OS on another drive?

version2

version2

New member
Hey all!

In one of my studio machines I am using a lexicon core2. Right now I have everything running on a 7200 rpm EIDE. Would I get better performance out of the machine if I installed a second hard drive for the OS even if it is only a 5400 rpm hard drive? Or should I just leave it alone?
 
Yes it would be desirable to have the second hard drive. This will split the read/writes required by the OS/Audio Program versus the wave data over two drives. Since the playback of the audio is the most taxing operation, having it done on a dedicated drive would be preferable.

I pretty sure, however, you need to have them installled on seperate controllers to realize this benefit. Can someone confirm this.
 
I hope its not too early to bump this. I want a confirmation as well. If I dont need to install the second drive then all the better.
 
A second drive is preferable for the reasons mentioned by Dachay. When installing this second drive, put it on a separate IDE ribbon cable, so that your second drive is not a slave of the first one.
 
giaschel said:
A second drive is preferable for the reasons mentioned by Dachay. When installing this second drive, put it on a separate IDE ribbon cable, so that your second drive is not a slave of the first one.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan. And eliminates wasting that older 5400 drive. Thanks a lot.
 
Wait, I don't get it

How can you put a second drive on it's own ribbon cable ? My sound card only has two controllers. One is running a cd-rom and cd-rw, the other is running my hard drive. Since each controller only runs two devices, and I only have two controllers, how can I hook up a second hard drive with it's own ribbon without a third controller on my mainboard ?
 
Silver Bullet - I believe the preferred configuration for your set-up is:

Primary Controller:
Master = OS HDD
Slave = CD-RW

Secondary Controller:
Master = Audio HDD
Slave = CD-ROM

I think what Giaschel meant was to put each HDD on it's own ribbon cable (i.e., on seperate controllers).
 
I meant mainboard, not sound card

Wow, I thought that similar devices had to run on the same cable/controller. That sounds awesome to separate the hard drives between the controllers. Does it give you a noticable improvement in performance ?


Dachay2tnr, thanks for clarifying the separation for me. I'm old to music but fairly new to computer recording.

Thanks guys, Silver
 
Does having a slave on the audio hard drive like a cdrom or cdrw cause any slowdown to the hard drive? I know it would if the audio drive was 7200rpm and the slave was a 5400rpm hard drive, but what about a cdrom or cdrw?
 
Maybe if they happen to run simultaneously, but do you have a choice anyway? There are only two IDE ribbon cables for most computers. That's why the setup mentioned by Dachay is the preferred configuration.

BTW, having both a CD-ROM and a CD-RW is less and less necessary, unless you make direct copies of CDs, which is not recommended. Therefore, you may choose on which controller to slave your CD-RW (I guess Primary would be preferable, not to impair your audio HDD) and forget about the CD-ROM.
 
Ok. One more question regarding this.

On the slower drive (5400) which will be the OS drive. Should I install all of my audio apps on this drive or on the faster drive (7200) or is the faster drive JUST for audio files/recording?
 
dachay2tnr said:
Silver Bullet - I believe the preferred configuration for your set-up is:

Primary Controller:
Master = OS HDD
Slave = CD-RW

Secondary Controller:
Master = Audio HDD
Slave = CD-ROM
Click to expand...
dachay2tnr,

I'm reconfiguring a computer for live performances. I'll be pulling .wav files into Acid and Vegas from the Audio HDD and perhaps simultaneously playing .cda files from the CD-ROM. Burning CDR's isn't a big priority. Would this also be the best configuration for me? Or would it be better to put the CD-ROM and Audio HDD on the separate controllers (CD-ROM on primary, CD-RW on secondary)?

Thanks,
barefoot
 
Someone else may have more expertise than me, but I would say in your case switch the CD-RW and CD-ROM as you indicated.

You might, however, find that you have problems when and if you burn CD's, since you will be trying to read your .wav files and burn the CD off the same controller. It's worth trying, however, since you seem primarily interested in playing CD's and .wav files simultanously. Set it up that way and try and burn a CD. Worse case, you'll get a coaster and an answer to the question.

Another idea would be to leave the configuration as I originally indicated, but use your burner to play the CD's. Of course, this will probably cause your burner to wear out a little sooner than otherwise.

Pick your poison.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top