HDD for SSD performance

O

oshaf

New member
Hi,

I'm running out my SSD capacity. Thinking to save music projects in an external HDD (5400rpm). But does it effect the performance if then I open back the project?
 
I would not ever save my projects on a SSD - safer on a HDD better to get 7200rpm if you can, but otherwise fine - the bottle neck is the on-board buffer, not the rpm so if it is a large enough buffer then no problems with speed
 
They are not reliable yet but I have a Seagate 1 TB HYbrid HD (SSHD). It has an 8gb SSD onboard.

If you want good deals check out a couple places I know of like Slickdeals.com and Dealnews.com.

Right now my personal fave is the Intel 530 Series for 120 bucks and 240 bucks. Both 240 GB and 480 GB.

I don't know what you need but I hate to sacrafice performance and also audio stuff mostly requires a 7200 rpm. 5400 is just silly ridiculous stupid. Too slow only 99 mb/s or around that while a HD might sometimes do 151 mb/s.

Some SSD's are only 200 mb/s which is about what a good SSHD does now but like I said sometimes they can give you a problem possibly so you might lose work having to do a clean install.

You could always buy and SSD cuz yeh I'm hung on it. And keep a backup external drive in an aftermarket enclosure with a cheap HD or SSD. Might be nice to have a backup to ensure no loss anyways if it helps your peace of mind. Or ofcourse do what I do and just save your sets on a USB like the PNY 128 GB that reads around 290 mb/s only found on the 128 GB version. I found mine for only about 50 bucks at newegg.com or tigerdirect.com

So yah got options. what to do?

P.S.

Some of my VST's ask for 7200 RPM or faster. SSD or go home dolly.
 
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I second using a 7,200rpm HDD for projects.

I've got an SSD for the system, an SSD for sample libraries (technically 2 x SSD's in a Raid 0 to make 1 recognized SSD, for financial reasons), and 7,200 rpm HDs for everything else... recording, storage, and backup.

The only lags I notice are if/when they fall asleep from not being used. Once they wake up in 2-3 secs, there's no lag for things like that. They are more than enough. (They were back then.. and they still are now). SSDs are best for OS and reading large sample libraries.
 
Hybrid SSDs make me nervous for audio use. Not like I haven't facts on them and their stability/performance for audio but... information moving between multiple parts of a disk so it can be accessed just makes me very very nervous. Someone like bandcoach or someone else more knowledgeable may have more insight but... I wouldn't be comfortable using them for audio.

The price on SSDs has come down enough to just get one IMO. SanDisk Ultra Plus is a great price/performance option.
 
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Thanks, guys.

However, I'm having a series of crack about streaming a project which I saved in my 5400 HDD. It's just came with a piano and accordion sampler. The sampler libraries are all in SSD which shouldn't be a problem. Is this a performance issue of the HDD or just the buffer setting overloaded the CPU?

I'm planing to buy 2TB USB 3.0 7200rpm portable HDD for projects and samplers (temporary). There are more samplers to add but it's a tight budget right now for an SSD even with just a 1TB. I think portable HDD is more quite then an internal one. So good bang for the buck. But I'm not sure loading a huge sampler like EastWest QL. Thought?
 
CPhoenix said:
Hybrid SSDs make me nervous for audio use. Not like I haven't facts on them and their stability/performance for audio but... information moving between multiple parts of a disk so it can be accessed just makes me very very nervous. Someone like bandcoach or someone else more knowledgeable may have more insight but... I wouldn't be comfortable using them for audio.

The price on SSDs has come down enough to just get one IMO. SanDisk Ultra Plus is a great price/performance option.
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Although I said Hybrids (SSHD's) are unreliable, that was something I only heard over 2 years ago. I am well pleased with my Seagate 8GB SSD+64mb cache+2TB 7200 RPM hard drive. I have only had an issue when trying to do a Recovery. But I usually have had issues in the past with whatever system I am running, when doing Recovery. Other than that my Seagate has had absolutely no problems. One thing to consider still at this point in technology is refraining from "Incinerating" an SSD or an SSHD. At this point it will ruin your SSD or SSHD. I have done it to my Intel SSD 520 Series and it still runs fine, but it will not optimize quickly anymore. Operating wise it still seems just as quick but possibly a little less "well". I highly recommend an Intel 530 Series and I believe you can "incinerate" on them without causing malfunctions and errors. I might be wrong. That's a question for Bill.

Sandisk has a reputation for low reliability and in fact was designed for purposeful failure. They are not recommended for normal use. Please refrain.

Intel is the leading SSD and computer tech. They are the best and most reiliable. They cost just dollars more here in these days: 11/2/2014.

Here is a link to some 530 Series that are becoming more and more less expensive. I found a deal on Slickdeals.com for an Intel 530 Series 480GB for 240 US dollars. Here at Amazon.com it is less than just 10 dollars more currently than my previous stated deal! Great deal seemingly when actually they used to retail and sell for maybe around 480 US dollars.

Intel 530 Series read/write times are around 540/480 Mb/s. That is 540 Mbs Read/480 Mbs Write.

Many SSD's on the market only read and write at about the same speed as a good SSHD (hybrid): about 200 Mb/s. A good Standard 7200 RPM HD can go near 151 Mb/s while all 5400 RPM drives only reach near 99 Mb/s: and some go only (3 Mb/s!)

Amazon.com: Intel 530 SERIES 480gb 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive Reseller Kit (SSDSC2BW480A4K5): Computers & Accessories
There are also some smaller size Intel SSD's here at Amazon.com which are also great deals!

https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=intel+530+deal&ei=utf-8&fr=chr-yie11

I love my SSHD for smoothness. When I play BF3, (look me up Anthony Lowery) it runs ultra smooth. While it only claims it goes about 33% faster than a standard HD which is I'm guessing a 7200RPM 150 Mb/s HD; I still believe it helps enough to make me pleased while playing BF3. greater start-up times are not hardly noticed nor drum samples for Audio. But it does run much more smooth than my previous HD's.

It's hard to say what will happen in the holidays for prices. I think the prices usually goes up. Perhaps you may find some deals though- in the near few months; but I think not. By the way, some tech supports for such as Dell, for instance, are up on the upcoming trends of SSD's. Knowing when prices will escalate according to weather and catastrophy: causing prices to fluctuate from overseas SSD factories.

You might just want to seach query "deal" with what you are looking for. It's my best trick!
 
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MadAnthony81 said:
Here is a good deal on a 2 TB 3.0 External Seagate. I like my Seagate SSHD Hybrid but this one is just an HD.

2TB Seagate Backup Plus USB 3.0 Desktop External Hard Drive $70 + Free Shipping - Newegg Deals, Coupons and Promos $70 with code at newegg.com

I think it goes up to Windows 7 only but I might be wrong.

Google "HD deal" or "hard drive deal" "2TB HD DEAL"

hope you have a good one and good luck.
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One thing to consider doing for performance is Partioning your HD. it will run in smaller segments and therefore operate much quicker than expected. I can help you Partition it if you like.

Also on top of that there are External Cases and such you can purchase for most any normal 3.5 inch HD and also many 2.5 inch. Even SSD's can be purchased separately and put together in less than a minute using an aftermarket external case.

SSD's used externally should definitely (in the U.S.) be used with an appropriate SSD shell/case. Many HD cases will hinder speeds actually causing malfunction, freezing or in any case; poor performance. You should purchase an SSD case/shell for an SSD. Specs should be available or it is probably poor quality. Cases vary in speed allowance just like SSD/HD counterparts vary in performance.

Amazon.com: 3.5 in external hard drive case - Computers & Accessories: Electronics

It is not known if SSHD's can be used externally yet. Kinda freaky.
 
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oshaf said:
Thanks, guys.

However, I'm having a series of crack about streaming a project which I saved in my 5400 HDD. It's just came with a piano and accordion sampler. The sampler libraries are all in SSD which shouldn't be a problem. Is this a performance issue of the HDD or just the buffer setting overloaded the CPU?

I'm planing to buy 2TB USB 3.0 7200rpm portable HDD for projects and samplers (temporary). There are more samplers to add but it's a tight budget right now for an SSD even with just a 1TB. I think portable HDD is more quite then an internal one. So good bang for the buck. But I'm not sure loading a huge sampler like EastWest QL. Thought?
Click to expand...

Oh I see what you mean. I believe you are dealing with cracks and pops right?

Yes that is a buffer setting problem in your case.

Change your Audio interface or Audio Card to a higher buffer setting. If that does not work then possibly your software is on too slow of a hard drive. Many software VST's ask for a 7200 RPM HD of high quality around 151 Mb/s.

If you still encounter problems after verifying that it is on a fast enough SSD and that you have changed you buffer setting on your Audio card then you might want to check and see if you need a faster computer.

One Thing to consider is buying a registry cleaner like System Mechanic. It just may be the fix you need. System Mechanic runs on sale for about 20-30 U.S. Here it is for 8.99 U.S. dollars. http://www.amazon.com/System-Mechan..._1_1?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1414958503&sr=1-1 I'm about to go there now. It's worth an early upgrade. Woops only 2 left!

Even Webroot has a registry cleaner built in that works well too. http://www.webroot.com/us/en/home/products/isp

Here is a deal on Webroot for 3 pc's and 1 year for 24.20 U.S. dollars. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...=aps&field-keywords=webroot&sprefix=webro,aps I recommend it as it is the "Plus" version and can do tablets and phones as well not just computers.

Another option that is free is Ccleaner. http://download.cnet.com/CCleaner/ It works very well for cleaning registry entries and is the only free registry cleaner I recommend. It gets the job done well.
 
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