Well things have been moving along well with the website revamp on schedule although not much in terms of visual progress, still dealing with the preliminary issues like….
Spry to jQuery JavaScript Framework Conversion
Converting my HTML code and functions from the now defunct Spry JavaScript Framework to the much more widely supported jQuery actually takes me about 40 minutes to convert one page and I have about 200 pages, so I am looking at about a 3 month time-frame given my other obligations. I have designed a template/test page and it all works perfectly with jQuery and the rather restrictive WordPress width of about 630 pixels.
Moving To High Definition Video (AVCHD)
I am planning on purchasing a really nice semi-professional video camera like the Panasonic HC-X900 which is not just for Ricmedia Guitar, there are other projects I have on-the-go that require a camera of this caliber. It also records in 1080p (progressive rather than 1080i interlaced) and AVCHD/h.264 (and even in 3D if I want to purchase a special lens, not likely though). Another reason I want this particular camera is that it has a 3CMOS sensor system so that each color (RGB) has it’s own dedicated sensor. In a nutshell it’s a damn fine camera with all the quality and features I am after, plus I am a bit of a Panasonic die-hard.
This is all fine and dandy until it comes time to edit the HD video on my 6 year old computer….
Building a New Computer for High Definition Video Editing
So way back in 2006 I sold a business (musical instrument accessories with my own brand imported from OS) and managed to get enough to buy a power-house PC to enter into my new life as a web developer, and also create Ricmedia Guitar which is what you see on the homepage and all the other pages. Believe it or not, that computer is still running strong but unfortunately nowhere near strong enough to edit AVCHD video, so I am upgrading to a new PC, and once again designing and building it myself, saving thousands. Let’s go through the specs of old and new just for kicks 🙂
My Old PC Circa 2006
- ASUS P5LD2-DELUXE Motherboard
- Intel Pentium D 930 Dual Core 3.0GHz CPU
- Corsair 4GB DDR2-667MHz RAM Memory
- 3 x Samsung SATA-II 320GB hard drives in a RAID-0 config
- 1 x 1TB Seagate SATA-II hard drive
- Top notch PSU, case, DVDRW, etc
- Windows 7 Pro (Win XP Pro originally)
My New PC
- Intel DX79SR Motherboard (up-gradable to 64GB RAM)
- Intel Core i7 3820 Quad Core CPU with 8 threads
- G.Skill 16GB DDR3-1866MHz RAM Memory
- 2 x Samsung 830 128GB SATA-III SSD’s in a RAID-0 config
- 4 x 320GB Samsung SATA-II hard drives in RAID-5
- LG Blu-Ray burner & DVDRW optical drive
- Corsair case, Ocz PSU, liquid cooled CPU etc
plus….
- 8 Terrabyte NAS server running FreeNAS in RAID-Z
- TP-Link Gigabit switch
- Gigabit network for speedy backups on the NAS server
So as you can see, it is a whopper of an upgrade! Needless to say I am over-the-moon in excitement especially as I am building the whole lot myself (after doing a test install and setup of FreeNAS with brilliant results!).
I am hoping this will keep me running for another 6 years with some upgrades along the way and I know 8 Terabytes sounds like a lot, but considering HD-1080p video is plowing 24MB per second onto the hard drive it won’t take too long to fill it. Each ten minute video is about 15 Gigabytes, plus editing and conversions it works out about 40GB per lesson, and I plan on doing a lot of lessons 🙂
Cheers!
Wow that is one powerful computer you’re building!
Thanks Tim, yes it will enable me to see through time I believe 😛
Very cool Rich!
Thanks Vinny!
Exciting times Rich. Great to see … 🙂
Thanks!
Except for the SSD’s and HDD’s, you are doing with the DX79SR exactly what I want to do:I’m getting 2x Intel 520 180 GB in RAID 1 and 6x WD red 3 TB in RAID 5.(planned) Tell me: did the dual RAID config work out OK for you in that setup?
I’d appreciate any input, thanks!
Hi Guy, I am actually just about to test the dual RAID on my DX79SR mobo today so will report back. If you are going to use RAID-1 or RAID-0 on the Intel 6GBs controller (blue ports) you will need to do the following (please read through before you start):
Cheers!
Richie
Hi again Guy, ok multiple RAID setups confirmed. I setup my OS on the 2x Intel blue 6GBps ports first up in RAID-0, then RAID-5 on the 4x black Intel 3GBps ports, then an additional RAID-0 on the 2x Marvell grey 6GBps ports for video editing and it was works fantastically 🙂
Cheers!
Richie
Hi Richie
I’m excited about your results – so 4 days into it now and I presume that your system is stable? I’m torn between investing in a proper RAID adapter vs. on-board RAID.
Congrats on your Rig!
Guy
Hi Guy, yes mate about 5 days now and absolutely rock solid with the three RAID setups on the Intel DX79SR! very happy all round 🙂
Originally I was also going to install a RAID card but I changed to a NAS/Gigabit setup for bulk storage. The card that I settled on was the LSI MegaRAID SAS 9240-4i which is a 6GBps 4 port RAID card PCI-E x8 with 256MB on-board RAM and really well priced for the features it has, highly recommended btw.
Let me know when you have your rig up-and-running!
Cheers
Richie
Hi Richie
What made you decide to use a NAS over an on-board RAID setup?
I’ve been flirting with the Adaptec 6805, but it’s got a whopper of a price tag which is what led me to the DX79SR in the first place.
Also, how are those Samsung 830’s working out for you? Samsung is the only manufacturer that has no outsourcing for the manufacturing of their SSD’s which makes them unique. Make sure you disable Hibernation within Windows to save some space on your Boot drives!
hi Guy, well I figured for video editing and DCC, I am only working on one project at a time and it would not be more than 100GB max for all files including video, so rather than have a huge RAID-5 array running all the time inside my workstation, I decided to move it to a dedicated NAS server that uses commodity hardware, open source software (FreeNAS running of a CF card) and RAID-Z which is a software RAID with full redundancy. So now I will archive all project files on the NAS and only bring them onto my workstation when needed. It suits my situation but may not suit everyone.
In terms of speed, well I just setup a test NAS server and got 100MBps over my Gigabit network and I am rapt about that! I can also store my entire life on it and share my music, video etc with family using a separate folder share on the network. You should check out FreeNAS and perhaps even set it up on an old PC to test. Don’t worry about the recommended 8GB RAM, I got 100MBps using RAID-Z on 2GB RAM with Gigabit network using CAT6 cabling.
The Adaptec RAID card sounds awesome but yes, pricey.
The Samsung’s have not missed a beat and I have given them a hard time too 🙂 I will say though that the Magician software that came with them will not work on a RAID setup.
Cheers!
Richie