some hardware questions

[ajmaudio]

putting together a new catalyst rig for a tour this fall and I wanted to ask you much more knowledgeable folks a few questions:

does the normal deckling sdi card work with catalyst?

is there a definite answer on using 2 declink cards in the same machine?

is the mtron 3000 series ssd ok?

appreciate the help

[samsc]

putting together a new catalyst rig for a tour this fall and I wanted to ask you much more knowledgeable folks a few questions:

does the normal deckling sdi card work with catalyst?

is there a definite answer on using 2 declink cards in the same machine?

is the mtron 3000 series ssd ok?

appreciate the help

are you in europe or elsewhere?

[ajmaudio]

in the US

[ajmaudio]

well I think I answered most of my questions but I still dunno if there is a defintie answer on using 2 decklink cards in the same machine... and its certainly not for lack of reading here on the forums :)

[RedLightning]

I'm sure the consensus has been no to using 2-decklink cards in one machine.

are you trying to do multiple SDI inputs?

You can do multiple composite inputs with the LFG cards, or do a switcher upstream of your decklink...

-s

[samsc]

well I think I answered most of my questions but I still dunno if there is a defintie answer on using 2 decklink cards in the same machine... and its certainly not for lack of reading here on the forums :)


up until now - the decklink drivers have never supported more than 1 sdi card at a time.

this is up to blackmagic - they have to write the drivers to support more than one card.

if they did this - it would be automatic in catalyst.

[samsc]

I'm sure the consensus has been no to using 2-decklink cards in one machine.

are you trying to do multiple SDI inputs?

You can do multiple composite inputs with the LFG cards, or do a switcher upstream of your decklink...

-s

Active Silicon sdi cards - which will do 6 inputs with 3 cards - are still in compatibility testing-

[RedLightning]

Active Silicon sdi cards - which will do 6 inputs with 3 cards - are still in compatibility testing-

forgot about the Active Silicone SDI cards....

[ajmaudio]

went with an hd extreme for now as I can get by with one sdi for now... but it is possible to need more in the future... I'll be keeping an eye on the AS cards... I thought they had allready been proven like the lfg series... guess its a good thing I didnt buy one lol...so now we wait for the new mac pro to arrive in a few days.. yay! thx for the help

[ajmaudio]

hey has anyone used the 3000 series mtron with any success?

[SourceChild]

hey has anyone used the 3000 series mtron with any success?

Based on the benchmarks for the 3ks, they should still perform better than regular SATA disks but don't expect as many layers as the Mtron SSD 7500s.

[ajmaudio]

well I am going with one of the newer samsung made ocz drives that benchmarks closer to a 7500 series mtron... if anyone is interested I'll offer up my findings when the machine is done here ina bout a week.

[samsc]

well I am going with one of the newer samsung made ocz drives that benchmarks closer to a 7500 series mtron... if anyone is interested I'll offer up my findings when the machine is done here ina bout a week.

We have been testing ocz ssd2-1c64 drives for weeks.
It's vitally important that hardware is tested in show situations for any hidden problems.
No problems have appeared yet and we have done comprehensive performance testing. Including testing against SCSI in nvidia and ati systems and different OS'S.
They do work almost as well as mtron about 1layer less when playing 16 layers.

As far as mtron 7500 vs 3000 etc for almost every application. Noone will spot the difference unless you like products with 'PRO' marketing for catalyst usage there will be no added value. Those attempting uncompressed hidef excepted.

----
Those with no experience in software and hardware qa.
You never ever rely on the experiences or reports of one individual.

All claims are checked double checked and then qualified and checked again.

There are 5 years of macs using catalyst and one must always expect surprises.
Hoping something will work does not make it work.
Software and hardware need to be tested to work.
One does not assume it will.

---
As with normal sata drives the headline benchmarks are irrelevant.
What is important is random access read time not data transfer rates.

[samsc]

Based on the benchmarks for the 3ks, they should still perform better than regular SATA disks but don't expect as many layers as the Mtron SSD 7500s.

which benchmark?

[samsc]

well I am going with one of the newer samsung made ocz drives that benchmarks closer to a 7500 series mtron... if anyone is interested I'll offer up my findings when the machine is done here ina bout a week.

all ocz drives are 2.5inch drives and you will need a reliable drive tray adaptor for intel mac pro.

we have been testing these from maxupdates.com

http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_id=180

[samsc]

hey has anyone used the 3000 series mtron with any success?

mtron rearranged their product lines - which created some confusion-

i do not believe there will be any perceivable difference for normal users.

I am being vague - because i have a test model of every single one of these ssd drives - but i do not have time to do comprehensive benchmarks in a wide enough range of machines or a wide range of os's.

I have not seen significant performance differences in the small amount of testing i have done-

[ajmaudio]

thanks for the replys richard... I certainly wasnt just assuming it would work based on something like a read throughput benchmark lol... glad to hear that you have been testing them... that takes a little pressure off of me... that drive adapter is great and I have allready purchased the exact model u suggested... seems to be the best option. Question for you Richard: have you ever run content off of a ramdisk created on the machine? aot of the content we run is small in file size so I tried it last night.. interesting results. Anyways.. appreciate your very high level of dedication and support for your product Richard!

[samsc]

thanks for the replys richard... I certainly wasnt just assuming it would work based on something like a read throughput benchmark lol... glad to hear that you have been testing them... that takes a little pressure off of me... that drive adapter is great and I have allready purchased the exact model u suggested... seems to be the best option. Question for you Richard: have you ever run content off of a ramdisk created on the machine? aot of the content we run is small in file size so I tried it last night.. interesting results. Anyways.. appreciate your very high level of dedication and support for your product Richard!

ram disks work but no current tool i saw created a disc greater than 2GB, so pointless.

128GB OCZ gives best value for money at the moment - and a lot cheaper than ram. OCZSSD2-1C128G $377 on amazon.com.
at this price anyone with scsi should buy one tomorow.

[ajmaudio]

the drive you specified in ur last post is a core series drive.. the one I purchased is the 1s32 .. as opposed to a 1cxx model as performance seemed to be more consistant and access times faster. the testing you have been doin .. was it on a core series or other ocz drive?

[samsc]

the drive you specified in ur last post is a core series drive.. the one I purchased is the 1s32 .. as opposed to a 1cxx model as performance seemed to be more consistant and access times faster. the testing you have been doin .. was it on a core series or other ocz drive?

i have only tested the 1c series.
i dont know about the 1s drives.
1s capacity maximum seems to be 64GB.
1C capacity is 128GB.

its not possible to determine performance from benchmarks.
they need testing with lots of layers.

[Improve]

128GB OCZ gives best value for money at the moment - and a lot cheaper than ram. OCZSSD2-1C128G $377 on amazon.com.
at this price anyone with scsi should buy one tomorow.

Does this 2,5" disk fits anywhere nicely into a MACPRO using the HD cradle??

[samsc]

Does this 2,5" disk fits anywhere nicely into a MACPRO using the HD cradle??

you have to buy an adaptor

http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_id=180

... ignore the velociraptor - i tested one - its slower than a normal sata drive.

[SourceChild]

which benchmark?

I am referring to the benchmarks on the dvnation.com website. He's taken and run read and write statistic for SSD disks which are relatively thorough.

[samsc]

I am referring to the benchmarks on the dvnation.com website. He's taken and run read and write statistic for SSD disks which are relatively thorough.

unfortunately every single one of these benchmarks is useless for indicating performance in catalyst -
headline read tests with sequential read data are irrelevant to performance in catalyst.

there is one that is slightly useful - and shows the access times-
http://www.dvnation.com/benchmark-4.html

other than that - these benchmarks are all misleading.

Catalyst is a random access program - where random seek times and seek latencies with multiple layers and multiple files at the same time are the critical factors - not headline single file data rates.

Catalyst has its own built in performance tests- which test up to 16 layers - on different files - these are the ones that count.
attached are files for mtron and ocz drives on same systems showing catalyst performance graph with latency indication.
mtron ssd can do 350 fps at 720x576 AIC
ocz ssd can do around 300 fps at 720x576 AIC.
if you want to indicate performance - you need to buy the drive and test it on your system.