Dear all,
Every once in a while we want to replace our HW computer for a newer one, more powerful one to use newer, larger sample sets. When replacing it, we usually want to select some of the newest technology as they are becoming more affordable.
One technology that is becoming quite affordable is the SSD drive; for less than $100 you can now get a 128 Gb drive. What kind of performance can you expect? ... well we discussed that a while ago and while you were maybe expecting even faster results, it is still pretty nice to load sample sets as fast as possible. I've been using an SSD drive for 6 months and I wouldn't go back.
But wait before buying a new SSD drive! You may to consider a few things before spending $100 for a 128Gb drive.
1. You should use an SSD drive for your "cache organs" (the file that is created by Hauptwerk on the first load). Using it as your boot drive may seems appealing, but once you booted your computer, you won't gain must advantage to have the OS and HW on the SS drive ... don't forget that 128Gb (and even 256gb) is not that must for the OS, sample sets data and cache folder. So you will want to boot from your sata drive, store Hauptwerk sample set on this drive and use the SSD for caching, making each load of an instrument faster.
2. For you new computer, you may consider 32Gb or even 64Gb of ram (Esztergom is very happy with 64Gb of ram!); loading the Caen surround or some other sample sets at 20 or 24bit is now possible with your 32Gb computer... but don't forget that the cache file will be that size also; if a sample set takes 24Gb of ram once loaded, you can consider that the cache file will be about that size also! This means that your 128Gb (before formatting it - formatting a SSD drive reduce the size available by about 10%, meaning that you will have about 110Gb of free space) will be able cache 3 sample sets (assuming that the cache files are around 28-30Gb)... it won't be able to cache 4! If you have 64Gb of ram, well you will be able to cache the Esztergom with all it bells and whistles (60Gb) and have about 45-50 Gb of free ram for some other sets to load.
3. What happens when you run out of space for the cache files... well, you will need to delete one or more cache files to load some other organs (meaning that on the next load of one of these deleted cache organs, it will be a "first" lengthy load)
4. If you are using various Hauptwerk configurations (wet, dry, surround... HW, Hw altConfig1, Hw altConfig2), you will need even more SSD space, since each configuration has its own cache file of an organ.
So as you can see, spending only $100 may seem a no brainer at first, but you should consider your needs (in space) for the cache files. You can easily estimate your current use by looking at the size of the cache folders (C:\Hauptwerk\HauptwerkInternalWorkingFiles\Config0-OrganCaches .... Config1-OrganCaches... Config2-OrganCaches... Config3-OrganCaches) . This size is what you are using right now; as explained previously, if your new computer has more ram and you're planning to use a higher resolution (20bit vs 16bit), then you can double that size.
Of course there are "work around" to cache some of the most used files on a SSD drive and other organs on the sata drive, but this is not something supported by Hauptwerk and this "hack" requires a bit of programming to automate the process.
In conclusion, take the time to plan the use of your SSD drive so you won't be disappointed after a while. In no time a few sample sets loaded at high resolution can fill it and you will then have to find ways to store your cache files. Keep in mind that as you increase the amount of ram, your cache files will increase accordingly if you decide too take advantage of the extra ram to load at a higher resolution.
I love my SSD drive; since I've been using it, I'm changing organs a lot more frequently during a practice sessions; I know, 2 minutes is not that long to load a set, but once you are able to load a large set in 1 minute or less, then you will do it even more frequently.
Best regards
François
Every once in a while we want to replace our HW computer for a newer one, more powerful one to use newer, larger sample sets. When replacing it, we usually want to select some of the newest technology as they are becoming more affordable.
One technology that is becoming quite affordable is the SSD drive; for less than $100 you can now get a 128 Gb drive. What kind of performance can you expect? ... well we discussed that a while ago and while you were maybe expecting even faster results, it is still pretty nice to load sample sets as fast as possible. I've been using an SSD drive for 6 months and I wouldn't go back.
But wait before buying a new SSD drive! You may to consider a few things before spending $100 for a 128Gb drive.
1. You should use an SSD drive for your "cache organs" (the file that is created by Hauptwerk on the first load). Using it as your boot drive may seems appealing, but once you booted your computer, you won't gain must advantage to have the OS and HW on the SS drive ... don't forget that 128Gb (and even 256gb) is not that must for the OS, sample sets data and cache folder. So you will want to boot from your sata drive, store Hauptwerk sample set on this drive and use the SSD for caching, making each load of an instrument faster.
2. For you new computer, you may consider 32Gb or even 64Gb of ram (Esztergom is very happy with 64Gb of ram!); loading the Caen surround or some other sample sets at 20 or 24bit is now possible with your 32Gb computer... but don't forget that the cache file will be that size also; if a sample set takes 24Gb of ram once loaded, you can consider that the cache file will be about that size also! This means that your 128Gb (before formatting it - formatting a SSD drive reduce the size available by about 10%, meaning that you will have about 110Gb of free space) will be able cache 3 sample sets (assuming that the cache files are around 28-30Gb)... it won't be able to cache 4! If you have 64Gb of ram, well you will be able to cache the Esztergom with all it bells and whistles (60Gb) and have about 45-50 Gb of free ram for some other sets to load.
3. What happens when you run out of space for the cache files... well, you will need to delete one or more cache files to load some other organs (meaning that on the next load of one of these deleted cache organs, it will be a "first" lengthy load)
4. If you are using various Hauptwerk configurations (wet, dry, surround... HW, Hw altConfig1, Hw altConfig2), you will need even more SSD space, since each configuration has its own cache file of an organ.
So as you can see, spending only $100 may seem a no brainer at first, but you should consider your needs (in space) for the cache files. You can easily estimate your current use by looking at the size of the cache folders (C:\Hauptwerk\HauptwerkInternalWorkingFiles\Config0-OrganCaches .... Config1-OrganCaches... Config2-OrganCaches... Config3-OrganCaches) . This size is what you are using right now; as explained previously, if your new computer has more ram and you're planning to use a higher resolution (20bit vs 16bit), then you can double that size.
Of course there are "work around" to cache some of the most used files on a SSD drive and other organs on the sata drive, but this is not something supported by Hauptwerk and this "hack" requires a bit of programming to automate the process.
In conclusion, take the time to plan the use of your SSD drive so you won't be disappointed after a while. In no time a few sample sets loaded at high resolution can fill it and you will then have to find ways to store your cache files. Keep in mind that as you increase the amount of ram, your cache files will increase accordingly if you decide too take advantage of the extra ram to load at a higher resolution.
I love my SSD drive; since I've been using it, I'm changing organs a lot more frequently during a practice sessions; I know, 2 minutes is not that long to load a set, but once you are able to load a large set in 1 minute or less, then you will do it even more frequently.
Best regards
François
Best regards
François
Virtually sharing my enthusiasm and experience with you
Worldwide technical assistance, consultation and ready to play system.
http://www.HauptwerkConsultant.com
AND Hauptwerk Support Manager
François
Virtually sharing my enthusiasm and experience with you
Worldwide technical assistance, consultation and ready to play system.
http://www.HauptwerkConsultant.com
AND Hauptwerk Support Manager