optical drive sata port is only SATA II and you would not get the performance of the vertex 3.
You will want the striped raid to be both your SATA III ports.
You will want the striped raid to be both your SATA III ports.
Well thats far from true.
But what hes trying to do would have been easier with a Macpro.
Regardless, installing a Vertex 3s and using the second SSD in the optical drive as a RAID is a waste. Vertex 3s with their 6 Gbps speed would be limited by the SATA II connection that the optical drive has.
If it was my money, I would put a single drive in and use a the internal platter drive for scratch.
RAID 5s are not built for speed, but redundancy, no idea why you would use that for scratch.
Have you even tried editing as is? I dunno what "a lot" of video editing means. Kinda like the people that say I do a ton of photoshop work and find out everything they do is 72 DPI. Big freakin deal.
I know. Was gonna use the cable from standard HDD on Vertex, cable from OD on HDD.
I have four (4) other iMacs that are used 'professionally' for magazine print production and commercial photography. They work just fine. I have also owned every Mac tower made up until the iMac was released, and have never looked back.
I agree/disagree. I can certainly add five SSDs and stripe or do anything in a Mac Pro but that 'exclusivity' will end as TB devices come online. Then (IMHO) it'll be 'easier' to plug in any number of SSDs w/o the box.
You're assuming I'm using the II connection. I'm not. Already been done with the two III connections....
Yes I have. I've been shooting/producing a SD monthly golf show in Hawaii (as well as the state's only PGA-supported golf magazine) for nearly 20 years. I am moving to a HD workflow. As it is recorded and not live, but replicates network (GC, ESPN, or NBC/CBS) like presentations of news and players (with extensive 3D titling and VEs), multiple streams of video, and source files to be shot on a two-camera set-up with external recorders, our native files will be base 4:2:2 ProRes and our FS100 will give us 1080p60. So, the files will be huge. I typically have as many as 20 video tracks before I am forced to do an intermediate render just so I can deal with adding another 20. I'll do 4-5 of these per segment, and a dozen or more per show. Speed is important. This iMac is an intermediate computer for us. We will buy the MacPro when it is refreshed in Fall/Winter.
If you're comfortable replacing the drives, that's about as fast as it gets. The theory of lack of reliability for raid 0 is that you have 2x the chance for data loss as if either drive dies, you lose the data. The technology is not intrinsically flawed, but since half the data is on each drive, one drive dies..poof. It's not an issue if you re doing things the right way, backing up.
I say go for it if you have the money and knowhow...forget anyone telling you that somehow raid 0 is intrinsically unsafe, the situation I listed is the increased risk.
I say go for it if you have the money and knowhow...forget anyone telling you that somehow raid 0 is intrinsically unsafe, the situation I listed is the increased risk.
Thanks for the back story.
Sadly, you dont know Jack from Adam here, so its impossible to gauge the level of ones experience.
Im sure a RAID 0 would be incredibly fast, but I have no clue as to why a RAID 5 would be great for scratch. RAID 5 is for redundant backup, not scratch. and of course, as of right now, you can only get a RAID 5 case in FW800 for the iMac (since TB isnt here yet)
Fastest scratch drive would be another SSD.
Again, have you tried just using it as is to see how the speed is?
Sadly, you dont know Jack from Adam here, so its impossible to gauge the level of ones experience.
Im sure a RAID 0 would be incredibly fast, but I have no clue as to why a RAID 5 would be great for scratch. RAID 5 is for redundant backup, not scratch. and of course, as of right now, you can only get a RAID 5 case in FW800 for the iMac (since TB isnt here yet)
Fastest scratch drive would be another SSD.
Again, have you tried just using it as is to see how the speed is?
I never heard of such a thing which was why I was asking. I am not the video king like you, Jeff. Pardon me your majesty.
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