Playing VSTi's from an external drive

[Vanan]

Here's the situation. Got me a laptop with a 5400rpm IDE drive. Tough luck finding a 7200rpm drive which isn't SATA. Now is it possible to play your VST instruments which are stored in an external drive (using USB 2.0) without sacrificing latency?

I'm upgrading my RAM but it was also suggested to upgrade the speed of my HD. Also, according to my device manager, I have a SATA adapter or something or rather (will have to double check). Does that mean I can replace my IDE drive with a SATA anyways? Clueless about the 2 kinds.

Hoping for a patient soul to help clarify things or at least point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance guys!

[brandondrury]

Tough luck finding a 7200rpm drive which isn't SATA.

I didn't know laptop drives had switched to SATA. I don't keep up with laptop performance much. Now that I checked, it appears you are right.

Now is it possible to play your VST instruments which are stored in an external drive (using USB 2.0) without sacrificing latency?

It shouldn't be a problem. In fact, Native Instruments is selling sample packages which they ship to you on an external hard drive.

Just another thought....

It's never going to provide much bang for the buck to upgrade a laptop. By their design they do not run as fast as equivalent desktops. If you absolutely need portability they are tough to beat, but if critical performance is required you may want to look at desktops out there. You may be surprised.

Brandon

[Vanan]

Thanks for the reply brandon. Sets some things at rest for me. I do realise the limitations of laptops. It's more about the current situation and accessibility for me. Gonna get laid off in a bit so buying another desktop is out of the question.

Now that I mentioned "another desktop", my current desktop is more than capable of handling the requirements but it's running Vista which is incompatible with a few of my samplers. We are considering upgrading to 7 now but it'll a joint decision with the wife, as the desktop was our wedding gift. Enuff said. lol! ;p

Just trying to squeeze the life out of what I have at the moment. Thanks again for clearing things up man! You rock!