Internal SATA Drive for Scratch Disk? at DVinfo.net

Austin Walton · October 1st, 2006, 06:15 PM

An Apple store employee suggested that I install an internal SATA drive as a scratch disk, instead of purchasing another external drive.

I was at the store to purchase another ext. drive. He suggested buying the SATA, and then when I start filling it up to go ahead and buy another ext. drive to move the files to.

What are some opinions on this idea? Anyone currently doing it? Brand suggestions?

I edit HDV. I capture native, and export AIC.

Thanks!

Eric Darling · October 1st, 2006, 11:13 PM

Any internal SATA drive will be faster than a FireWire or USB drive. It's a good recommendation. HDV runs well below the speed capacity of modern hard drives - even below most SD codecs. As far as brand preference goes, I generally like Seagates the best. The only feature you're going to lose is portability.

Austin Walton · October 2nd, 2006, 06:58 AM

Thank you Eric.

Brian Critchlow · October 17th, 2006, 01:57 PM

I would agree with Eric.
HDV is 25 mbps, Firewire is 400 or 800 mbps depending on the type, and SATA is 1.5 or 3.0 gbps depending on type.
I would highly recommend the internal drive if you have an open drive bay. It will give you the option to work with higher data rate footage in the future.

Nathan VanHoose · October 18th, 2006, 09:25 PM

I can't speak on the specific drive speeds but I have been using a firewire 800 drive as a scratch disk (editing HDV footage regularly) and have never had an issue.

I do export to a second internal SATA drive when I put something on a tape. So maybe you shouldn't base your decision on my experience.

Greg Boston · October 19th, 2006, 06:07 AM

Keep in mind you can also buy external cases now that support eSATA interface. I have my original iMac 160gb drive in one such case. You have to buy a SATA interface board for your Powermac but those are pretty cheap these days. The external case typically also offers USB2 and/or FW connectivity so you can reap the benefit of high speed data transfer on your own system while maintaining portabilty with other systems using USB2 or FW.

-gb-

October 1st, 2006, 06:15 PM	#1
Austin Walton Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: TX Posts: 66	Internal SATA Drive for Scratch Disk? An Apple store employee suggested that I install an internal SATA drive as a scratch disk, instead of purchasing another external drive. I was at the store to purchase another ext. drive. He suggested buying the SATA, and then when I start filling it up to go ahead and buy another ext. drive to move the files to. What are some opinions on this idea? Anyone currently doing it? Brand suggestions? I edit HDV. I capture native, and export AIC. Thanks!

October 1st, 2006, 11:13 PM	#2
Eric Darling Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 463	Any internal SATA drive will be faster than a FireWire or USB drive. It's a good recommendation. HDV runs well below the speed capacity of modern hard drives - even below most SD codecs. As far as brand preference goes, I generally like Seagates the best. The only feature you're going to lose is portability.

October 2nd, 2006, 06:58 AM	#3
Austin Walton Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: TX Posts: 66	Thank you Eric.

October 17th, 2006, 01:57 PM	#4
Brian Critchlow Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Posts: 133	I would agree with Eric. HDV is 25 mbps, Firewire is 400 or 800 mbps depending on the type, and SATA is 1.5 or 3.0 gbps depending on type. I would highly recommend the internal drive if you have an open drive bay. It will give you the option to work with higher data rate footage in the future.

October 18th, 2006, 09:25 PM	#5
Nathan VanHoose New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dayton Ohio Posts: 23	I can't speak on the specific drive speeds but I have been using a firewire 800 drive as a scratch disk (editing HDV footage regularly) and have never had an issue. I do export to a second internal SATA drive when I put something on a tape. So maybe you shouldn't base your decision on my experience.

October 19th, 2006, 06:07 AM	#6
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	Keep in mind you can also buy external cases now that support eSATA interface. I have my original iMac 160gb drive in one such case. You have to buy a SATA interface board for your Powermac but those are pretty cheap these days. The external case typically also offers USB2 and/or FW connectivity so you can reap the benefit of high speed data transfer on your own system while maintaining portabilty with other systems using USB2 or FW. -gb-