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need help with realtime editing/mass storage

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  • Hard Drives
  • Storage
Last response: in Storage
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June 11, 2003 2:08:45 AM

hi guys..just need some opinions on a few things.

right now i am an intermediate 3d modeler. i have a decent entry level computer (dual athlons). i have recently finished with school and have started to take on some freelance animation and motion graphics jobs. currently i have a 60gig IDE drive which has suited my needs before the freelancing jobs.

what i wanted to ask basically is what new AFFORDABLE system can i implement for mass media storage and editing. I want somethign a little faster than my current hard drive that is reliable and durable. i have been doing some research on this topic and i would like to share with you some options that i have found.

1. implementing a RAID system (i know very little about doing this). my motherboard doesnt have a built on RAID, can i buy RAID cards? also how fast is RAID as compared to scsi and fire wire? is it efficient?

2. implementing a scsi system - once again i know very little about this. all i know is that it is the fastest and best system for real-time editing, but is HELLA expensive. i doubt i can afford a mass media/ real -time editing scsi system at the moment. what are the reliable brandnames here?

3. fire wire - i hear that this has decent speeds and is very affordable right now. can this do real-time editing? or at least near real-time..doesnt have to be perfect. if fire wire is the key, what brands of hardware should i get for an add-on card and what hard drive should i get?

4. USB 2.0? - is this a fast system? people have said that usb 2.0 is fast but is it reliable? what brandnames should i get if this is a good system?

restrictions:
1. Space only for 3 HD MAX@! - one of these spaces already taken up for my 60 GB HD that came with my cpu

2. I can only spend about $1000 MAX!@

3. The realtime system doesnt have to be perfect, but it has to be speedy and crunch graphics like nobody's business

4. EXTERNAL would be awesome...first choice if possible, that way i wont have to mess up the inside of my cpu anymore LOL.

More about : realtime editing mass storage

June 11, 2003 4:32:49 AM

I would suggest a 3 disk raid 0 setup using Western Digital SE drives. You can setup software RAID in WinXP Pro to save some bucks and I think it's easier (although uncommon because you can't boot from software RAID volume) or if performance isn't enough you can always get a RAID controller and do it the traditional way.

Will only cost a couple hundred depending on how much storage you need. This will be the most cost effective solution.
June 11, 2003 5:43:46 AM

For the external's, Western Digital has some External Special Editions 250gb, with both firewire and usb 2.0 connectors on them, that might be ideal for what you need, however they're somewhat pricey.
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June 11, 2003 8:47:32 AM

I'll sell you a geniune enterprise server 3-channel SCSI RAID card for $100, but you'll have to get the drives/cables yourself. I suggest a separate drive enclosure! You should be able to find a nice drive rack with drives on eBay for a few hundred dollars...

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>
June 11, 2003 8:36:24 PM

whoa thanx for the responses guys.

i been looking at the external fire wires, but i dont think that they are fast enough to crunch the graphics that i will be pushing. although i saw the new Lacie FIREWIRE 800 drives and those look the can pull weight, but they are a little expensive right now.

what i have been looking at is getting either 3 Ultra ATA 133 drives from maxtor and making a RAID 5 with em. OR getting 2-3 SERIAL ata drives and making a RAID from them. these seem to be the fastest right now.

i dont think i would buy this sort of equipment on ebay cuz for
1. i would like to be able to talk to someone if this goes bad
2. a lot of ebay people take paypal: check out www.paypalsucks.com. i wouldnt trust paypal with more that 100 bucks.

any other suggestions for an external scsi/rackmount? lacie has a nice 146 GB ext scsi, however, i wont be able to use a RAID system on it, cuz it would be too expensive to buy another.
June 12, 2003 2:16:16 AM

I never suggested firewire, I suggested SCSI! You did know that a lot of pros use external SCSI drive racks? You can find them on eBay. The good ones are hot swapable and use 80-pin drives. And that's also good, because 80-pin drives are the cheapest on the used market.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>
June 12, 2003 2:19:18 AM

Oh, I just noticed the eBay thing. Well, you can look around at various scrapper sites to see what good used equipement is available...

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>
June 12, 2003 7:42:16 PM

man..i would luv to get a scsi, but they are so expensive...and as i stated about the ebay thing...i only buy games offa ebay..but u should check out that site for future reference..u will think twice about some pay services LOL.

what scrapper sites can u recommend? i saw lacie has a scsi external which seems affordable, but the thing is i am going for a redundant system, so effectively i would only get half the capacity lol.

i just suggested the FIREWIRE because they were cheaper that the scsi. right now i think i will go with some ATA133 drives from maxtor.

and buy an external FIREWIRE 800 drive for extra storage lol.
June 12, 2003 10:42:58 PM

I get stuff from compgeeks.com, computersurplusoutlet.com, and softwareandstuff.com, but there are probably much better sites for business class hardware.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>
June 12, 2003 10:44:12 PM

You do know that using 15 refurbished drives in RAID 5 on this 3-channel card would be nearly perfect?

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>
June 13, 2003 2:52:22 AM

what 3 channel card are u talking about? idoubt that i can afford 15 drives....i only have about $1000 to spend
June 13, 2003 3:35:24 AM

You can get 30GB 80-pin drives at computersurplusoutlet.com for $25 I believe. 15 of those would rock! I have a 3-channel card here that supports up to 45 hard drives. So if you got my card and those drives, you would have a few hundred dollars left for a nice hot-swap drive rack :smile:

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>
!