10,000 RPM Drives

Chris T · Post by **Chris T** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:31 pm

Hi Heavy DP users

I am getting a new Mac Pro 8-Core with 6gb+ of memory.

I'm getting additional internal drives to run my DP5 projects (heavy audio, video, lots of softsynths, Kontakt, Altiverb etc etc).

I'm thinking about getting 10,000 RPM SATA drives for my audio and video (on separate drives). Does anyone have experience running DP projects on 10,000 RPMS on a Mac Pro (8-core or quad)? I heard that they are more noisy for starters...

Also my old G5 2.5gHz eventually died on my because the liquid-cooling leaked onto the motherboard and blew it. I wouldn't want to risk more studio pyrotechnics because I wanted slightly faster drives... Is there a greater risk of overheating if I'm heavily using 2 additional internal 10,000 Rpms?

thanks

CT

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:24 pm

Chris T wrote:I'm thinking about getting 10,000 RPM SATA drives for my audio and video (on separate drives). Does anyone have experience running DP projects on 10,000 RPMS on a Mac Pro (8-core or quad)? I heard that they are more noisy for starters...

Quad-Core 3G Intel here with 1 internal 10k WD Raptor among other 7200 rpm drives. This combo is too busy kicking tail to take names. Brilliant performance, imho.

Chris T wrote: Also my old G5 2.5gHz eventually died on my because the liquid-cooling leaked onto the motherboard and blew it. I wouldn't want to risk more studio pyrotechnics because I wanted slightly faster drives... Is there a greater risk of overheating if I'm heavily using 2 additional internal 10,000 Rpms?

thanks

CT

There was some chat about 10k drives overwhelming the cooling system at one time, but you should probably have a quick chin-wag with Apple to see what they recommend for which computer. The last reports of overheating I've seen date back to early 2004. It may be a non-issue at this time.

I do have a pair of 10k Raptors running from an eSATAII card/enclosure from my G5 and I'd like to do the same with my MacPro. Certainly, the cooler the computer runs the happier it is. The MacPros invite the user to brave numerous internal options previously unheard of, and I suppose that some care might be taken when stuffing this turkey.

fwiw-- there appears to have been some sort of firmware updates recently related to Intel fans and/or cooling systems or something. I need to review the documentation for that myself.

10k drive noise? No, not really. You are aware of when the drive spins up, and I'd even say that you can recognize the difference between the sound of a 10k apart from that of a 7200. I notice the sound more when projects are being loaded or when I'm loading new samples into a VI instance-- but I can't call the drives noisy.

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:42 pm

What I read was that 7200rpm is the max speed for a drive before the low frequency noise starts getting annoyingly into the audible spectrum. Is this correct, that there is some division of the platter speed that manifests itself mechanically in a different part of the drive?

At any rate, your report on your own 10,000rpm drive is heartening. I had deliberately avoided 10,000rpm drives based on advice found in Gearslutz.

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 2:55 pm

mhschmieder wrote:What I read was that 7200rpm is the max speed for a drive before the low frequency noise starts getting annoyingly into the audible spectrum. Is this correct, that there is some division of the platter speed that manifests itself mechanically in a different part of the drive?

At any rate, your report on your own 10,000rpm drive is heartening. I had deliberately avoided 10,000rpm drives based on advice found in Gearslutz.

For as geeky as I get sometimes, I'm not so astute with platter spin vs LF noise and such. If you have that Gearslutz link, I'd love to give it a read.

But, I love my 10k Raptor internal. It and the MacPro are many times quieter than my G5 without the eSATAs running.

For those concerned about any noise at all may want to consider putting their computers in a remote location or creating some sort of isolation. Can't find the link at the moment, but some guy has a how-to for an iso rack for his computer made from a used kitchen cabinet, some Aurelex, and a couple of inexpensive whisper fans.

Iso is always nice, but I don't feel a pressing need for it presently.

Chris T · Post by **Chris T** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:01 pm

Advice much appreciated - glad to know the 10K drives are not problematic for you. That Gearlsutz link would be nice to get though...and anyone else out there had any problems?

cheers

C

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:06 pm

The printed copy of the Gearslutz topic is in a pile at home. It's in my "high priority" pile so may not be too difficult to find. I kept it with other materials related to making final decisions on configuring a new computer (which continues to get pushed further into the distant futurre -- especially due to Apple's complete silence these past few months regarding Leopard).

That is not the easiest forum to search as it is quite busy with postings. But any printed copy will show the link, so I am printing out this topic so that I remember to look it up in the next couple of days. All the same, I think that Frodo's experience is worth more than others' speculation.

Gabe S. · Post by **Gabe S.** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:19 pm

I have an 8 core with 4 total drives filling all four internal drive slots---2x150GB raptors for streaming, a 250 GB OS drive and a 500GB project drive. And I've had this setup since the Spring.

My experience is:

-the 8 core, with all the drives running is amazingly quiet
-the fans have NEVER---not once---spun up no matter what I was doing and I have a pretty intense orchestral template for trailer music. Even torture tests don't make the fans spin up.
-I have had many Raptor drives---I have them in my Giga pcs, I had them in my last G5----I find them to be very very quiet.

This setup is BY FAR----REALLY FAR---the most powerful, capable, reliable music machine I have ever owned. The power gain over a dual 2.5 G5 is astonishing. When I go into DP now, I start with a pretty serious orchestral template that used to totally KILL my G5. On the 8 core, this template with even more stuff never makes the processors go over 50% and I can add pretty much anything I want to the project without eyeballing the CPU meter.

I think you'll be pretty impressed with how efficient Kontakt runs on the 8 core too.

I usually like to keep my audio track audio on one drive and my streaming samples on another drive. You may even want to put video on a third drive.

For the first time, I really feel like hardware has begun to catch up with the capabilities of software.....of course, now the software people will step it up a notch again....

Cheers.
-gabe

Chris T · Post by **Chris T** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:41 pm

Thanks for that Gabe - My Mac Pro JUST arrived!

I guess WD is the only company that makes 10,000 SATA drives, and that 150GB is the biggest you can get right?...

It sounds like we have pretty similar setups - we should keep in touch!

cheers

CT

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 3:43 pm

I didn't realise they hadn't gotten above 150 GB yet. That would limit their usefulness for stuff like B.F.D., but not necessarily for Vienna Instruments and other orchestral libraries (until one has more than two or three products in each range...).

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:02 pm

mhschmieder wrote:I didn't realise they hadn't gotten above 150 GB yet. That would limit their usefulness for stuff like B.F.D., but not necessarily for Vienna Instruments and other orchestral libraries (until one has more than two or three products in each range...).

You know, when VIs are as big as VSL, it's better to run it from more than one drive at a time anyway. I've got VSL and EWQLSO Platinum split up this way across several 7200 rpms.

I try not to put much more than 100GB worth of VIs on a Raptor, and even there they house those instruments which I'd never use simultaneously-- ie-- different pianos, etc., just to avoid overtaxing the drive.

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:07 pm

I have a 10k Raptor, and I love it. The computer is under my desk next to my feet within easy reach to load a CD. The sound it makes is basically silence.

Something recently has happened, though, which makes me concerned about the efficacy of the Raptor. Whereas I could run 5 or 6 instances of Ivory on my Intel with the 10k raptor initially, now even one instance gets the slow disk light. I can't figure out why. The drive itself has not changed since then, as I've added nothing to it. It's just there for the VI libraries. Yet suddenly the I/O seems to have gotten slow. I think it's that way for all my computer and its drives. Not sure what could be causing this. Well, that's for another thread. I'm pretty sure it's NOT the Raptor causing the problem.

Shooshie

whonozz · Post by **whonozz** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:23 pm

I'm running my MacPro 2x2.66 with an internal WD Raptor 150GB for my audio (lightening fast for access times and editing) and then I have 2 Glyph 320GB SATA internal drives for VI's. I just need to load up on some more libraries so I can see if this system can break a sweat. So far it's a dream...

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:24 pm

Shooshie wrote:I have a 10k Raptor, and I love it. The computer is under my desk next to my feet within easy reach to load a CD. The sound it makes is basically silence.

Something recently has happened, though, which makes me concerned about the efficacy of the Raptor. Whereas I could run 5 or 6 instances of Ivory on my Intel with the 10k raptor initially, now even one instance gets the slow disk light. I can't figure out why. The drive itself has not changed since then, as I've added nothing to it. It's just there for the VI libraries. Yet suddenly the I/O seems to have gotten slow. I think it's that way for all my computer and its drives. Not sure what could be causing this. Well, that's for another thread. I'm pretty sure it's NOT the Raptor causing the problem.

Shooshie

Hey Shoosh- I'll get back to you on this. There is some funny combo of settings in Ivory that need to be made- can't recall offhand, but it came from Synthogy quite a while ago that addresses this issue.

It's not your Raptor.

williemyers · Post by **williemyers** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:28 pm

anybody had a look at these bad boys? 15krpm/450GB
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/produc ... tah_15k.6/

Frodo · Post by **Frodo** » Mon Oct 15, 2007 4:37 pm

williemyers wrote:anybody had a look at these bad boys? 15krpm/450GB
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/produc ... tah_15k.6/

Great drive-- but is this drive only for serial scsi and fiber channel? I don't see any mention of SATA...

MOTUnation.com

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10,000 RPM Drives

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