External ESata Raid for Video Editing

[schander]

Hi all,
I recently bought a hd video camcorder :) and now need to edit the footage. However I just don't think my laptops internal 5400rpm disk is up to the task :(. Brief laptop spec is T8100, 4gb ram and 256mg 8400gs (gfx card).
Realistically I know that should be doing the editing on a beefy Quad core but i don't want to spend 600+ on building a desktop.
I'm thinking that i can buy a 2port esata express card like:
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/698/905/-/3471558/Sitecom-XC-041-2-Port-eSATA-Express-Card/Product.html?searchtype=genre

And buying an external 2 drive esata case:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=390058655559
Do the figure look sensible for the speed in raid 0?

For the drives i was thinking about a pair of WD Caviar blacks (640gb 32mb cache) or should i be buying the WD RE3 (750gb 32mb cache) considering that I will be putting the drives in raid 0. I know that I'll be able to use the drive again when I can afford to build a desktop.:(

What do you folks think?

Thanks
Satpal

[valve1138]

Have you tried the internal drive?

And you don't need a RAID setup for consumer HD editing. One external drive would be fine.

[schander]

Have you tried the internal drive?

And you don't need a RAID setup for consumer HD editing. One external drive would be fine.

I have tried the internal drive and the hd just goes mad and i get suttered playback, I think is this down to having the os and videos on the same drive.
I did a hd tune benchmark for my system drive (Hitachi 5400rpm 250gb) and the results were:
Transfer Rate Min 18.2 mb/s, Max 56.6MB/s, Avg 43.2MB/s
Access Time 17.6ms
Brust 67.3MB/s
CPU Usage -1.0%
The graph starts at ~55MB/s and tapers to down to ~27MB/s

I have a external usb drive (Segate 5400rpm 320GB) and the result were:
Transfer Rate Min 19.9 MB/s, Max 33.2MB/s, Avg 28.3MB/s
Access Time 18.4ms
Brust 21.4MB/s
CPU Usage -1.0%
The graph starts at ~25MB/s and is pretty flat with a few peaks (max 33MB/s)

Would you suggest that went with a esata external drive or stick with usb. Could i reuse my 2.5 seagate in and external closure or should I really be getting 7200rpm WD with a big cache?

I just tried playing the same clip in Sony Vegas, one form local hd and one form external usb. Both were jerky the one from the external more so.

Thanks
Satpal

[Zepher]

what video format does your camera use? maybe it's the laptop causing the jerky playback.

[Syntax Error]

Using USB would be an immediate bottleneck for you. eSATA would be preferable, but a lot of laptops don't have that. If you absolutely need the bandwidth of eSATA, an ExpressCard eSATA adapter may be an option.

[schander]

@Zepher My camera is avchd it's a Canon and all my recording are full hd @ 17MB/s I can playback the files using PowerDVD/Windows Media Player fine.

@Syntax Error Yeah i though usb interface was a botle neck aswell. Although it should be given that the figure that i got 33MB/s = 264Mb/s and the USB 2 interface is 480Mb/s (60MB/s)

So this seems to be pointing me towards thinking that a desktop would possible be the best solution, however i just don't have the right now to build a desktop. I think I'll buy the estat expresscard alongwith an external(non raid) 3.5 hd (WD black) and esata case.

Thanks

Satpal

[Syntax Error]

I have never gotten even near USB 2.0's theoretical 480Mbps, so don't count on it. A realistic estimate would be around 30 MB/s.