Q: Optimal dedicated RAID-0/SSD drive workflow for working in FCPX?
(TLDR: Need help determining which aspects of read/write operations in FCPX editing and media storage will benefit from dedicated RAID-0 or SSD volumes.)
I want to create a new hardware workflow (e.g., dedicated external drives/volumes) to improve editing performance while working in FCPX. My understanding of operational demands or workload patterns when editing video is incomplete, therefore I am not sure what hardware setup is best-suited for video editing. I'll put my 1st question as a practical question and its corresponding technical questions, so feel free to address either/all:
1a. (practical) Will storing source media (copies of media files, linked to FCPX Events) and FCPX Projects on separate drives improve performance?
(I already edit from media files stored on external drives, but currently FCPX Events and Projects are on the same external drive.)
1b. (technical) When running FCPX, what is the workload pattern and where is it directed (as it relates to volumes)? i.e. does it involve sequential or random reads and writes? Are these operations large-block or small?
Are the editing and rendering operations placing the most performance demand on the system/volume running the FCPX application, on the storage volume where the project/edit decisions are saved/written to, or on the volume that is reading the media source files?
2. Need advice to reject or confirm whether any below options (in full or part) are suited to improved performance speed while editing in FCPX: (assume Thunderbolt/USB 3 connections, and each bullet item represents a discrete drive/volume in the workflow setup)
- external HDD RAID-0 for the media files (HD video, multi-GB files, ProRes 422 and mpeg-4 codecs)
- external HDD RAID-0 for running the FCPX application (with OS remaining on system HD)
- external HDD RAID-0 for writing video edits/FCPX Projects
or:
- external SSD to read media files
- external SSD to run FCPX (with OS remaining on system HD)
- external HDD RAID-0 to edit/write FCPX Projects
also:
- Would an SSD RAID-0 noticeably improve performance over any/some of these options, or be overkill
and:
Is there a noticeable difference, and which then is better in terms of performance (not cost):
- RAID-0 set up with 2 HDDs using OSX (Lion) Disk Utility
- RAID-0 set up with a 2-bay HDD hardware RAID (e.g. G-Tech G-RAID)
Some background info:
-My questions are exclusive to optimizing my drive and volume setup, I am aware that performance also depends largely on CPU and GPU factors.
-I am running FCPX original v10.0.0 on the HD of a 2011 iMac with 8GB RAM. I am working on a major system upgrade since this has become inadequate for video, but in the meantime my goal is to organize my external storage to improve performance with my current system. I currently run FCPX off the system HD and house the Projects/Events together on separate undedicated external 3-4TB HDDs which contains other types of files. In some cases, source media files are also on this same external, or on separate external HDDs.
Thanks for taking the time to read and answer.
Posted on Jun 15, 2016 10:43 AM