Does anyone know if there is any need to use separate OS and sample drive if using SSD? I currently have a 128 SSD for my OS and use 1TB HDD for my samples, but am thinking about upgrading both drives to SSD and was wondering if it would be worth getting a large SSD for both? Or is it still better to keep OS stuff on it's own drive no matter what?

 

you mainly want just programs/applications on the ssd.

It's probably better to keep the 1tb and just upgrade to 256/480 depending on how much extra do you need.

External hardrive would probably be a cheaper solution If you have extremely big libraries.

 

Be aware that loads of write process on SSD HD, makes it less viable in time.
So if you need something more reliable for your OS, yep a SSD as 128 Gb is far enough
and a good HD for your data.

cheers

 

Hi lampwiikk,

I don't agree. but it depends on the size of your template. if your Kontakt samples need time to load or you have cpu overload. putting everything on a 2nd ssd is the best solution. Maybe even more important than upgrading the ram. If you can afford it and you just want to put your library on it and don't have much data movement, it's not gonna break the next few years. If you Backup you can take the (maybe existing) risk. hh

 

another use for an SSD is to use it for your cache space (SSD caching), you don't need to buy a large size drive so you can keep the price down (they are still expensive) but you will definitely see an improvement with the speed of your puter. Everything stays on your HDD but the cpu uses the SSD for its cache and not the HDD

 

Read it, please.
"http://www.extremetech.com/computing/170748-how-long-do-hard-drives-actually-live-for"

Anyway I prefer SSD (OCZ 120 GB) for O.S. and HD (WD 1TB Black) for applications/data, because HD technology is still leading (firmware updates not needed). CD/DVD for long term backup, of course.

Note:
Who updates mobo BIOS firmware knows that the procedure is dangerous, also knows than can restore BIOS firmware using related tools. But what about SSD firmware recovery? Think about it.

 

i have one 128gb ssd for my os and a second 128gb for programs. all of my samples are on a traditional hard rive. but if i was going to play live, i would probably want to transfer all of the samples that i was actually going to use to a ssd so they would load up faster. some of the bigger kontakt libraries take a long time to load up from the hard drive.

 

Recently, I read up quite a lot on SSD's and it seems that the worries about them getting broken fast when used as system disks (or for caching) are pretty much groundless. Considering the lifespan of modern SSD's, it's very unlikely that you'd manage to break before you upgrade your rig again, unless you treat them like an idiot, in which case you'll only get what you deserve

Anyhow, with these devices, I'd suggest checking the reviews, because you may find quite substantial differences in price for the same storage space, but some of these drives tend to have a higher failure rate. An example of a dependable disk would be Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB (you can chekch the reviews and customers' feedback). Apart from Samsung, I've also been told that Intel and Crucial are great, too, as well as other models with Intel-made innards, so to speak.

Hope this helps.

 

A 1TB SSD is faster than a 128GB SSD (bigger is faster).

(Sorry I couldn't resist to mention it )

 

Not always, for example 512GB M4 is slower than 256GB, because of the increased latency between NAND. *yes*

 

I've been reading the wrong speedtest web sites

 

Yeah, it just seems like the price per GB is coming down substantially. A 1TB from Crucial is now less than $500. My laptop has 2 drives and I definitely aim to go for SSD for my samples and Kontakt libraries, as I've been experimenting with load times and obviously the SSD just blows the HDD away. My main concern was whether getting a 1TB for my OS drive too, and also using it for samples and media and stuff, would be self defeating. Sounds like it would most likely be ok. On the same note, has anyone had any practical experience with SSD failures, like maxing out the writes? Especially with the newer larger drives?

 

Keep the system SSD for the OS and applications only.

256GB to 512GB* should be more than sufficient depending on how much stuff you have loaded, or if you are duel-booting etc. Also never get close to maxing out your system drive, and keep it defragmented etc.

*Even 128GB would suffice for a lean highly optimized audio-only system.

Going in a slightly different direction, has anybody tried using a fast USB3 memory stick as the audio recording drive? Something like the Sandisk Extreme which has a SSD controller inside, or the Lexar JumpDrive P10 which has sequential performance up to 265MB/s read and 245MB/s write ..

 

As computer tech, i will add my salt grain
Two drives for sure, because it will better to backup, and faster to execute (two data streams instead of one).

For OS and applications, SSD for sure.

But for big data (samples, banks,...), you can consider :
-Hybrid hard drives (between SSD and mechanical HD).It will load your most used data faster.
-RAID 0 or even 1, because you are going to read samples more than write. RAID 1 bring faster reading AND mirror security.
RAID 0 provide faster writing and reading, but you loose one HD...you lost all. But a regular backup can be enough.
RAID 0 keep size (2 HD = twice capacity), RAID 1 half size (2 HD = 1 HD size).

RAID will be better, size/cost wise but not perf/silence wise.
If price is not a problem, SSD for data.
Else, consider hybrid or RAID

 

You may not see this post for a while as I just signed up here and have 3 more posts to be "approved" before any posts are shown.

Anyway! My experience: 512 GB SSD, OCZ Agility 4 : As far as the OS and apps is concerned it definitely made a huge difference on my Mac Pro about 2 years ago. Just for fun I thought I'd try the SSD vs another internal HD for loading a big 4 GB Kontakt patch. Surprisingly, I didn't notice that much of a difference in speed to be honest. Like 25% faster maybe (10 seconds vs 12.5 seconds), but nothing really to make me wanna go "oh wow!".

Definitely worth the investment for your OS and apps though, you'll appreciate the speed difference there for sure. Never had any issues with my SSD, but it's starting to get full now, and I was thinking about buying a 1TB SSD to replace it. After 2 years I'd kinda hoped prices would have gone down more, but they seem to have only dropped by a very small fraction within that time. Just buy the biggest capacity you can afford but don't go with a cheap unfamiliar brand name, stick with one of the well known brands.