Which is the best caldigit raid for prores 4444 within my budget.
by adrian califf
on
Oct 15, 2009 at 11:17:04 pm
Hi all I hope someone can help me with this I am looking to buy a caldigit raid quite quickly to
playback prores 4444 footage (appox 2048x1152 lines) that was shot on a RED one camera. My current supplier has sold me a 12tb jbod with atto raid card but the noise being generated by this thing is unbelievable! I'm used to being around raids such as avid videoraids, unity, xserve etc but this thing is like having a vaccum cleaner next to you in the edit suite, my sound meter registered it at 70db.
Anyway I am based in the uk and looking to spend around 4-4.5 thousand pounds which seems to put me
in the price bracket for either a HDONE 8TB or a HDPRO 5TB. The extra capicity isn't essential (but it would be nice) if it means the raid can handle prores 4444 with no probs. Also I would like to be able to put the raid in the edit suite with me and still be able to cut dialogue!.
If thats not possible then I could possibly drill a hole in my wall and put the raid on the other side but if I do that aren't I restricted by mini sas cable length?. Is it possible to get a reliable mini sas connection with a cable longer than 1 metre?.
I would really apreciate any advise anyone can offer. :)
Re: Which is the best caldigit raid for prores 4444 within my budget. by Jared Picune on Oct 15, 2009 at 11:42:35 pm
The HDPro and HDOne have very similar performance. The HDPro will give you the top-of-the-line features, and provide the quietest array. The HDOne is very quite too. I find most Mac Pros are nosier than these units.
As far as playback, the HDPro and HDOne will do about 440MB/s sustained with RAID 5 protection.
ProRes 4x4 playback will not be an issue for these guys at all.
The HDPro and HDOne do not use mini-SAS, but rather external PCIe. CalDigit does offer a longer cable option if you need it. I think you'll be very satisfy with the noise level though. Frankly compared to many of the rack mounted arrays like the XServer RAID, it's night and day.
Short story. Was helping with an install, where they had an HDPro and older XServe RAID. We got the HDPro up and running and then hand gone to another floor of the building. All of a sudden we heard a sound like someone was vacuuming on the ceiling. We went outside to look, but it turns out the XServe RAID was turned on on the floor below us.
Don't hesitate to ask if you have any additional questions.
Re: Which is the best caldigit raid for prores 4444 within my budget. by adrian califf on Oct 16, 2009 at 12:23:32 am
Many thanks thats very helpful and good news about prores 4x4, one other question
if I buy the HDPRO 5TB are there spare slots in the raid so I can upgrade the capacity
or does that 5tb use every slot?.
Anyway it looks like I'm gonna be sending this jbod back to the supplier, I don't suppose
anyone can advise me on my rights as a consumer if the seller says I have to buy the jbod,
they did not tell me when I agreed to buy it that it was so noisy it would have to be put in an insulated rack in another room..
Re: Which is the best caldigit raid for prores 4444 within my budget. by Jared Picune on Oct 16, 2009 at 1:12:15 am
The smallest HDPro that we are shipping currently is 8TB. The drives 640GB drives, which were used in the 5TB version are no longer made, although some resellers might still have some stock.
Re: Which is the best caldigit raid for prores 4444 within my budget. by Alan Okey on Oct 22, 2009 at 7:35:55 pm
[Jared Picune]"The HDPro will give you the top-of-the-line features, and provide the quietest array. The HDOne is very quite too. I find most Mac Pros are nosier than these units. "
Jared, is this only true if your HDPro has the optional second power supply installed? I only have one power supply in my HDPro and it's easily twice as loud as my Mac Pro. Just curious.
Re: Which is the best caldigit raid for prores 4444 within my budget. by Jared Picune on Oct 22, 2009 at 8:12:34 pm
A second power supply will add another fan, which will increase the noise level a little, so not that is not the case. Of course I can't speak for every Mac tower, but that is the case in my experience.
I appreciate you calling me out on this, but the HDPro is remarkably quit when compared to many other arrays. It is in no way silent, and I'm not claiming that it is. If you read the HDPro review I wrote a couple years ago, you see that I was impressed by how quite the unit was compare to the noisy XServe RAID that I used for years.
Re: Which is the best caldigit raid for prores 4444 within my budget. by Alan Okey on Oct 22, 2009 at 10:06:09 pm
[Jared Picune]"A second power supply will add another fan, which will increase the noise level a little, so not that is not the case."
Actually, Jon Schilling has previously told me that adding a second power supply makes the first power supply fan spin at a lower RPM (load balancing), which is why I thought that might be what you were referring to. Yes, adding a second PS adds a fan, but which is perceived as louder: one fan at a higher RPM, or two at a lower RPM? I don't know.
[Jared Picune]"I appreciate you calling me out on this, but the HDPro is remarkably quit when compared to many other arrays. It is in no way silent, and I'm not claiming that it is."
Sorry, I wasn't trying to "call you out," I was just curious if my unit is louder than average. But you're right, compared to some arrays, the HDPro is very quiet. Ever heard a Eurologic FibreShelf? Yikes. Sounds like a jet engine on takeoff. Then again, arrays like that were designed to be put in server room racks, where noise isn't a factor.
