Anyone Using Sonar X1 on an SSD (Solid State Drive)?

Just curious who's using what and how you rate them. Any problems or things to look for when buying? Setup tips with X1 and 2 drives.
 
Thanks,

I use a 128GB SSD for system, apps and plugins with sample libraries. Only only have a few plugs that load samples, like Dimension,  Drumagog and Impulse based verbs. Loading samples from SSD is where its at, it cuts project load times considerably.

I really wouldn't go SSD for now. I do a lot of video processing and it can be a bit expensive when it comes to storage.

Bub


This has been asked a few times lately, tried to find a link so you could read the responses but I can't find the thread.

The short, SSD's are way overpriced, they don't last as long as HDD's, every time any kind of write is done to them they degrade just a little bit more and slow down just a little bit more.

Right now, I wouldn't buy one. I'm going to wait until the technology is more stable and the cost comes down.

Actually SSD have about the same real life as HDD which is about 5 years. Still more bad than good ATM, IMHO.

It's more that there are no real advantages. A good HDD is planety fast eough for streaming lots of tracks.

I've got an SSD for a C drive, with Windows and Sonar and other apps on it. That is worthwhile in my view. It's a night and day difference in terms of snappy workflow for me. Takes me about 20 seconds to boot up, and to a fuly responsive desktop, not that crappy Windows thing where it looks like it's booted but hasn't really, and needs to churn away for a while longer.

It's all about subtle things, really. Like if I export a project from Sonar and want to take it into sound forge to tweak the stereo mixdown, Sound Forge boots up in a couple of seconds. Stuff like that. It just generally makes your computer a more agreeable workspace.

Not all SSD's are created equal, mind you, and some of them are really quite lame. You need to do your homework on read and write speeds. The Intel ones are very good, but there are lots of them that don't compete well with the better HDDs.

The Kingston 128 SSD hard drive I'm using as my primary operating system drive is very snappy.  I think the Kingston technology is the only SDD right now worth getting since they have the best overwriting, as far as I know.  The boot speed and read speeds are remarkably fast.  BUT... (and this isn't a problem with the SSD, it's with recording to an external) if I set a project location and audio path for a new project to an alternate, external HDD and record to an external -- my usb 2.0 external 1TB drive, for example -- it often drops into an idle mode while I'm working on edits, and then when I press record it takes a second or two for the external drive to "wake up" before the metronome counts in and begins recording.  It can be a little frustrating sometimes, recording to an external, especially if the count-in from the metronome isn't enabled.  I've started playing before the drive begins recording on a number of occasions.  Recording directly to the primary SSD drive works fine most of the time (Sonar 8.5 was crashing on me while using Audio Snap and doing something-or-other, but that was a Cakewalk program glitch, I think.  X1 seems to have fixed it.).  

The SSD space concern is legit in my case, at 128GB.  I currently have only 72GB remaining, according to the My Computer directory display, and I have virtually nothing on my PC other than basic programs and audio editors; most of my additional recording samples and loops are stored externally.  I don't know if the currently available 72GB free space is factoring in reserved space needed for temporary reading and writing or not.  Also, if I were working with video, had lots of photo art and video editing programs, etc., and needed to store and reserve a lot more primary drive space for programs and whatever other stuff, 128G would probably not be enough.

One huge reason I do like the SSD technology is that it's quiet.  My computer tower exists in the same room as the controlled vocal space, and due to the solid state of the drive it runs virtually undetectable by the ear.  My CPU cooling fan isn't a very loud one and has a quiet mode.  By eliminating that little extra, ambient noise I've noticeably increased the recording fidelity on my home setup in my opinion.

So there definitely are pro's and con's for the price right now.  When the SSD devices with more storage space improve and get more affordable, it might be a no brainer.  If I had a 500GB or 1TB Kingston SDD as a primary drive, I imagine that would work quite well.

Right now, I wouldn't buy one. I'm going to wait until the technology is more stable and the cost comes down.

I also hear they make this 'high pitch' beep tone when the drive is accessing itself. It's audible and annoying unlike the sound of a HDD that you can tune out. That's just what I heard though...

I've never noticed any noise at all with the 2 ssds I own

While the prices are still high, there are plenty advantages to SSD's IMO.

1)Fits in a small space
2)No moving parts 
3)No Noise
4)low heat and more efficient power usage
4)Faster bootup and access on Windows.

The cost is the main deterrent for people.  Also, concerns about TRIM control(valid) and durability(not as valid) seem to prevent people from making the switch.

For your OS drive, it does make a difference, IMO. For the Samples or Projects drive, not as much.

Same performance as Seth mentioned. I have the Intel X-25M and I would never go back to a normal HD for my boot drive.
Windows 7 also has built in TRIM support for SSD drives also, so no manual defrag is necessary.