HD setup to optimize Photoshop usage

I am currently planning to build a new PC for myself and would like it to be
optimized for Photoshop usage so would love any help with this from heavy duty
PS users out there. I plan to base it on an Intel P4 3.0Ghz CPU and a
motherboard (Gigabyte 8XNKP) that supports both RAID and SATA (up to 4 drives,
one pair with a Promise controller and one pair with an Intel controller)and
allows RAID usage with SATA drives. I have thought of a few possible options
and would like to get some help with what would be the best setup for PS. Also,
if there is a better choice than these options please let me know also. I am
willing to buy two of the 10000RPM Western Digital SATA drives which,
unfortunately at this point, are only 36 GB in size as well as one larger SATA
drive that would be 7200RPM. I know the 10000 RPM discs are going to be coming
out as 72 GB, but that is not until Nov and at an unknown cost.

Some possibilities I have thought of:

1) Two 10000RPM SATA drives (non-RAID) with the OS and PS on separate
partitions on one of the drives and the scratch disc and other non-PS
applications on the other 10000RPM drive and a third 7200RPM drive for long
term storage of images. In this situation would putting the PS program itself
on the slower of the SATA drives improve performance by putting the OS and PS
and scratch all on physically distinct discs, or do you lose that edge by using
a slower disc?

2) Two 10000RPM SATA drives in a RAID 0 array with the third slower drive as a
non-RAID SATA drive. Arrange the partitions on the RAID discs as in number 1.
In this setup the OS sees the RAID array as one large disc. What I am uncertain
of in this setup is what happens when you partition the RAID system in terms of
the scratch disc. The partition would, as I understand it, span both discs with
writing of files to both discs essentially simultaneously. So ,in a sense, part
of PS, the OS and the scratch discs will physically reside in part on both
discs. Does that negate the benefit you get from having physically different
discs for the PS program and the scratch disc? I suppose that conceivably I
could set up 2 distinct RAID 0 arrays as the board has two chips that each
control a pair of SATA drives and that I could have 2 RAID 0 arrays with PS and
OS on one and scratch and apps and files on the other...but then things start
to get complicated! (especially for a first time computer builder).

So with all options being open what is the best way to configure a system to
optimise Photoshop??? It does get confusing!

On 30 Sep 2003 23:59:19 GMT, (HMSDOC) wrote:


So with all options being open what is the best way to configure a system to
optimise Photoshop??? It does get confusing!

? Apple's new dual G5 Mac. ;-)
It's even silent.

(Sorry for being flip, couldn't resist it)

How large scratch drives do you work up?


ancra

Can make it as large as I wanted. I am starting to think that RAID is not
going to be for me. Would putting the PS program, the scratch disc and OS on
three physically different discs improve performance compared with the OS and
PS program being on one disc and the scratch on a second disc? If so, would
putting the PS program on a 7200 RPM disc and having the other two discs be
10000RPM be much worse than having all 3 discs be 10000RPM?

Thanks.

Howard