Does anyone have any experience of running the CS5 application off a solid state OS / Application drive with the non-programme data files held elsewhere on other separate drive(s)?

Does a SSD offer any significant benefits over using either a 10,000 rpm velociraptor (or indeed just a standard 7,200 rpm drive) to store the OS / CS5 applications?

Just my 2 cents...

I'm using a 120GB Corsair -- would probably be considered a middle of the road SSD, not the fastest out there -- as a C drive. Preview and source video files go on a 4-disk 7200 RAID0 (these are copies of original files...so no need for anyone to go on a tear about RAID0) using the ASUS motherboard's onboard RAID (see my profile for more details).

I'm unable to say whether the SSD actually speeds up the editing process compared to a HDD -- probably not much, if at all. However, now that SSDs are coming down in price, I'd go for it. The overall snappiness of the system is SO much better than I'm used to, it is a joy to use. I have no hesitation at all about opening and closing big programs because it all happens so fast. Preview a bunch of 21MB raw files in Photoshop when I've got PPro, AE, and Soundbooth all running? No sweat, double click the file and I'm in Ps almost as fast as I could have alt-tabbed it from the background. True, on a fast system like this, a regular HDD wouldn't be bad either, but the SSD is nice...and with a much longer MTBF.

Now the next thing is to swap out that12GB of RAM for 24GB as there is performance to gain there, too.

BTW, I just got an RMA for a failed Raptor that was a C drive in my previous (now backup) editing box. WD got the replacement to me no problem, but cost me a lot of time and hassle re-installing / restore everything. This being about the umpteenth failed HDD I've had over the last 10 years or so makes me weary of hard disks...

Hey Pete,

Was that a 150GB Raptor? I had all 4 of my 150GB Raptors die within 2.5 yrs of use, but ALL were replaced with V-Raptors, which is a nice upgrade. However, all my 74GB Raptors are still alive but relegated to a shelf thanks to my Intel X25 G2. I went from having 4 Raptors in Raid 10 for my OS & App drive to the Intel X25, and the Intel SSD makes those 10,000 rpm Raptors feel SLOW.

With SSDs, there are no moving parts to break and they generate no heat or sound.

Btw, I have the Intel X25 80GB in 3 computers now.

In US prices, a 150GB V-Raptor is $180 and an 80GB Intel X25 is $190-200. For an OS drive, 80GB is more than enough.

Yep, it was a 150GB SATA Raptor, model WD1500ADFD. A second 150GB Raptor is still apparently happily running the XP partition on that computer; hopefully if it is going to fail it does so before the 5 year warranty expires.

I was about to buy this 3tb hard drive. Any good for us?

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk Review (3TB) - External Hard Drives - CNET Reviews (http://reviews.cnet.com/external-hard-drives/seagate-freeagent-goflex-desk/4505-3190_7-34139135.html#reviewPage1)

fry's has it for $200

From a quick look, the GoFlex looks more like a backup solution to me than part of a CS5 system. A fast OS/Program disk (my preference is SSD) and a fast RAID for preview and source files is what is recommended. Even with USB 3, I wouldn't count on optimum temp file performance as compared to a RAID; it is still just a single HDD.

I ended up going with a firewire 800 7200 rpm lacie d2 quadra 2TB. I shall let you know how it works out. Just installed cs5 and about to edit a wedding. I also picked up a kensington orbit with track wheel. I think it will do well with editing. I'm already addicted to using it in lightroom.

Hey Steve, nice name ;)

If you like the Orbit, I bet you would like Kensington's Mighty Mouse even more. I have had one for 5 years and it cured my carpel tunnel. Also, the trackball helps me 'claim' my computers because no one ever wants to deal with them. People's reaction to it kind of reminds me of Star Trek 4 when Scottie picks up the mouse and starts talking to it.

About that 3TB drive: on a storage forum, a couple highly intelligent people dissected the drive and enclosure. They discovered that the drive only works within that enclosure, so, it cannot be put into another enclosure or directly attached to a sata controller. I think the same applied for the enclosure - only that drive would work in it, but I can't recall for certain. For me, it is very important to be able to remove the drive in case the enclosure dies. This is why I buy enclosures and drives separately.

The Lacie 2tb d2 quadra hard drive is excessively loud and now making wierd vibration noises. Back to fry's!

I would avoid Lacie if you can. Check out G-Tech and other FW800 drives/enclosures at newegg.

the did recommend g-tech but it lays flat and would take up most of my desk space not to mention 40% higher in cost.

If you're talking SSDs, Intel is the only choice. I tried a Corsair Sandforce based SSD before, but for 24/7 use, it stops communicating every 2 days. Intel SSDs have the key of high random IOPS per second (critical for high speed loading of applications) So I'd recommend a X25-V as a starting SSD. It's going around for about 100.

I use a X25-M 80GB and Vegas loads in under 10 seconds. When I had AE, it loaded fully in under 15 seconds. Gen 3 Intel SSDs are coming soon, so if you can hold off until spring next year, they'll probably be faster than Gen 2.

If you're talking SSDs, Intel is the only choice.C'mon, that's too much an overstatement. Intel SSDs are widely recognized as being excellent, but such an overarching comment is simply unsupportable. FWIW, I haven't actually timed it, but I'm sure AE loads way faster than 15 seconds on my system with a fairly inexpensive SSD for the OS/Programs.

Any views on OCZ Vertex vs Intel SSDs?

Pete, I agree that it was an overstatement.

However, I only use Intel SSDs because of Intel's great self-administering TRIM, which keeps the drive performing as close to full speed as possible. Plus, Intel's SSD software is the only one I am aware of that works with Raid.

But, from what I have read lately, OCZ and Corsair have greatly improved their firmware and 'garbage' cleaning. I think tomshardware recently released a new benchmark with 15 SSDs; so, check that out. One of the most important aspects is how a drive performs after large amounts of data writing to the drive. This is where Intel has shined. Another aspect is to see whether or not you must use the manufacturer's software to 'clean' up the drive. Last I checked, OCZ required a user to perform a clean up every few weeks whereas Intel does not because its firmware is designed to do it.

Also, it is better to use Windows 7 because it has TRIM support, which helps keep a drive 'clean' and performing at its best.

Pete, many things can affect how quickly AE opens, including any 3rd party effects installed and possibly extra fonts installed. I have noticed AE opening quicker if it had been open within an hour or so earlier. The same applies with Photoshop; however, PS CS5 opens within 3-4 seconds on a 7200rpm drive.

Also, it is better to use Windows 7 because it has TRIM support, which helps keep a drive 'clean' and performing at its best.Yup, definitely. In fact, when the Raptor failed on my old system (it was a Vistax64 partition), I considered just replacing it with a cheap SSD but after doing a little reading decided it wasn't worth the bother and doubt about TRIM (for me) to get an SSD as a non-Win7 OS drive on an old system.

I'm really happy with the SSD in my Win 7 system, though!

I'm currently building a new computer and some things are very simple to choose like the i7 950 processor and the NVidia GTX 470 card. I do have everything else all set but I'm struggling on what I'll be using as a boot up drive that will store Windows 7 and all the programs such as CS5 Master Collection. My video files will be stored in other hard drives.

At the moment I have the Corsair 160GB drive on hold but for around $50 more I can get this Amazon.com: OCZ Technology 120 GB RevoDrive Series PCI-Express x4 Solid State Drive (SSD) OCZSSDPX-1RVD0120: Electronics: Reviews, Prices & more

It's about double the speed but has 40GB less storage. What does anybody think of it? I'm having Micro Center built my computer and for now they will put everything together except for that main drive in case I change my mind. I have a few days to think about this. That costs almost as much as the 12GB of RAM and the Corsair 160GB is already pushing it. Still, at least I'm not buying directly from Dell, HP or Apple. 12GB of RAM, a Blu-Ray burner and a solid state drive would have costs me a kidney! although it would have been nice to get one of those with 2 processors and then I can buy the extra stuff elsewhere to save money such as more RAM, etc but even then, I still wouldn't have been able to afford it. When I include taxes, the extended warranty and the costs of building the computer, it ends up being a little over $2,200. Obviously that price does not include the monitor. I need to buy a new HD TV anyway so I'll use that as the monitor.

According to this review, it's definitely a speed demon but without TRIM support, it'll degrade slightly quicker than a regular solid state drive.
OCZ RevoDrive Review: SSD RAID + PCI-Express - HotHardware (http://hothardware.com/Reviews/OCZ-RevoDrive-Review-SSD-RAID--PCIExpress/)

If I'm going to be using the computer a lot for editing than maybe it wont be such a good idea.
For sure with the money I'll save, I can get another hard drive. I can save a little more if I choose a regular 120GB SSD drive rather than 160 although I wont have as much wiggle room. I really don't want to have a lot of hard drives but from reading a lot about people's set up, it looks like 4 should be the minimum in order to separate everything (I'm not sure if I really need a raid and I hear you need more than 4 hard drives for a proper raid set-up). If I were to have 1 SSD and 2 Hard drives for a total of 3 drives, would it really be that bad? Then again I do have an external hard drive with a fire-wire port which would make a total of 4 usable drives. I also have a USB drive but it's only for backup purposes in case my fire wire drive goes haywire. I know I can save money without getting an SSD period but I feel I'll be better off using it as a bootable drive for Windows 7 and programs. I think the computer will be working hard as is for the graphics card and the i7 processor. For the power supply, it's 700 watts. For my specs, is that high enough? For sure I'm assuming 600 is too low.

Also as far as editing is concerned, I'm not going to notice any performance difference in choosing Windows 7 verses the Professional version, right? I'd rather get the regular 7 64 bit in order to save money but if I'll benefit from the Professional version, I'll have to think about that. I'm already spending more on this computer than originally planned unfortunately since I'm also trying to get an HD TV.

Sorry that it appears that I'm hijacking this thread.

IHMO: no TRIM, no buy. If you're not planning to burden this computer with a bunch of large programs, 160GB is more than enough for a C: drive and the Corsair should be fine. On my only-for-editing box (Adobe Master Collection) I have a 120GB Corsair SSD and its only about half full.

EDIT: I'll add that in my view, the value of using an SSD as a C: drive derives from the super fast disk access times (microseconds instead of milliseconds) to handle the many small file reads and writes that the OS and programs make, as well as being more reliable, quieter, and cooler than a traditional HDD. Having the super fastest read/write times isn't a bad thing except for cost, but a mid-cost SSD will still give you all the other benefits and still competitive or maybe faster read/write than most HDDs.

IHMO: no TRIM, no buy.

In addition, even if the SSD of the PC owner's choice does support TRIM, the TRIM support will get disabled if that person configures the SSDs as part of any RAID array. So, the SSD must be configured as JBOD (not in a RAID array), and must be run with the SATA controller set to either AHCI or RAID. (Running an SSD with the SATA controller set in IDE mode will also disable TRIM.) This is due to the limitations in the current version of the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.

Not sure if this was mentioned but for those folks using Intel SSD's I would highly recommend installing Intel Matrix Storage Manager and setting "Volume Write Back Cache" as enabled for each drive. Also enabled cache for any arrays you have, it increased performance for me by about 30% in drive speed read/writes. Also 2 x SSD drives in raid 0 for O/S drive and CS5 seems to work well for me, just make sure you have a good ghosted image of the O/S in the event you loose a drive and need to recover.

I think for safety reason, I'll probably either keep the 160GB Corsair or get a cheaper 120GB drive. Micro Center has the 160GB Corsair for a little over $100 less than the Amazon price I believe. Although Solid State drives have gone down considerably, I wish they were a lot cheaper.

When I was shopping around, the extra fast SSD was one of the recommendations I received but in the end the 160GB drive ended up being my final choice until I saw a new built computer being boot up with that fast drive and I was in shock! That's when I started having second thoughts about the 160GB drive and told them to build everything except for that drive in case I change my mind. I might have changed my mind on that very day if it wasn't for the store selling out of that fast drive. That's probably a good thing.

It seams like the Intel drives are hot so to speak but it might cost a lot more than what I'm paying for the current one I got. For sure I'm going to notice a gigantic difference over my laptop in which I was usually using an external hard drive with my media and the computers hard drive for everything else. I'll also notice a big boost every-place else. The 2 year old laptop is only a 2.4Ghz Core2Duo with 4 gigs of RAM and a 512GB ATI card. I have to keep convincing myself that although I can sometimes get jealous over computer systems with a couple of 4 or 6 core processors, at least 24GB of RAM and a nice raid set up, I'm still getting something that will make my laptop look like a netbook.