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Neofilm
Inspiring
April 6, 2019
Question

USB 3.1 good for Cache & Scratch?`

  • April 6, 2019
  • 5 replies
  • 2040 views

I have my OS and programs on an NVME. I will have another NVME one day for projects and assets.

Right now I have my projects on a new SSD. I have my scrach/media cache on an old SSD but I'm afraid that SSD has issues so I'm thinking about trashing it and replacing it with a new one. I have 4 USB 3.1 ports. So I'm wondering, would be better performance to use a large 3.1 flash drive for scratch and cache so I don't use/wear out an SSD?

Lastly, is it better to have the scratch/media on the fastest drive or the assets/projects on the fastest drive?

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    5 replies

    Peru Bob
    Community Expert
    Peru BobCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 7, 2019

    moved from Premiere Pro to Hardware Forum

    N
    NeofilmAuthor
    Inspiring
    April 7, 2019

    Thanks,

    Right now I have NVME for OS/Programs and SSD for project and assets. I have another SSD I can use for scratch or I could use the NVME for my 360 tours but I rather keep that dedicated for 360 tours if that's possible. I can easily get another SSD or a 3.1 USB flash drive if that would be good for scratch/media cache. So, the question is, right now where is it best to have my scratch and media cache?

    And when I purchase/install another NVME is it better to use the fastest drive for scratch, cache, project, and/or assets?

    Also, while we're on this, is it better to render to the same drive as the project/assets?

    So, in short I currently have 2 SSD's and 2 NVME's (one for OS and Programs and one for 360 tours). I can get one more SSD and/or a 3.1 USB flash drive. What's the best way to allocate the scratch, media cache, projects, assets, and renders with my current drives? And when I purchase another NVME for video production is it best to have projects/assets on NVME or SSD or scratch/media cache on NVME or NVME?

    E
    excited_Genie16B8
    Legend
    April 7, 2019

    I think an internal drive is better than any external drive, regardless of type or connection.

    M
    Mr. Ryan Zass
    Participant
    January 1, 2021

    Really?

    So you'd favor an internal 5600rpm HDD

    over

    an external USB 3.1 Samsung EVO SSD?

    Wow

    R
    RjL190365
    Legend
    January 1, 2021

    No. We're not suggesting that. It's just that the USB 3.1 interface itself has more overhead than either a SATA or a direct PCI-e connection.

     

    And why in the world would you want to use a 5400 RPM HDD as a working media disk? You see, due to the physical limitations of spinning disks, that 5400 RPM HDD can't sustain even 135 MB/s, even on the outer tracks, and will fall off very rapidly beyond about 60% full - all the way down to less than 60 MB/s! Compare that to even a SATA SSD that can sustain well above 400 MB/s unless you have a very cheap SSD with lousy NAND chips whose sustainable transfer speed with very large transfers is no faster than most HDDs.

    Dr. Ayman Raafat Ph.D
    Dr. Ayman Raafat Ph.D
    Inspiring
    April 7, 2019

    I suggest to check the SSDs speeds and the USB 3.1 connected storage drive type and speeds because you are going to use them for caching and playback.

    best

    Ayman

    MyerPj
    Community Expert
    MyerPjCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 6, 2019

    Hardware expert Bill Gehrke​, concluded using all files on one NVME is almost as fast as you can go, so I would have them all on that for now. Then when you get the second one, put your project and media on that drive and leave the default (C drive) for cache, etc. You can find many of his posts and tests in the hardware forum.

    Just found one of the threads: Samsung 960 Pro Speed Freaks

    N
    NeofilmAuthor
    Inspiring
    April 7, 2019

    I thought it wasn't good to put scratch and/or cache on C drive. I have NVME for C drive and room for another NVME. But, I feel like I have to buy NVME Pro and get 2 TB because I work on big projects. So, I am waiting to have money for that.

    I want to do what makes most sense. I currently have a 2080 Ti, i9 9900K, 64 gig RAM

    For drives I'm using:

    C: An older NVME 476 GB

    D: NVME 1 TB reserved for virtual tours

    E: 1 TB SSD for backups, scratch and cache

    Z: 2 TB SSD for projects and assets

    And space for another NVME drive for video (Projects or scratch cache?)

    I have had a project get close to a TB while working on another large project. So, I think the next NVME may need to be 2 TB.

    Right now where is it best to have my scratch and cache? and, to reiterate the question above, when I get the 3rd and last NVME is it better to use the fastest drive for scratch, cache, project, and/or assets?

    Also, while we're on this, is it better to render to the same drive as the project/assets?

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