So my plan is to get a:
-250gb ssd from owc for osx installation, sample libraries, and temporary recording drive.
-2x 1tb wd caviar black to put in some kind of raid configuration, I was thinking the one with double speed. This drive will store all my sessions that I will access from time to time but that I can't fit on ssd.
- then a 2b drive just to back up everything.
First, please understand that if you create a RAID using Disk Utility, the Windows disk will not boot off of the SATA controller built into the system (ICH).
To be able to use a separate Windows disk (Boot Camp is totally out of the question in the case of RAID), you'll need a separate controller of some kind.
The easiest and definitely cheapest way to do this, is get a PCIe SATA card (
example ; use the jumpers to set the internal/external ports, as it's only a 2 port card). You'd need to get a SATA data cable, and get power to the drive (physical installation in the empty optical bay).
How to get power:
SATA Backplane Extension Cable
SATA Power Cable
You'll need to cut off the Molex end, and splice the power cables together (follow the wire colors and locations) using solder + heatshrink tubing, crimp connectors, or wire nuts (any of these will work; cleanest = solder + heatshrink tubing IMO). No matter the splicing method however, it gets power without sacrificing the DATA line on the original cable to the optical bay (you'll need this), and won't void the warranty.
Take one of the SATA power ends to the Windows disk, and plug the Backplane connector end into the SSD, also located in the optical bay (there is a
mount available if you wish, or you can DIY something). Up to you.
The other is to get a RAID card, and go that route. It's more expensive, and not necessary (presuming a stripe set is what you plan to run), as OS X is capable of handling 0/1/10.
My questions are:
1. Where do I put my windows 7 install, I'm thinking I'll need 80-100 gb.
2. Is it worth getting a bigger ssd (500gb) just to have more room for recording and accessing current sessions and perhaps for windows 7 install?
3. Is it bad to use a ssd as a recording drive, writing and deleting 100mb-1gb audio files frequently?
4. Can I set my 1tb raid hd to auto backup my recording folder on ssd?
5. Can time machine auto backup ssd and 1tb raid on my 2tb drive?
6. Do I need any extra hardware to achieve this, like a raid card?
7. Does any of this make sense?
1. See above.
2. Read what I posted for
Virtual Rain, as it's applicable to your situation.
You've a few choices:
A. You can get a large SSD, as there's more capacity for wear leveling.
B. Use 2x SSD's (separate the working files for audio to another disk for the additional capacity for wear leveling). This may be a cheaper solution BTW, as large capacity SSD's are expensive yet.
C. Use a mechanical array, as the file sizes are sufficiently large enough you'd be able to utilize the advantages (mechanical RAID is good for large file, sequential transfers; not so much compared to SSD for random access of small files). It's also the cheapest way to go, and won't have the write limitations associated with SSD.
3. IMO, Yes. See #2.
4. Yes. The array is seen as a single disk to the system.
5. Yes.
6. Yes, see above. But you may not need a RAID card (will depend on how many SSD's you decice to run, as the ICH has a throughput limit of ~660MB/s). For simultaneous access (worst case), you add the throughputs of all the drives up attached to the ICH (array + single disks). If it exceeds the limit, you need to use a separate controller to reduce the load (moves it to the PCIe lanes).
7. Yes. Addressing throughput issues (bottlenecks) and proper backups are never a mistake.
1. Use bootcamp on your backup drive to create a partition for Windows
If there's a RAID created under Disk Utility, a separate controller will be needed though, as a Windows disk will no longer boot off of the ICH.
Fortunately, this can be done fairly easily, and inexpensively.
3. No, that level of reading writing will not impact your SSD... it will outlast your computer... Intel rates their SSD's for rewriting 100GB/day for 5 years.
Keep in mind, Intel and other SSD vendors/manufacturers base their information off of manipulated statistics run on an empty drive.
There's no long term data, but common sense tells you that if the avaialbe cells for writing/re-writing files is reduced, the write freqency to each cell is higher. That will reduce the time the cells will be fully functional. So there's no guarantee that an MLC based disk will actually last 5 years.
Realistically, 3 is more likely a best case scenario IMO, if the disk is to serve multiple duty (i.e. OS + applications + libraries + the frequently written audio files), as the latter use will be on a smaller capacity. The unchanging files (OS, applications, and libraries), will be fine, and the disk can still be used for reads of that information if the remaining cells are dead (kind of nice, but not 100% functionality).
