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Workstation storage configuration

BudgetEngineer
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I've been getting into video editing recently, nothing super intense, but have been exploring workstation PCs and been trying to figure out the best storage solution for an editing PC.  Here are my current thoughts on a possible setup, what would you change or add?

  • 512gb SSD for OS and programs
  • 120gb SSD for scratch disk & page file (two in raid 0?)
  • 120gb SSD for HDD caching
  • 4x 3tb HDDs in Raid 10 (or 5?) for media files
  • External backup server for OS and media drives

Other details: Asus P9 X79-WS or similar motherboard with i7 4930k, 32gb of RAM.

 

Also a question on the SATA ports on the Asus board above.  It sports the X79 chipset and a Marvel 9230 controller in addition to provide more SATA ports and higher caching performance.  Does the Marvel controller only cache the drives attached to it as well?  Or can I use the below configuration and still take advantage of the caching?

 

On the Intel controller:

  • 512gb SSD for OS and programs (on SATA 6Gb/s)
  • 4x 3tb media HDDs in RAID (on SATA 3Gb/s)

On the Marvel controller, all 6Gb/s:

  • 120gb SSD cache drive
  • 120gb scratch disk and page file SSD (possibly two drives)

 

Thanks in advance!

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- 120/128/180/250/256GB ssd for OS and programs.

- Hdd Raid 0 for render output and scratchdisk. 

- Mass storage

 

Depending on what you're doing, a 8350/4770k and 16/32GB ram should already be plenty. 

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- 120/128/180/250/256GB ssd for OS and programs.

- Hdd Raid 0 for render output and scratchdisk. 

- Mass storage

 

Depending on what you're doing, a 8350/4770k and 16/32GB ram should already be plenty. 

pretty much this, maybe RAID 10 if you also want some redundancy on those scratch-disks.

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Just pointing out that the default INTEL RAID-controller only supports up to +- 60 GB of SSD for caching.

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- 120/128/180/250/256GB ssd for OS and programs.

- Hdd Raid 0 for render output and scratchdisk. 

- Mass storage

 

Depending on what you're doing, a 8350/4770k and 16/32GB ram should already be plenty. 

 

This is pretty much what I'd recommend, swapping RAID 0 for RAID 10 like Looney said. Choose whatever size SSD you need for your programs.

 

For a rendering output drive, I recommend doing a RAID 10 of a bunch of smaller, faster drives. If you've ever had to deal with a crash from a bad RAID 0, you'll know that it kind of sucks, especially if you're using it in a workstation environment where downtime is expensive. Figure out the size of your rendering/scratch volume and divide it by three, then get six drives of that size. I recommend WD Velociraptors, they're really fast in a RAID 10. Put these on the Marvel controller. (e.g. for a 1.5TB volume, get six 500GB raptors)

 

For your mass storage, get your four 3TB WD Red (or Seagate NAS) drives and run in RAID 5 or 10 off of the Intel chipset, depending on how much storage/performance you need. You shouldn't need to cache it if it's just for storage.

 

This isn't necessary, but you could think about doing a RAID 1 for your SSD boot drive.

 

Especially for a workstation, redundancy is important.

 

Once you're done, don't forget to post it in the Build Logs section!

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use, and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them. - Galileo Galilei
Build Logs: Tophat (in progress), DNAF | Useful Links: How To: Choosing Your Storage Devices and Configuration, Case Study: RAID Tolerance to Failure, Reducing Single Points of Failure in Redundant Storage , Why Choose an SSD?, ZFS From A to Z (Eric1024), Advanced RAID: Survival Rates, Flashing LSI RAID Cards (alpenwasser), SAN and Storage Networking

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For a rendering output drive, I recommend doing a RAID 10 of a bunch of smaller, faster drives. If you've ever had to deal with a crash from a bad RAID 0, you'll know that it kind of sucks, especially if you're using it in a workstation environment where downtime is expensive. Figure out the size of your rendering/scratch volume and divide it by three, then get six drives of that size. I recommend WD Velociraptors, they're really fast in a RAID 10. Put these on the Marvel controller. (e.g. for a 1.5TB volume, get six 500GB raptors)

Velociraptors aren't worth it imo. Even for those who aren't striving for silence, they are stupid loud. I'd rather just get a few barracudas which would be cheaper and quieter. 

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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I'd rather just get a few barracudas which would be cheaper and quieter. 

[member = BudgetEngineer] This is true. Velociraptors would be best for performance, but you could do a RAID10 of Barracudas and it'd perform well.

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use, and by some other means to give us knowledge which we can attain by them. - Galileo Galilei
Build Logs: Tophat (in progress), DNAF | Useful Links: How To: Choosing Your Storage Devices and Configuration, Case Study: RAID Tolerance to Failure, Reducing Single Points of Failure in Redundant Storage , Why Choose an SSD?, ZFS From A to Z (Eric1024), Advanced RAID: Survival Rates, Flashing LSI RAID Cards (alpenwasser), SAN and Storage Networking

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