page file and scratch disks

[jackfalbey]

Okay, I have the OS and all NLE software on the C:/ drive. I have a RAID0 (labeled G:/) drive exclusively for video files. I have a WD My Book external HDD for Acronis backups.

Which drive would be the best place for the Windows page file and for the Adobe scratch disks? I'm looking for best performance when rendering and encoding.

Thanks for any advice.

[Bob]

I would leave the Windows page file on the default C:\ drive. I would not place the page file either whole or in part on dedicated video drive (G:\), to do so would adversely impact performance.

The NLE scratch disks can reside on the G: drive. Scratch files are project specific. I have my Premiere Elements 3.0 set up to use the "Same as Project" option. This places the scratch files in sub folders within the same folder as the project files. I find this easier to manage and it keeps them off the C:\ drive (which you want to do, other activity on the C:\ drive will impact performance).

You can archive finished projects to the backup drive.

[Chuck Engels]

I completely agree with Bob

[Bobby]

The critical thing in any multi-stage job such as NLE editing is to ping-pong your data. That means the input to one process should be on a different drive as the output. This keeps the head movement to a minimum and head movement is the slowest factor affecting system performance. Adding to that is to keep other tasks from accessing the drive during that time - that is why you don't want (for example) the paging file on the same drive.

Since you didn't mention what editor you are using, it's hard to comment further.

[Chuck Engels]

But Jack does mention the 'Adobe Scratch Disks', so I can only assume it would be Premiere Elements.

[jackfalbey]

I'm using PE3.0. Thanks for the advice, guys. I have heard that moving the page file off of the system drive is a big performance booster, but I do understand the issue with putting it on the video drive. Would it be worth it to get another internal (yes I do have 1 more open bay and SATA port), say an 80 gig for about $40, and use it for the page file and scratch disks, or would the performance boost be minimal?

[Chuck Engels]

You really want to keep your scratch discs in the same location as your project, easier to delete when you are finished. And putting the scratch discs and the page file on the same drive will defeat the purpose.

Having a dedicated drive for the page file is a good idea but won't increase performance much. If you are going to add a drive you might as well add a good size. You can get a 500gb internal SATA drive for $100, then you can at least use it for the page file and backups.

[Bobby]

My setup:

1) 2GB of RAM - NO paging file - this has NEVER been a problem with 2GB of RAM for me, even running many open programs at the same time. I usually run PE3, ThumbsPlus, Audacity, Word, and Windows Explorer in my standard editing setup.

2) Capture Video, Capture Audio, Media Cache all in the project on C:. These are fairly low intensity after capture. And you want to keep the capture files in the project anyhow. Delete the Media Cache folder in its entirety when done with the project.

3) Video Preview, Audio Preview, and DVD Encoding on a second HD (Q). BTW, C: is SATA and Q: is PATA, giving even further separation. I let these pile up and delete once in a while.

4) When I output a DVD image, it is placed on C:

So, the project starts in C, any temporary files active during DVD creation are written from C to Q, and then the PE3 writes the final output from Q to C. I then cut the DVD from C using Nero.

[Bob]

I have heard that moving the page file off of the system drive is a big performance booster ... Would it be worth it to get another internal ... and use it for the page file and scratch disks, or would the performance boost be minimal?

It's only a big performance booster if your system is doing a lot of paging. With 4GB RAM, your paging probably isn't going to be much of an issue. You might not see a boost at all. If you go ahead and get another internal drive for paging purposes anyway, definitely don't put the Premiere scratch files there. Also, be sure to defragment your drives regularly.