Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

pjny

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 18, 2010
798
159
Hi,

I have a 13" MB Pro 2010 and FC Pro X 10.0.1 with two hard drives: Standard 500gb hard disk drive and an OWC 120 GB SSD in a Data doubler where the DVD used to be.

If this is possible or not, should I use the Hard disk drive as the scratch disk for project rendered files and use the SSD for opening the original video files. I just want the fastest performance because the CORE 2 duo is barely keeping up with FCP Pro X.

Please help me.
 

mBox

macrumors 68020
Jun 26, 2002
2,356
83
Hi,

I have a 13" MB Pro 2010 and FC Pro X 10.0.1 with two hard drives: Standard 500gb hard disk drive and an OWC 120 GB SSD in a Data doubler where the DVD used to be.

If this is possible or not, should I use the Hard disk drive as the scratch disk for project rendered files and use the SSD for opening the original video files. I just want the fastest performance because the CORE 2 duo is barely keeping up with FCP Pro X.

Please help me.
Since you dont need a scratch in FCPX, try and keep everything on the partition/drive not using the system. And if thats the SSD, even better.
 

linuxcooldude

macrumors 68020
Mar 1, 2010
2,480
7,232
I keep all my FCP X files on a separate HDD and not on my main hard drive that has the Mac OSX and programs on it.
 

pjny

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 18, 2010
798
159
Do you think performance would be faster if I kept all my media files on the 5400rpm internal drive on the MBPro 13" and have the SSD do all the heavy rendering?

Thanks.

I keep all my FCP X files on a separate HDD and not on my main hard drive that has the Mac OSX and programs on it.
 

mBox

macrumors 68020
Jun 26, 2002
2,356
83
Do you think performance would be faster if I kept all my media files on the 5400rpm internal drive on the MBPro 13" and have the SSD do all the heavy rendering?

Thanks.
Any rendering will occur where you save your Event and Project. Anytime you separate the original media and its links via hard-drives then you will see some (albeit small in some cases) slow-down.
Are you cutting a 2 hour feature? If not then this might be all moot unless your doing a huge program in 1080p HD.
 

pjny

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 18, 2010
798
159
Thanks. What do you mean by "Anytime you separate the original media and its links" -- what are the links and why would separating slow down?

I have limited space on my SSD so I was hoping performance would be faster if the work was split between ssd/hard drive.

I am mostly editing 1080p AVCHD video from Nikon D7000 that previously could not be used (without streamclip) on FCP Express.

I have about 70gb free on the SSD and that's without any video files.

BTW: I don't see any "SAVE" button on FCP X trial version. Did they disable save or is it saving automatic? I wanted to save copies because I messed up some edits just playing around. Thanks.



Any rendering will occur where you save your Event and Project. Anytime you separate the original media and its links via hard-drives then you will see some (albeit small in some cases) slow-down.
Are you cutting a 2 hour feature? If not then this might be all moot unless your doing a huge program in 1080p HD.
 

pjny

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 18, 2010
798
159
What effect will this have on FCP X speeds? I put the SSD in optibay because the sudden drop motion sensor is only active on OS drive bay and my ssd is only 3gigabit. is there a speed difference if i put the SSD(which i am running lion on) in the original HD slot? Thanks.

You should move the SSD to your OS drive and move the 500gb to the optibay. Set the 500gb to your scratch disk.
 

spacepower7

macrumors 68000
May 6, 2004
1,509
1
I'd leave the drives where they are considering your computer and SSD models, no need to move them.

The video playback and rendering probably won't matter which drive they are on since they are both plenty fast for your video.

I'm not sure about your exact camera but on most canons, the 1080p AVC data is close to or less than people used for SD DV back in the late 1990's. Ie around 25 megabits or 3.5 megabytes a second. When your computer needs to render it will still access the video files around 40-60 megabytes per second, give or take. So the rendering could theoretically 10x playback speed assuming the CPU can handle that.

With your setup, I'd probably put the video on the 500GB drive. You'll see little difference I think, but I could be wrong ;)
 

mBox

macrumors 68020
Jun 26, 2002
2,356
83
...With your setup, I'd probably put the video on the 500GB drive. You'll see little difference I think, but I could be wrong ;)
Besides avoiding I/O with system, using the extra hd is also for safety backup just in case your system drive goes south.
there is not full proof system even in enterprise set-ups but for home use, I stress using an external or two.
I can afford to lose installations of apps and os but losing photos, music and video plus docs is scary :p
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.