IF you go SSD you would put your OS on a 500G your audio on something else and only your libraries on the SSD

That's an interesting idea!  I could start with a 10,000 RPM 150GB main drive, and put the OS and samples there.  Then, when SSD is cheaper, I can get a SSD drive for the samples and move them there.

Does having the samples on the same (10,000 RPM) drive as the OS have performance disadvantages?  Would it be better to put the samples on a separate 7200 RPM drive?

I love the idea of super-fast sample loading.

I'm wondering about the OS, though.  Aside from the time it takes to boot and start apps, is there any noticeable performance difference between having the OS and apps on a 10,000 RPM hard drive vs a SSD?

arrggg
if you want fast samples you need a Separate samples drive stop trying to put them on your OS drive
thats more than 1/2 the speed issue. synths/loops are ok on an os drive samples are not...
and you dont need a fast OS drive either.

djwayne


Just watch, before long all those pro's you're talking about will also have the samples stored on those stupid ssd's. It's already being recommended by East West.
 
http://www.soundsonline-forums.com/showthread.php?t=29232&highlight=ssd

well aware of it...
someone with a large set of libraries is best with spliting drives (Vienna recommends 4)
or someone could do 2 SSD that are 256G and @ $600 each i dont see too many moving over to sdd yet.
they are getting faster and cheaper...
 

$100 each is pretty stinking cheap what brand?

if you want fast samples you need a Separate samples drive

Does this apply to SSDs as well?  Is there a read head with SSDs?

It seems like we can setup the OS and samples the following way (ignoring all other files for now):

a) OS and samples on same 7200 RPM drive
b) OS and samples on same 10,000 RPM
c) OS and samples on same big SSD
d) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on separate small 7200
e) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on separate 10,000
f) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on separate SSD
g) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on separate 7200
h) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on separate 10,000
i) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on separate small SSD
j) OS on small SSD, samples on separate 7200
k) OS on small SSD, samples on separate 10,000
l) OS on small SSD, samples on separate small SSD

If we assume $100 for a 7200RPM, $150 for a 10,000 RPM, $150 for a small SSD, and $250 for a big SSD, then if we sort these by cost I think we get something like this:

a) OS and samples on same 7200 RPM drive ($100)
b) OS and samples on same 10,000 RPM ($150)
d) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on separate 7200 ($200)
c) OS and samples on same big SSD ($250)
e) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on separate 10,000 ($250)
f) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on separate small SSD ($250)
g) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on separate 7200 ($250)
j) OS on small SSD, samples on separate 7200 ($250)
h) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on separate 10,000 ($300)
i) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on separate small SSD ($300)
k) OS on small SSD, samples on separate 10,000 ($300)
l) OS on small SSD, samples on separate small SSD ($300)

I'm not sure how to organize by performance (favoring samples over OS), but my guess would be:

l) OS on small SSD, samples on separate small SSD ($300) [fastest]
c) OS and samples on same big SSD ($250)
i) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on separate small SSD ($300)
f) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on separate small SSD ($250)
k) OS on small SSD, samples on separate 10,000 ($300)
h) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on separate 10,000 ($300)
e) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on separate 10,000 ($250)
b) OS and samples on same 10,000 RPM ($150) [not sure where this fits in]
j) OS on small SSD, samples on separate 7200 ($250)
g) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on separate 7200 ($250)
d) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on separate 7200 ($200)
a) OS and samples on same 7200 RPM drive ($100) [slowest]

NOTE: I don't know where #b (both on 10,000RPM) fits in.  I'll assume that, once Sonar is loaded and you've dealing with samples, it's faster than having the samples on a 7200, but slower than everything else.  Please let me know if this assumption is wrong!

If I look at that last list, it *looks* like the best deal is:

c) OS and samples on same big SSD ($250)

However, this is assuming that having OS and samples on the same SSD is almost as fast as having them on separate SSDs.  Is that a correct assumption?

I've calculated the actual prices to me if I order locally, and here's what I get (in NZD):

7200 RPM -- OS drive would be WD Caviar 1 TB ($91), samples drive would be free since I will already have a couple of big 7200 RPM drives available
10,000 RPM -- WD VelicoRaptor 150 GB ($184)
small SSD -- OCZ Vertex 2 E 60 GB ($248)
big SSD -- OCZ Vertex 2 E 120GB ($452)

So here's the updated sorted-by-performance list (again, in NZD):

l) OS on small SSD, samples on small SSD ($496)
c) OS and samples on same big SSD ($452)
i) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on small SSD ($432)
f) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on small SSD ($339)
k) OS on small SSD, samples on 10,000 ($432)
h) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on 10,000 ($368)
e) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on 10,000 ($275)
b) OS and samples on same 10,000 RPM ($184)
j) OS on small SSD, samples on existing 7200 ($248)
g) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on existing 7200 ($184)
d) OS on 7200 RPM, samples on existing 7200 ($91)
a) OS and samples on same 7200 RPM drive ($91)

I think we all agree that #a (both on one 7200) is silly, so I'll toss that out.  Also, since my current main PC already has a 10,000 RPM main drive, I don't want a 7200 RPM main drive, so that leaves these:

l) OS on small SSD, samples on small SSD ($496)
c) OS and samples on same big SSD ($452)
i) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on small SSD ($432)
k) OS on small SSD, samples on 10,000 ($432)
h) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on 10,000 ($368)
b) OS and samples on same 10,000 RPM ($184)
j) OS on small SSD, samples on existing 7200 ($248)
g) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on existing 7200 ($91)

The goal is to end up with an SSD drive for samples in the long run.  If we assume that we eventually buy a 60 GB SSD drive when the price hits $100, here are the possible upgrade routes, sorted by their long-term costs:

OS on SSD:
j) OS on small SSD, samples on existing 7200 ($248) + future SSD ($100) = $348
c) OS and samples on same big SSD  ($452)
l) OS on small SSD, samples on small SSD ($496) (no additional expense)
k) OS on small SSD, samples on 10,000 ($432) + future SSD ($100) = $532

OS on 10,000 RPM:
g) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on existing 7200 ($184) + future SSD ($100) = $284
b) OS and samples on same 10,000 RPM ($184) + future SSD ($100) = $284
i) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on small SSD ($432) (no additional expense)
h) OS on 10,000 RPM, samples on 10,000 ($368) + future SSD ($100) = $468

So, the cheapest thing is to put the samples on an existing 7200 drive and buy whatever drive I want for the OS.  Is having the OS on SSD worth $58 more than 10,000 RPM?  Since I plan to use this PC for at least 5 years, I say yes. 

If I am patient, I'd choose this:
j) OS on small SSD, samples on existing 7200 ($248) + future SSD ($100) = $348

If I am impatient, I'd choose this:
c) OS and samples on same big SSD ($452)

So I can either pay $104 more to have my samples on SSD from the start, or wait until the price of a 60 GB SSD drive drops to $100.  How long will it take for that drop to happen?  A year?  Two?  

It's very tempting to just pay the $452 for one big SSD drive and be done with it.

Thoughts?

Well seeing how you already have a 10,000 rpm drive, why not just use that for your OS and Sonar

I want to keep my main PC intact until the new pc is 100% setup and doing everything I was doing before.

In terms of budget, I'm aiming for maximum GB/$ without resorting to the unreliable or slow cheap-o stuff.

i give up....

one more time

arrggg
if you want fast samples you need a Separate samples drive stop trying to put them on your OS drive
thats more than 1/2 the speed issue. synths/loops are ok on an os drive samples are not...
and you dont need a fast OS drive either.

if you want fast samples you need a Separate samples drive stop trying to put them on your OS drive

I'm not sure if this advice applies to SSDs as much as it does to normal hard drives.  SSDs don't have a head that moves, right?

Regardless, I ended up ordering the parts yesterday.  I decided to go with a 120GB SSD drive and put both the OS and samples on it.  If it's fast, it's fast.  If it's slow, I'll get another SSD drive later when they are cheaper.

I updated the parts list in the first post to indicate what I ordered.

Thanks for all the advice!

Are you recommending getting two 60 GB SSDs instead of one 120GB SSD?  Or are you saying I should put the samples on a 7200 RPM or 10,000 RPM drive?  I have lots of 7200 RPM drives lying around, so adding one in for samples is not a problem. 

My hope was to start off using a single big SSD for the OS and samples initially, and then migrate the samples off eventually if I need more space for them.

Right now my only samples will be whatever comes with Sonar 8.5 and X1 (e.g., Dimension Pro, etc.).  I don't intend to buy any more than that for the next few years.  I still have yet to record a single song with a soft synth, so I have lots of "catching up" to do!

I think what he's recommending is that you get a decent WD (Western Digital) 7200rpm drive (non-green) for about $60, which would put you in the 750G-1TB territory for your sample drive and not worry about the SSD.

I've never used SSD, they're too expensive right now.  but I have 3 SATA drives.  one for OS & programs (including sonar), one for AUDIO (to record directly onto that drive only) and one for samples.  they work fantastic this way.

I'd like to use SSD for my system drive (OS and apps), so that apps like Sonar, Dreamweaver, OpenOffice, Flash, Fireworks, Vegas, Audacity, etc. all load quickly.  I will be using this PC for more than just music, so I'm not just focused on samples, although they are the #1 priority.

I'd like to use SSD for samples (and by that I mean the sample-based plugins that come with Sonar), so that they preview and load as quickly as possible.  My keyboard (Triton) lets me quickly preview sounds, so I want that experience on soft synths as well.  I hate having to wait while a sample loads in order to hear it.

The bottom line is that I want both my work experience and my Sonar experience to be as efficient and pleasant as possible.  That's why I'm looking at SSD for the OS, apps, and samples.

Given that I am stubbornly set on SSD, which of the following 2 options do you recommend as a starting point:

a) 120GB SSD for both system (OS/apps) and samples
b) 60 GB SSD for system, separate 60 GB SSD for samples

The price difference here is so close that we can disregard it.

Thanks!

I went ahead and got a 60gb SSD for OS and 120gb SSD for samples.  I'll update the top post.

Eek!  There's no way the video card will fit in the 8x slot without my having to pull out the usb headers, audio headers, firewire, etc.  So I will need to keep it in one of the main PCI-E slots.  This means I am down to one PCI slot, which I think I will use for my Delta44.

In addition to that I have a PCI-E 16x, a PCI-E 8x, a PCI-E 1x, and lots of USB slots.

Is there a PCI-E or USB card that can give me low-latency MIDI?  How about one that gives me Audio or SPDIF.  I don't want to spend a bunch of money at this point!