Old 03-23-2010, 06:46 AM   #1
JonnyGinese
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Default Audio Drives for Reaper

Since i come from using Pro Tools and knowing that its very finicky with EVERYTHING... I need to ask this question here to see if it matters...

Do I need to have an internal HDD or Firewire HDD to record sessions with about 16-24 tracks? Or will I be ok with a $100 Western Digital MyBook Essentials USB drive...?

I know USB drives are a no go on Pro Tools, is Reaper different in this area?
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Old 03-23-2010, 07:01 AM   #2
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Reaper is fine with either. However, the bigger concern is the I/O performance of the drive and connectivity integrity. Some people use USB and FW just fine. But I believe the general consensus is to go internal.

Personally, if this is a drive I'm recording audio to, I'd stay with an internal hard drive.

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Old 03-23-2010, 10:22 AM   #3
JonnyGinese
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Ok.. well my current system has internal drives all setup for Pro Tools, but the secondary system I'm setting up for a client i was thinking of doing on the WD MyBook since they aren't doing heavy track count or plugins. I guess I can go ahead and give it a shot.. just wanted to know if it was a NO WAY! kinda situation.
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Old 03-23-2010, 10:40 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonnyGinese View Post
Ok.. well my current system has internal drives all setup for Pro Tools, but the secondary system I'm setting up for a client i was thinking of doing on the WD MyBook since they aren't doing heavy track count or plugins. I guess I can go ahead and give it a shot.. just wanted to know if it was a NO WAY! kinda situation.
Via USB, you're going to top out in the mid to upper 30s/MB/Sec.
Via eSATA, you'll get the full speed of the HD (just like it was connected to an internal SATA port).

If you're not pushing things very hard... you'll be OK with a USB HD.
If you're wanting maximum performance... go internal SATA or eSATA.
Any of the better SATA HDs (with 32MB cache) is going to sustain at least 100MB/Sec. The best units sustain over 130MB/Sec.



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Old 03-23-2010, 12:12 PM   #5
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A system set up and optimized to run Pro Tools will actually run REAPER extremely well. Your PT optimizations will still benefit REAPER in many ways and make for a more solid performing system.

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Old 03-23-2010, 01:04 PM   #6
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Jonny.
two 7200 rpm 32 mb cache drives are about 140 buks.
so its a no brainer to have two internals for desktop pc's
for folks on a budget.
one for boot/the OS, and one to record to.
one thing to be aware of re external pre packaged drives
under various brand names is, and often its hidden info..is..
ive found some use smaller caches. and/or dont have the greatest
performance specs. they are often ok for small trak counts,
but for high trak counts and/or sampling rates might be a prob.
thus what i recommend..eg external usb or fw is to get a regular
7200 rpm drive with large cache and put it in a 40 buk enclosure.
this way you can get the right performance drive for your needs.

jim roseberry.
got a question. as i respect your opinion.
a friend was asking me this.
is there any probs putting a raptor or veloci in an enclosure ??
ie a 10k rpm drive.
i do realise that 7200 //32 mb cache are very good.
just curious.
also , whats your opinion on the new 64 mb cache drives ??
cheers.
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Old 03-23-2010, 03:17 PM   #7
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Yeah I've heard that the WD Black editions that are only 7200RPM and 32mb cache do everything needed for audio recording and play back.

Whats the mb/sec for a single track of 48/24?
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Old 03-23-2010, 03:35 PM   #8
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I actually just looked at it... if the full duplex of a USB drive was 30mb/sec combined read/write.. you would be able to playback/record up to 208 voices(on paper) @ 48/24... so i think i shouldn't have an issue with only 16-24 tracks...

I think the main issue is like you said.. the cache buffering and the other stuff like access latency and stuff... SSD anyone?
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Old 03-23-2010, 03:41 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DBMusic View Post
Reaper is fine with either. However, the bigger concern is the I/O performance of the drive and connectivity integrity. Some people use USB and FW just fine. But I believe the general consensus is to go internal.

Personally, if this is a drive I'm recording audio to, I'd stay with an internal hard drive.

Regards,

DB
+1 Internal drives are far better in many regards. They're cheaper, perform better and create less noise.
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Old 03-23-2010, 03:56 PM   #10
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Thanks guys! I'll see how it goes.. i i have to get an additional internal HD i will.
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