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Need advice on setting up a new iMac

simonclivehughes

Active member
I have just ordered a new 27" iMac with the following options:

2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB
2TB Serial ATA Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive
Magic Mouse + Magic Trackpad
Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (English) & User's Guide
AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac

I'd like some feedback on how best to set the machine up for CS5/Final Cut Studio/Aperture/Logic Studio.

I haven't used a solid state drive (SSD) before but my initial thought is to load the OS and the programs onto the SSD and put all the space-intensive supporting files onto the 2TB drive.

I'm also thinking I should partition the 2TB drive so I have a specific disk for CS5 scratch etc. How much will I need?

BTW, I have external FW/USB drives I use for Time Machine and media file storage.

What do you think?

Also, what do you recommend about the install of the programs WRT specifying the destination of the support files (to a different drive). I don't remember if this can be specified during the install or if it has to be done manually later.

Is there a recommended directory structure for the SSD/non SSD in a case like this?

Any other advice would really be appreciated. Now I just have to wait for it to arrive (from China)!

Cheers,
 

LJL

New member
Simon,
Sounds like you are more than prepared to do some heavy lifting work. Great set-up. I think you will be amazed at how great things look, and how fast stuff gets done.

Not sure how much help I can offer, but will take a shot anyway ;-) Putting the OS and the apps onto the SSD is the smart way to go. That will have them start almost instantly, and when you are accessing data files, you will not be interfering with seek and read times for loading stuff from the SSD, only the HDD. I would also consider a couple of scratch partitions on the 2TB drive. One for CS5, as you mentioned. (There is a way to calculate how big to make it for best use/least wasted space. Jack or somebody else may know the formula.) I would also plan a scratch area for Final Cut Pro, since it uses either a designated scratch, or the main drive if not specified while it is doing rendering and things. However, with the amount of RAM you are loading in, not sure much will ever get to scratch. Reasons for putting scratch stuff on the internal 2TB drive is to be able to maximize speed of that SATA connection for swapping stuff in and out. When you set up FCP, it will ask you about a scratch area location, as well as storage and loading preferences. Aperture will not care where you put things, so I would stick with storing copies of your originals (RAWs) on an external FW800 drive if you can, and then import these referenced files into Aperture. That way, you will also have a separate place that is easy to access the same files with Bridge/PS, and other apps that you might use for special processing. As mentioned in some other threads on Aperture, you can set up different Libraries, and keep those on your main 2TB drive. Check your settings, to have Aperture create the preview size and resolution you wish. Also suggest turning off Face Recognition, unless you are prepared for some long processing times.

Not sure how Logic Studio handles its sources versus working files, and if it needs scratch area also. If it does, again, I would consider that being on the internal HDD also, for fastest swapping.

Now if you do not have tons of files, you may want them on your internal HDD also, as it will load things quickly. I would think, however, about using it for working projects and then move them off to external storage once you are finished with them to keep disk space available. Just be aware that if you are using the internal drive for scratch and file use at the same time, things will be slowed a bit for the various read/write head shifts for data access. That is why the suggestion to put data onto external drives accessed via FW800 for next fastest throughputs. Just a thought.

As far as a directory structure for the SSD....nothing to worry about. The OS will manage it and you need not worry about it. The apps and OS are not going to take up all of the SSD drive space, so after monitoring it for a bit to see how much is vacant, you may consider moving a scratch file to part of it, as that will speed things up a lot. Something like the I/O intensive Final Cut Pro may be a candidate. I would just keep other stuff like your iTunes Library and stuff on the 2TB drive in a data partition, or just part of its file structure.

Not sure it any of this helps, but it sounds like you have quite a machine coming, and one that will serve you well for some time and a lot of intensive use. Congrats!

LJ
 

simonclivehughes

Active member
LJ,

Thanks so much for the feedback, that's just what I was looking for. Hopefully others will chime in with other suggestions too.

One thing I'd also like some advice on is a color profiling system. I'll be using the iMac as my primary display and my Sony 23" Sony SDM-P234/B monitor as a secondary. Up until now, I've only used the Adobe Gamma for setting up. I've also got an Epson R2400 I need to get running again. Do the color cal devices also work to profile the printer too?

Cheers,
 

LJL

New member
Simon,
I use the X-rite Eye One Display-2 puck and Eye-One Match software for calibrating my laptop and desktop monitors. There are provisions and other hardware for calibrating printers, but I do not need nor use it, as I use a RIP on my Epson 7800 printer, and the profiles built by ImagePrint. They have been outstanding for every different kind of paper, canvas, film or fabric that I have used. I know that does not help you much, but there are tools to profile you printer and paper....things like the ColorMunki by X-Rite. But there is something else on the horizon that looks interesting also ( http://www.xrite.com/custom_page.aspx?PageID=156 ). Others here should be able to help walk you through some printer profiles and stuff, but it will be important to get you monitors calibrated correctly first. Interestingly, I find that the color profile shipping with things like the new MacBook Pro are pretty close, with only minor tweaks in brightness and maybe a bit less blue needed from the new LED panels. They are pretty good looking. Matching older monitors is a bit harder. I have a few older Dells that are still good, but keep drifting a bit, and I am having a hard time getting them to match my laptop....close enough, but not quite the same. Good luck with the Sony. I have almost relegated my older monitors to just handling pallets and for browser work or email reading, and not for critical color work.....except during their "shining hours" between warming up and before they start to drift too much....LOL ;-)

LJ
 

simonclivehughes

Active member
LJ,

Thanks for the input. The Sony monitor will be more for overflow: palettes etc, as you suggested. I'll also use it with my music software for more screen real estate, but that doesn't require any color profiling.

Ciao,
 

simonclivehughes

Active member
Here's another question for the gurus... For a new install like this, especially with using the SSD, should I install everything from scratch or try to import the apps etc from a Time Machine backup of my existing MBP?

Cheers,
 
Last edited:

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Simon,

Do yourself a favor and DL a program called Carbon Copy Cloner. With it, you can make an identical bootable copy of your running OS to the SSD. Once you've done that, you simply change boot drive in prefs to the SSD. Way faster than starting fresh and way faster than recreating it from TM.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
FWIW, I am pretty sure your box will come with the OS already on the SSD...
 

simonclivehughes

Active member
Jack,

Thanks for chiming in! Yeah, I'm sure the OS will be on the SSD too. WRT what you suggest (CCC), I want to make sure I don't copy too much or miss out on supporting files I'll need. What directories on my existing MBP do I need to clone? Currently I'm at about 276GB on my 500GB MBP drive. Obviously it won't all fit on the SSD.

I'm guessing that I don't transfer the following:

Documents, Music, Videos etc

and that I do transfer:

Apps, Library, Users etc.

Any quick advice on this aspect of it?

I would think if I do transfer files this way that I'll then have to go in and manually move things like the Apple Loops in FCS and Logic etc, to the HDD.

Also, if we assume that the OS is on the SSD, do I need to do the CCC thing at all? Could I just connect the iMac to my MBP via Firewire and transfer the files that way?

Apologies for all the questions, but I'd like to do this right and with a minimum of time, and I sure appreciate your expertise!
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I put my Itunes library on my spinning drive so the SSD is clear. Really all you want are apps. All images somewhere else and documents depending how much space you are using put them on the spinner. I use a two drive setup on my MBP a 200gb SSD drive and a 500 gb spinner drive.( removed the optical) . For me i take about 75 gbs of space on the SSD drive with the OS and apps. Everything of MINE is on the spinner. So maybe look at things that way. Whatever you create put on the spinner
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Jack,

Thanks for chiming in! Yeah, I'm sure the OS will be on the SSD too. WRT what you suggest (CCC), I want to make sure I don't copy too much or miss out on supporting files I'll need. What directories on my existing MBP do I need to clone? Currently I'm at about 276GB on my 500GB MBP drive. Obviously it won't all fit on the SSD.

I'm guessing that I don't transfer the following:

Documents, Music, Videos etc

and that I do transfer:

Apps, Library, Users etc.

Any quick advice on this aspect of it?

I would think if I do transfer files this way that I'll then have to go in and manually move things like the Apple Loops in FCS and Logic etc, to the HDD.

Also, if we assume that the OS is on the SSD, do I need to do the CCC thing at all? Could I just connect the iMac to my MBP via Firewire and transfer the files that way?

Apologies for all the questions, but I'd like to do this right and with a minimum of time, and I sure appreciate your expertise!
Safest bet is to clone the entire OS initially. Then delete or move what you don't want on it. The big storage suck folders are iTunes, Photos and Documents, and to a lesser degree Downloads and Trash if you don't empty them regularly. Email attachments are another thing to look at. After that, there are some programs that use a lot of memory that you may never need -- Apple's "Garage Band" is one example for me. There are some 2G of sound files associated with it, and I cannot recall my ever launching it.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I removed garage band myself and I keep the 10gbs of music on the spinner . So like Jack said there are some tricks here and some real culprits that just suck space. Also watch Iphoto, I regularly clean that out. Seriously you almost have to be a clean fanatic here when using smaller SSD drives. I constantly am looking for junk to dump and keep the SSD clean as possible
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
>Everything of MINE is on the spinner. So maybe look at things that way. Whatever you create put on the spinner

It is always a good idea to have the OS on a disk by itself.

Do not forget about Backup:

http://www.outbackphoto.com/CONTENT_2007_01/section_Backup_ArchivalForPhotographers/20080422_backupBigPicture/index.html
Yes I also put my 500gb spinning drive in three partitions . One is a 100gb OS backup and I use CCC all the time to update it. If all goes bad i have a bootable drive on the spinner if needed.
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
>One is a 100gb OS backup and I use CCC all the time to update it. If all goes bad i have a bootable drive on the spinner if needed.

My OS gets a backup automatically every day. I use SuperDuper.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Yes superduper is also a great program . The only two out there I trust for sure.


I can't recommend highly enough is to have a bootable backup on another drive. Especially on a laptop when traveling. All goes to hell in a hand basket I can still save the day.
 

simonclivehughes

Active member
Thanks for all the advice gents. Interesting that none of you mention Time Machine. Do you find TM to be too limiting in what it can do Vs CCC or SD? Or do you also use TM?
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I got rid of it. Honestly if your a backup freak than it almost is meaningless . the other issue it starts half the time when you are right in the middle of something. I like automation but not when i am processing hundreds of images. I like to control my machine. For some it is great but it depends maybe on your organizational skills on a computer. For example many folks just go to town on the computer and never even to bother to empty the trash for months than there the anal retentive ones like me that clean out constantly and backup constantly so there is no need. Time machine in my opinion was made for sloppy computing types. Please no one take offensive to that
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Time Machine requires you reinstall the base OS via DVD, then run all the OS updates, then migrate your user settings from TM -- the entire process takes maybe 2 hours. By contrast, a CCC or SD clone is immediately bootable -- meaning if your main drive goes down, you can simply reboot immediately off the clone.
 
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