SSD performance?

C

CPhoenix

CharlesAllen/ BMR Studios
Hey guys,

So... I recently added a 2nd hard drive to my setup- just a 7200rpm, 80GB SATA 3 drive, nothing special. I'm using it to lighten up the load on my main harddrive by putting a few sample libraries on it, but keeping it at about 50% capacity. I must say... I'm really impressed with my improved system stability.

If you know me by now... i'm always looking for the next best thing lol. So, I'm really interesting in grabbing 1 (maybe 2) SSD drive(s), since I hear their performance pretty much poops on regular HDs. I'm considering definitely making one the main drive (the smaller one), and one the audio drive. I'd let my regular HD hold the VST's probably. (I haven't completely figured out the final setup yet though, so if you have suggestions please let me know. I don't even know if 2 SSD's is necessary by definition.)

Does anybody have any experience with SSDs in their setup? Any major improvements over your regular HD? Was it hands down worth it?
 
honestly, for the price, it's still overrated. Until it comes down in price and their longevity is proven, they're not even worth a look.
 
I'm not too concerned about price though. I'm aware any halfway decent sized one runs from between $200-$500 depending on size. I'd just pick the best deal for my budget

I'm moreso wondering what the performance is like, and if it's much improved over a 7200rpm HD for handling large sample libraries, perhaps VST performance, recording, and general system performance. In particular, I feel there's a bottleneck occuring that I'd be very interested in alieviating.

From anyone who uses an SSD in their setup, is there a clearcut boost in performance of your DAW/ system that u noticed?
 
I have an SSD I couldn't have a PC without one. I use a mechanical drive at work, it depresses me, sometimes, when I'm alone... at night... I cry.

I run my OS and DAW/Plugins from it, you'll notice the performance difference straight away.

And my SSD is quit old now but marginally faster than regular drives.
 
With my OS, yes, hell yes. with large sample libraries, vsts, recording, eh yea its alot better but i could live without it. If I could go back in time i'd get a smaller one and use it as my primary hdd for my OS.
 
CPhoenix said:
I'm not too concerned about price though. I'm aware any halfway decent sized one runs from between $200-$500 depending on size. I'd just pick the best deal for my budget

I'm moreso wondering what the performance is like, and if it's much improved over a 7200rpm HD for handling large sample libraries, perhaps VST performance, recording, and general system performance. In particular, I feel there's a bottleneck occuring that I'd be very interested in alieviating.

From anyone who uses an SSD in their setup, is there a clearcut boost in performance of your DAW/ system that u noticed?
Click to expand...

unless the VST is streaming absolutely enormous sample libraries in 100% realtime, you're probably not going to see much of a benefit for the price.

VSTi's that are synths that are completely self contained will see zero benefit.
Likewise, unless your audio track count is in the hundreds at 24/192, you'll see no real benefit.

If you're running a massive database tied to a correlation engine (i.e. an enterprise wide SIEM environment with many log collection points), you'll immediately see benefits... and will likely see failure sooner as SSD's have a limited number of r/w's they can handle (hard drives have no limit).
 
logic7 said:
unless the VST is streaming absolutely enormous sample libraries in 100% realtime, you're probably not going to see much of a benefit for the price.

VSTi's that are synths that are completely self contained will see zero benefit.
Likewise, unless your audio track count is in the hundreds at 24/192, you'll see no real benefit.

If you're running a massive database tied to a correlation engine (i.e. an enterprise wide SIEM environment with many log collection points), you'll immediately see benefits... and will likely see failure sooner as SSD's have a limited number of r/w's they can handle (hard drives have no limit).
Click to expand...

Thats not my experience at all.
 
noblewordz said:
Thats not my experience at all.
Click to expand...

It was mine when doing validation testing for a project I was on. For usage outside of massive data streaming from dozens of databases and having to correlate all of that data and display it, ther was no real benefit to SSD's. The average person, even the engineers, saw no real benefit other than a slight bump in speed getting files to open. Once I completed a cost/benefit analysis, the data we pulled together showed that, for the money, even with grossly exaggerated failure/replacement costs, there was no real benefit to using SSD's in any scenario outside of heavy duty transactional use.
 
Thanks noble, that's really good to know.

It's interesting. I'm starting my research on it, and it seems that when people talk in terms of theory, they tend to be very cautious towards SSDs, claiming they are not as reliable and not worth the risk. However... everybody who says they have one talks about how they see big system improvements OS-wise, load-time wise, etc.... and pretty much the same response you gave.

I'm thinking when I add it to my system (iy probably will be in 3-4 months at the earliest), i'll grab a 60-80GB one for the OS, and the largest I can afford for sample libraries. From the tests that I saw, it looks like a standard HD will outperform the SSD for audio writes.... but in a "read"-mostly environment, that's when it's a clearcut performance boost.

Hopefully by the time I grab one this summer the price/GB will drop a little more. I'm not too too confortable dropping essentially $1.50 per GB lol. That's a new TV! :)

---------- Post added at 01:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:02 PM ----------
logic7 said:
It was mine when doing validation testing for a project I was on. For usage outside of massive data streaming from dozens of databases and having to correlate all of that data and display it, ther was no real benefit to SSD's. The average person, even the engineers, saw no real benefit other than a slight bump in speed getting files to open. Once I completed a cost/benefit analysis, the data we pulled together showed that, for the money, even with grossly exaggerated failure/replacement costs, there was no real benefit to using SSD's in any scenario outside of heavy duty transactional use.
Click to expand...

Well this is the main reason I think I'd like one... for quicker reads of large sample libraries for loading and playback, and for OS speed and stability.

I wasn't expecting my synths to process faster in my DAW lol. That seems like a job for the CPU.

I think I want that added performance benefit though to relieve my main HD of having to do all the work. The more i think about it.. the more I'm amazed the head is still operating. As much as it has to go back n forth to do everything. Poor little guy lol

Couple hundred bucks isn't bad if it means a superior work experience.
 
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CPhoenix said:
Thanks noble, that's really good to know.

It's interesting. I'm starting my research on it, and it seems that when people talk in terms of theory, they tend to be very cautious towards SSDs, claiming they are not as reliable and not worth the risk. However... everybody who says they have one talks about how they see big system improvements OS-wise, load-time wise, etc.... and pretty much the same response you gave.

I'm thinking when I add it to my system (iy probably will be in 3-4 months at the earliest), i'll grab a 60-80GB one for the OS, and the largest I can afford for sample libraries. From the tests that I saw, it looks like a standard HD will outperform the SSD for audio writes.... but in a "read"-mostly environment, that's when it's a clearcut performance boost.

Hopefully by the time I grab one this summer the price/GB will drop a little more. I'm not too too confortable dropping essentially $1.50 per GB lol. That's a new TV! :)
Click to expand...


I think part of that could be over compensating for disappointment in a recent purchase. You know how some people will over inflate things to justify a purchase that didn't live up to its expectations.



Well this is the main reason I think I'd like one... for quicker reads of large sample libraries for loading and playback, and for OS speed and stability.

I wasn't expecting my synths to process faster in my DAW lol. That seems like a job for the CPU.

I think I want that added performance benefit though to relieve my main HD of having to do all the work. The more i think about it.. the more I'm amazed the head is still operating. As much as it has to go back n forth to do everything. Poor little guy lol

Couple hundred bucks isn't bad if it means a superior work experience.
Click to expand...

but how long are you waiting now for these libraries to load? If it's counted in seconds, does it really matter if it loads any faster?
 
re

for me they arent really worth it. I have them on some rigs for OS drives and they are cool but hardly required. I dont get any benefits when using a synth vsti. I dont use them to stream recording to either. I wouldnt trust that in a pro situation and they are too small. I use them on tour rigs where i have to load huge libraries for every song in a set very fast. this is the only place where they are cost effecient to me. I also dont fully trust them so I always have a backup drive ready to go.
 
Question..

Do you guys see improvement in session load times?

That's one of my gripes about DAWs. My sessions gets pretty involved, and they take FOREVER to load at times lol. Did you guys see improvement there? This would be sooooo worth it.

And also, how about mixdown time? Any improvements there?

---------- Post added 03-12-2012 at 08:21 AM ---------- Previous post was 02-19-2012 at 10:26 PM ----------

Okay... so as an update, I grabbed an 80GB Intel SSD. My intentions are to use it as the system drive to keep my OS, DAW and VSTs on. I'm going to use my 7200rpm 500GB drive for sample data/ libraries, samples, session files, and all audio writing purposes. However, before I make it the system drive.. I decided to test it out as a sample storage drive to check it's performance and stability.

I hooked up the SSD to my mobo and formatted it. I'm kind of impressed with how stable my Kontakt library is running in my DAW. I can definitely see how that was bottlenecked, and also how my single HD was working way too hard. System feels quieter now and more balanced.

However... here's the problem. I got my first BSOD!! I'm a little worried about why. I got it while I was doing a mixdown for a session. It occured around the 4min mark. It happened twice... (looked like at the same spot too).

The thing that confuses me the most is that in this particular session, I wasn't even using my SSD! I didn't have any instruments included in the session that have sample data on the SSD. But it still crashed. And this never ever happened before from a simple mixdown.

Tonight I'm going to make sure my mobo's drivers are uptodate (even though they were uptodate when I reinstalled my system 4 months ago). Anybody have any other ideas as to why the heck something like this would happen? It makes me weary about making the SSD the system drive. But I've read a lot of posts from other users who love it as the system drive. Could it be maybe my mobo causing the problem?
 
^Man I don't even remember, i never read those things. I get too scared and turn off the power right away... lol


I must say man... I wound up doing a completely system overhaul (formatted everything, fresh windows install, etc).... good god this thing is lightning fast as a system drive! I haven't finish reinstalling my DAW and instruments yet.... but from what it looks like right now, it feels like a really really good decision. (I grabbed an 80GB SSD for $80, and 2 extra 500GB 7200rpm 32cache HDs for about $120 off craigslist to hold the instrument libraries). There's a clearcut difference in read-time, you can really feel it. Stuff is opening up way faster.

I like the fact that if I have a crash... i can shutdown and restart windows in under 30 secs, and get right back to making music. That alone right there is WELL worth the $80 i spent. I had a client session 2 weeks ago where my setup crashed, and it took a good 2-3 mins to reboot and get back to where we left off. That may not seem like a lot of time overall.... but in the moment of flow, that's an ETERNITY. (Try it.... count to 180!!!! AND SEE IF U DON'T LOSE YOUR VIBE). So yeah... i'm hoping to be very happy. Obviously i'll only really know after i install everything and re-begin production. I'm keeping the SSD as clean as I possibly can. I'm not even saving downloads or MP3's on it... i'm going to use a different drive for that.

I'm going to post a new thread after i get everything up and running to give my thoughts on the before and after.
 
Just got a 120GB Muskin drive. Much better than my 64GB Cruicial.

Waiting for Ivy Bridge, will be my next upgrade. A board with SATA III will be nice, should see even more of an improvement.
 
I kinda wish i got myself an SSD because they run sooo much more productively, which is a massive performance boost for producers such as ourselfs..
 
noblewordz said:
Just got a 120GB Muskin drive. Much better than my 64GB Cruicial.

Waiting for Ivy Bridge, will be my next upgrade. A board with SATA III will be nice, should see even more of an improvement.
Click to expand...

Word. Can't wait til the prices on the 250GB ones gets more reasonable. I aint spendin no $300 on just an HD lol... I don't care how fast it is.

Thinking about eventually upgrading my mobo to Sata III also (the new 7200rpm HDs I grabbed are Sata III just so I can future proof a little bit), but I wanna be able to justify it by earning a little more money from music than the random $500 project every 2 months. At least now, it should hopefully be a pleasant enough experience so that I can get through projects quicker and with less headaches/wait time. I'll know in a few days. If it doesn't work out in the end... at least i didn't spend huge amounts of money on everything.

---------- Post added at 07:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:45 AM ----------

Know any tips and tricks for lowering the amount of space Win 7 takes up on the HD?

I already turned off the paging file, and that cleared up an entire 16GBs of space (I've got 16GB of RAM). Any other tips? I never noticed how much Win 7 takes up, since I used to have it on a 500GB drive and it didn't matter. Now that I'm down to a 80GB system drive... every GB counts!
 
I have become totally addicted to SSD's - I run the OS and all the programs from a SSD in every PC or MAC that I own (currently 2 MacPro's, 1 Macbook, 1 HP PC and 1 Dell PC). I couldn't live without the SSDs.

Professionally I work as an Art Director and together with Photoshop and a maxed out RAM they tend to shrink the calculating times down to aprox. 20%. This is from my own tests with a large PSD-document and a stop-watch.

But the real benefit comes if you open and close programs a lot. Example:

Opening Photoshop on my Macbook used to take 45 sec with a 7200 HD - with an SSD it takes 4 sec. No kidding. This is from my own experience.

They are sooo worth every penny!
 
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CPhoenix said:
Word. Can't wait til the prices on the 250GB ones gets more reasonable. I aint spendin no $300 on just an HD lol... I don't care how fast it is.

Thinking about eventually upgrading my mobo to Sata III also (the new 7200rpm HDs I grabbed are Sata III just so I can future proof a little bit), but I wanna be able to justify it by earning a little more money from music than the random $500 project every 2 months. At least now, it should hopefully be a pleasant enough experience so that I can get through projects quicker and with less headaches/wait time. I'll know in a few days. If it doesn't work out in the end... at least i didn't spend huge amounts of money on everything.

---------- Post added at 07:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:45 AM ----------

Know any tips and tricks for lowering the amount of space Win 7 takes up on the HD?

I already turned off the paging file, and that cleared up an entire 16GBs of space (I've got 16GB of RAM). Any other tips? I never noticed how much Win 7 takes up, since I used to have it on a 500GB drive and it didn't matter. Now that I'm down to a 80GB system drive... every GB counts!
Click to expand...

You won't see much of an improvement with SATA III mechanical drives. Unfortunately.

Delete system restore points and turn it off also tuning off hibernation will free up a good few GB.

You could always make a custom install of 7 seen people get it down to 2GB but its mostly for netbooks.
 
ive got the 7200 hd sata IIIs not for speed, but moreso for stability (and a nice cost benefit lol). eventually, when i can put my sample libraries on large SSds, i still wanna write audio to a standard disk. SSDs have limited write (how ever large that number is... im not too comfrtable with that).
 
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