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Considering a new PC for Stacking/Image Processing

Siril Team Siril Equipment Stacking Processing
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peng155 avatar
peng155 avatar
Hello Folks,

I'm thinking about getting a new PC to stack and process my astro images… I currently do all of my work on
a M2 Mac mini, 8GB Ram, 256GB SSD, and another 500GB external drive….. Now I'm thinking of getting a Mac Studio to work on my astro images (stacking and color processing)

I've started to try new image acquisition settings for my light frames… mainly shorter exposure times (120-240'ish sec), but more frames (80 to 150)… When I last tried to stack around 125'ish lights, 30 darks, Flats, and about 100 biases..

Using Siril to do my stacking…. When I tried to run the OSC_Preprocessing script, it ran fine for a bit and then quit with an error… couldn't figure it out at first, but when I looked at the space avalible info for the HD where the Siril working directory is, I had only maybe 1 or 2 gigs of space avalible… normally I have just a bit over 166Gb avalible…

So obviously storage space has become my latest limiting factor.. going back to my orginal question, Thinking about a new PC, how much SSD storage space should I look at getting installed in the new PC?? Another thought I had was to get a NAS… can I use a NAS as the Siril working directory… a voice in me says 'Yes' but I suspect that the processing would take a big hit, and be as slow as molasses

thanks
Sean Mc avatar
Sean Mc avatar
Just get an external ssd, or 3 smile

i use a portable gen 3.2 and move it between the scope and computer. Another 2 gig usb 3.2 plugged into the computer for storing stuff and processing. Plenty fast.
peng155 avatar
peng155 avatar
Sean Mc:
Just get an external ssd, or 3

i use a portable gen 3.2 and move it between the scope and computer. Another 2 gig usb 3.2 plugged into the computer for storing stuff and processing. Plenty fast.

Sean,

Do you use the external as the working directory, or put another way... Can I use the external as the Siril working directory?? if so, then Yeah... I'll do that all day long!!
That would be much cheaper then geting a new Mac, but I was sort of hoping for a vaild excuse to get a Mac studio

Thanks
Oscar avatar
Oscar avatar
external HDD

even though they're slightly more fragile, they last longer
Sean Mc avatar
Sean Mc avatar
I use one as a working directory, one for swap, and one that I move around.  USB 3.2 gen 2 has lots of bandwidth. Using all 3 at the same time might not be the absolute fastest combination possible, but it’s cost effective, and plenty fast.
peng155 avatar
peng155 avatar
Sean Mc:
I use one as a working directory, one for swap, and one that I move around.  USB 3.2 gen 2 has lots of bandwidth. Using all 3 at the same time might not be the absolute fastest combination possible, but it’s cost effective, and plenty fast.

Excellant... Thanks, I just need a larger external to act as my working directory for Siril........
Franco Grimoldi avatar
Franco Grimoldi avatar
Don't ever think of using a NAS for a working directory, it's an awful idea. Even with 2.5Gb networking, you would be getting less than 300 megabytes per second of transfer speeds. With an internal NVMe drive you can get easily 10X that speed (I do). Even USB 3.2 Gen2x2 doesn't get near to internal NVMe drives. I got a 2TB Samsung EVO 970 Plus just for this purpose, best purchase ever, and it's not the fastest drive by any means. Using desktop PCs is priceless for these applications, the upgradeability is unparalleled. The 8GB of RAM of the Mac Mini are going to hurt sooner than later…

You might want to consider investing in PixInsight, it's a game changer. I started with Deep Sky Stacker and Siril and truly enjoyed learning the basics with those free tools, then installed a trial license of PixInsight, alongside trial licenses of the RC Astro's tools (BlurX, NoiseX, StarX)… there's no looking back!
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MaksPower avatar
MaksPower avatar
Hi I have a Mac Studio M2 Max, (maxxed-out spec with a couple of external 4TB SSDs (forget the NAS, too slow) and a Studio display). It is quite a powerhouse. I'm using AstroPixel Processor (APP) for stacking,  flats and removing gradients; Pixinsight (with BlurX and NoiseX) and Affinity Photo for final touches.

I also have an M3 MacBook Air which is intriguing because I've seen a specific test involving in-memory integer maths where the M3 Air was quicker than the M2 Studio - and not just a little bit - by a whole factor of 2.

If you want I can give you some real-world numbers (eg stack 10 images from the ASI2600MC in APP, or the time to run BlurX)

One neat aspect is that the silicon Macs can run iOS apps including the ASIAir app, which is useful at times.
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Hannah Rochford avatar
Hannah Rochford avatar
I bought a Mac M2 Max studio, 64GB memory, I 2x drizzled 700 frames from a 2600mm at the weekend and it only took 60 mins. I’m planning on getting some LaCie 10tb D2 hard drives, one master and two back up. I only have 1tb memory on the Mac (regret that haha) and I’d like to have that completely clear for work in progress projects. It’s SO quick though best decision 🤗
NeilM avatar
NeilM avatar
I have an M1 Mac Studio with 32GB ram and I use the internal SSD as my working directory.  Black Magic shows that I have 6500MBps write and 5000MBps read speeds.  I store the final images and other raw data on external drives.  I use Siril and regularly stack hundreds of subs with no problem.
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peng155 avatar
peng155 avatar
Thanks for the comments folks… I decided to go with a new 1Tb extenal SSD for the time being, and I'll probably budget for a new Mac Studio purchase next year…
Marcelof avatar
Marcelof avatar
I am using a Mac mini M1 with 16GB RAM and a 2TB SSD external drive and it is quite fast, but my camera is the 533 mono which produces relatively small frames. I am now waiting for the supposedly imminent release of the new Mac mini M4.
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