New SSD....boot drive or VI drive?

[Tobor]

Hi,

Didn't want to hijack Prime Mover's thread so started a new topic....

I just bought a new 1Tb Samsung 850 EVO drive that I intend to install in my 2011 iMac, replacing the DVD drive since I now have an external and don't use it that much anyway these days.

My question: should I use the new SSD as my main boot drive, or as my main VI sample drive? Wondering which would make my DP system run most efficiently. I'll probably clone in a bare bones Yosemite drive I built from scratch for my MBP last year and go from there. I've got a number of drives from the firewire ports, firewire adapted Thunderbolt ports, etc., and have been filling them up rapidly with my current obsession: orchestral libraries.

Anyway any strategic suggestions for project allocation welcome!!

Thanks!

[HCMarkus]

Q: should I use the new SSD as my main boot drive, or as my main VI sample drive?

A: Yes.

If it's big enough, it will work for everything. Use the other internal drive, a spinner I presume, for back up or non-speed-critical storage. You can partition if you prefer, to ease maintenance chores.

[Tobor]

Q: should I use the new SSD as my main boot drive, or as my main VI sample drive?

A: Yes.

If it's big enough, it will work for everything. Use the other internal drive, a spinner I presume, for back up or non-speed-critical storage. You can partition if you prefer, to ease maintenance chores.

Thanks!

Yes, I guess I could just clone my 1tb MBP drive in it's expanded state. I've got a little OWC 1tb SSD I use with my MBP and I've already filled it up with VI libraries, so have started adding new libraries to my main drive. I also have a OWC mobile spinner with all my DP files on the other MBP USB3 port.

I've actually plugged that drive into my USB2 iMac and it's been working pretty well considering USB2 might be considered too slow for such a purpose? Thought it worth a try as then I could always be current with my latest DP projects instead of transferring files back and forth. Come to think of it I might want to repurpose one of my TB/FW drives for my DP files (because the FW I was using was also filling up). Data data data....no matter how much you get, you always need more.....

[mikehalloran]

Biggest benefit is as a boot drive. No question. Absolutely replace the spinner. Your iMac will run much faster and cooler.

It's easy to install in a 2011 27" iMac. Most of the steps in the online instructions can be skipped. You do not need to remove the screen, for example.

Make certain that everything is fully backed up first.

The glass is held on my magnets. Suction cups work well to remove it. You'll need a #8 Torx to remove the screen hold down screws. Lift the screen at the top (tricky but a bent paper clip works) and disconnect the microphone wire from the motherboard to bring it at an angle where you can work. I use the adapter box to prop the screen open.

You'll need the following parts.
Drive adapter
https://www.amazon.com/Fenlink-Internal ... +Drive+HDD

Replacement heat sensor
https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Digital-Ther ... eat+sensor

plus a Torx 6 to move the mounts from the old HHD to your new SSD.

If you want to replace the BR2032 NV RAM battery at the same time, get one. Because of the heat, Apple does not recommend a CR2032 in the 2011 or later iMac.
https://www.amazon.com/PANASONIC-BATTER ... 32+battery

To replace it, pull the screen towards the top till the bottom is visible. Lift the bottom and slide it back so you can expose the battery. Replace it.

Put it back together, reinstall the mic connector and you're done. Takes me 1/2 hour on a 2011.

The heat sensor is not absolutely necessary but the software solutions cause the fan to roar full on till they kick in during the boot routine—no thank you.

Likewise, you can substitute double-stick foam blocks for the mounting adapter but you'll need another adapter harness. uh right...

This kit has all the tools you need including the heat sensor:
https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Complete-Upg ... uction+cup

[mikehalloran]

The 2011 iMac does not have USB 3. This limits your available fast external solutions to Thunderbolt.

This is my favorite. You can stick your old HHD in it for now or any size SSD for a library drive
https://www.amazon.com/HighPoint-Dual-B ... B00DJ3YEH0

No fans!

[Tobor]

Thanks Mike... I feel faster already!

Now, to be clear, I'm going to be replacing my DVD superdrive, not the current internal HDD, with the SSD. Would this be the same procedure as replacing the HDD or would there be differences?

[mikehalloran]

Thanks Mike... I feel faster already!

Now, to be clear, I'm going to be replacing my DVD superdrive, not the current internal HDD, with the SSD. Would this be the same procedure as replacing the HDD or would there be differences?

There are differences. More has to come apart.

I do not recommend replacing the DVD and leaving the original HHD installed. Those HHDs run very hot and are nearing the end of their natural life. That WD Caviar Black or Seagate has given 5 years and you are now pushing your luck. You won't believe it's the same iMac when you're done.

My instructions were to replace the HHD—it's actually faster to do so and leave the DVD alone as I did with my wife's 2011 (and my 2010 plus about 20 others I've done this on).

You can certainly replace the DVD drive but I would do so to add a second SSD. If you already have the bracket and tools to replace the DVD-R, all you need are the bracket, sensor and a second SSD. You'll see how to integrate the splitter and power cable required for the DVD-R replacement.

When these HHDs fail (not if), the replacement will still need the OWC thermal sensor. The originals are proprietary to the drives used while the OWC sensor works with any replacement SSD or HHD.

[Tobor]

Thanks again, more to think about. And save for....like a second SSD LOL.

[jloeb]

I don't want to exactly disagree with Mike & HC, but, just to make sure the point is sharp:

If the question is which would, as you put it, "make my DP system run most efficiently" and, if what you mean by that is which would make your DP sessions most efficient, the answer is definitely to use it as your sample drive. Because if your sample libraries are on an internal SSD, you have pretty much entirely removed any meaningful limitation on streaming and/ or loading. Especially for big orchestral libraries and templates, as far as DP is concerned (not your overall user experience of the computer), that will be the biggest bang per buck.

Having said that, yes, Mike is right that making it your system drive will make you feel like you have a new iMac all around, and he's also right that you probably want to replace that drive with something sooner rather than later anyway. But making the SSD your system drive won't help your DP sessions that rely on your libraries on external drives, at all. DP itself will load much faster, but after that, not much benefit.

And having said that, HC is right that if you can only afford one new drive right now, the best possible interim plan might be to put your biggest and most streaming intensive VIs on the SSD even if you do make it your system drive, assuming you can find the room.

But just want it to be clear if it isn't already that, if you can only afford one SSD right now, the biggest influence on sample library-heavy DP sessions is to be found if that SSD has those sample libraries on it.

[mikehalloran]

I don't want to exactly disagree with Mike & HC, but, just to make sure the point is sharp:

If the question is which would, as you put it, "make my DP system run most efficiently" and, if what you mean by that is which would make your DP sessions most efficient, the answer is definitely to use it as your sample drive. Because if your sample libraries are on an internal SSD, you have pretty much entirely removed any meaningful limitation on streaming and/ or loading. Especially for big orchestral libraries and templates, as far as DP is concerned (not your overall user experience of the computer), that will be the biggest bang per buck.

Having said that, yes, Mike is right that making it your system drive will make you feel like you have a new iMac all around, and he's also right that you probably want to replace that drive with something sooner rather than later anyway. But making the SSD your system drive won't help your DP sessions that rely on your libraries on external drives, at all. DP itself will load much faster, but after that, not much benefit.

And having said that, HC is right that if you can only afford one new drive right now, the best possible interim plan might be to put your biggest and most streaming intensive VIs on the SSD even if you do make it your system drive, assuming you can find the room.

But just want it to be clear if it isn't already that, if you can only afford one SSD right now, the biggest influence on sample library-heavy DP sessions is to be found if that SSD has those sample libraries on it.

I couldn't disagree more.

I recently moved my sample libraries from an HHD to an SSD via eSATA and found a little performance increase but not that much. I'm fairly certain that, if my system and DP were still on an HHD, I wouldn't notice the difference at all (yes, I could test it; no, I'm not interested in taking the time—life's too short to ever boot my system from an HHD again if it weren't an emergency).

Otoh, moving to an SSD including DP on my boot drive was a major improvement in ways that I never expected. Everything from loading files to importing audio to processing to screen redraw to bounce-to-disk was much faster--especially BTD.

The only reason I have my VIs on a separate drive is because putting them on my 2T drive makes it more full than I like. I'm not ready to spend $1,400 on a 4T SSD.

[jloeb]

But Mike, if I recall correctly in our discussion about the value of parallelism for a DAW CPU you said you weren't a huge VI guy. As one who is, I can tell you that it made a world of difference, i.e. templates that simply were non-operable in real time, sessions that required multiple bounces before my libraries were on SSD, became trivial, and quick to load on top of it. It showed me just how much of the load was actually on the drive throughput as opposed to the CPU in big VI sessions.

I'm going off the fact that Tobor said he's using orchestral templates. That doesn't necessarily mean big drive load but it usually does.

If Tobor said "I'm mostly a synth guy" or "mostly a real instruments guy" then my answer would be different. I know full well how many calls to disk there are during normal OS X use and how speedy an SSD makes ones system. That's why I like HCs compromise if it's possible.

[williemyers]

Thanks again, more to think about. And save for....like a second SSD LOL.

best solution of all!

[Armageddon]

I'm in a similar but even more complicated dilemma: I'm getting ready to replace my optical drive in my MBP with a 1TB SSD. My system drive is a 1TB 7200 rpm HDD, but my sample libraries are taking over, so I'm moving them all to the secondary SSD. Makes sense; my sample libraries need to be able to stream fast. Now, the complicated part is, I also have a WD Black2 dual drive (120 GB SSD, 1TB 5400 HDD on the same SATA port) that I purchased about a year and a half ago. After a disastrous attempt to install it into an old black MacBook, it's been sitting in my office closet til last month, where I decided to get it RMA'd and replaced. So it's a brand new drive. Should I stick with my 7200 rpm drive, or should I go with the Black2, even though only my system software would benefit from the upgrade (and not quite as much as having a full-fledged SSD would, as having an SSD and a slow magnetic drive on the same port means everything moves slower). The 1TB 5400 rpm drive on the Black2 would be where I locate all my project files, so all my DP, Pro Tools and video projects would be streaming from it. Or should I just keep the 7200 rpm system drive where it is, until I can get a second full-fledged SSD to replace it?

(Side note: anybody interested in a brand-new, factory-sealed-in-box Western Digital Black2 drive?)

[dwilliams]

This is pretty much a no brainer. Clone the primary drive to the SSD and put it in as the system drive. Remove the optical drive and put it in an enclosure for those rare situations when you need it. Put the HDD in optical drive position. Put your digital audio on the HDD (ideally it is a 7200RPM drive). I have some samples on my SSD such as Superior Drummer, some on my HDD and most on an external HDD drive connected via USB3 to a Thunderbolt hub. This works well enough. Save up to replace the HDD with a second SSD.

When I changed my boot drive from a 7200RPM HDD to a Samsung 850 EVO SDD it was a huge improvement in performance. Boots up super fast. Does everything faster. Nothing but upside, significant upside.

[mikehalloran]

But Mike, if I recall correctly in our discussion about the value of parallelism for a DAW CPU you said you weren't a huge VI guy...

Things have changed.