# SSD vs HDD for my photo/video storage



## joms (Jul 14, 2016)

My SOON to be system:
CPU - Intel i7-6800K Broadwell-E (mildly overclocked to 4Ghz)
RAM - 32GB Gskill Ripjaws 4 F4-2666C 15Q-32GRR (red) - 8GBx4pcs
Vcard - Asus Geforce GTX960 (soon to be GTX 1070 or 1080 or 1080Ti)
Mboard - Asus X99 Deluxe USB 3.1
Power Supply - Corsair AX 860i Power Supply
Case - Phanteks Evolv Tempered Glass edition
CPU cooler - Noctua D15s
Monitor - BenQ BL3201PH (4K monitor) 32"
Calibrate - Xrite i1 Display Pro
Windows 10 - 64bit

Drives:
Samsung 850 PRO SSD 512GB - OS/Programs/Cache/Cache database
Samsung 950 PRO SSD M.2 NVM PCI-Express 512GB - Video Project files/Scratch Disk/Catalog/Preview
Western Digital Enterprise Class WD Re+ 6TB - Videos / Photos storage files
Western Digital Black 4TB - Backup

Note: photo size is around 42MB each in RAW format. I use Sony a7rii to take photos.

Questions:
1) If I buy a Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD and place my Photos storage there, would there be a significant speed upgrade when I use Lightroom in the Library tab when I browse through the photos in Grid view and Thumbnail at its largest size? I have 1000+ photos and I want to be able to browse through it a bit fast. Would the speed increase be significant or only minimal since I am already using a Western Digital Black/RE for my photos storage? If the speed increase is in the importation of files only then I am not interested. I want the speed upgrade to be in the browsing of photos in grid view.

2) Would using 1:1 in previews make the browsing in Library/Grid view faster? Or is the previews only if you zoom in? In short, does Lightroom use the 1:1 preview in Library/Grid view/large mode?

Note: I cannot test this yet right now on the system stated above since my system is not yet done. I am still waiting for some parts as they are not yet available here in the Philippines.

Thanks.


----------



## clee01l (Jul 14, 2016)

Welcome to the forum. LR relies upon the Previews folder, then ACR Cache for RAW files and then the Original RAW file in that order. These are the LR elements that I would want on the fastest drive.  Once you have completed the post process, you may have very little use for the original except for the occasional export or print.  Then it is not critical that the original be on the faster drive.  I keep only the most current image files on the fastest buss mounted drive and move older images off to cheaper/slower storage after about three months.    You might give some consideration to a fusion drive (one of the Seagate hybrid drives) that manages your most frequently used file on the SSD portion and files that are not accessed so regularly on the disk portion of the drive. LR will make use of the 1:1 preview if it is available.  but there are times when LR will access the original RGB image file (ACR cache) or create a new one.


----------



## joms (Jul 14, 2016)

Thanks for the reply. 

In this case, what would be the optimum setup for my drives? (A or B or C)?

A)
Samsung 850 PRO SSD (512GB) - OS/Programs/Scratch Disk
Samsung 950 PRO SSD M.2 (512GB) - Video Project files/Disk/Catalog/Preview/Cache/Cache Database
Western Digital Re+ (6TB) - Videos / Photos storage files

B) 
Samsung 850 PRO SSD (512GB) - Programs/Scratch Disk
Samsung 950 PRO SSD M.2 (512GB) - OS/Video Project files/Disk/Catalog/Preview/Cache/Cache Database
Western Digital Re+ (6TB) - Videos / Photos storage files

or my original setup:
C)
Samsung 850 PRO SSD (512GB) - OS/Programs/Cache/Cache database
Samsung 950 PRO SSD M.2 (512GB) - Video Project files/Scratch Disk/Catalog/Preview
Western Digital Re+ (6TB) - Videos / Photos storage files

I plan to give around 50GB for my Lightroom Previews and another 50GB for cache ? How much should I set for scratch disk? Is this the right size?

Thanks.


----------



## Cerianthus (Jul 14, 2016)

I am wondering why you dont want to use the M.2 SSD for the OS and the catalog. I use an samsung 951 m2 ssd (although the AHCI) that connects to the motherboard via a PCIe 3.0 x4 slot. That would be faster then the normal sata connection.


----------



## Jim Wilde (Jul 14, 2016)

It'll probably help to clarify a few things.

In your original post, your focus was very much on browse speed in the Library. In that module, the ACR Cache is not used at all so in that context it's placement won't matter. It is, however, used in the Develop module (but not if you've built Smart Previews), so placing it on any of those 3 drives should be OK (I doubt you'd notice a difference no matter which of the 3 you used).

In Library you will (mainly) use just the catalog and its associated previews cache, so having these on either of the SSDs would be fine. Given a choice, I would have one SSD for OS & Programs, and the other for Catalog and Previews. 

1:1 previews will only be used when you zoom into 1:1, so if you do that a lot then pre-rendering 1:1 previews is a good idea. If you don't zoom into 1:1 very much, then rendering standard-sized previews will suffice (and will be a lot quicker to build)....but make sure you use the "Auto" option for the size of the standard previews. 

The image files themselves will only be used in the Library module if an appropriately-sized preview does not already exist, so one has to be built on the fly, i.e. if you zoom to 1:1 and you haven't pre-built 1:1 previews, there will be a loading delay while the 1:1 preview is built. Again, I doubt you'd notice much (if any) speed difference no matter which of the 3 drives the images are stored on. Personally, I wouldn't waste expensive SSD space with image files, so I would agree with your proposed placement on the WD drive.

What do you mean by "Cache database"?

Finally, you can't "give around 50gb for my Lightroom Previews"...the max size of the preview cache cannot be pre-determined, it will grow as big as it needs to grow and you have limited means of controlling that growth. Obviously if you use 1:1 previews, the cache will be a lot bigger than if you don't (though there are options for controlling how long a 1:1 preview is kept).


----------



## Marc Rochkind (Jul 14, 2016)

My SSD is my C drive, to it holds apps, temporary files, caches or all sorts, and much more. I put the LR catalog (and previews) there as well. Originals, which take up too much space for the SSD, go on a rotating drive. As others have said, I don't think there's much speed improvement to be had from putting originals on the SSD, even if they would fit.

On a Mac, the same arrangement could be had by putting the root on the SSD, and mounting the drive containing the originals as something like /Volumes/Photos.


----------



## Gnits (Jul 14, 2016)

Jim,   Very good summary.

Backups may influence your thinking.  For example,  how do you plan to backup your C drive?

In many ways my setup is similar to your planned scheme.
I keep my C drive for O/S and apps only (SSD).  I have a G drive SSD)  for Catalog and all Adobe caches, previews, etc.   All my data (including images and Outlook email and MyDocs is on my internal P drive ..mechanical).

I mention this because your backup strategy may also be a consideration.

I keep the footprint of my C drive as small as possible..... because I use Macrium Reflect to create a System drive backup (ie I can recover my C drive and the O/S) automatically at 6 am every morning to my P drive. This takes 5 to 8 mins only.
I have Lr set to backup my Catelog also to my P drive.
I have automated Beyond Compare to copy new and modified files from my data drive to my internal backup drive (T...mechanical). Again 5 -10 mins.

Before I start any morning I have an email confirming my backups have been successful.


----------



## joms (Jul 15, 2016)

Thanks again for the replies.

cerianthus - I am not using the 950 for the OS since I want to reserve the space for project files. If I use it for the OS, what gain would I get? If I would only see a fast bootup then I am not interested. However, if it will affect the perfromance of adobe lightroom/photoshop/premiere/after effects then I am very much interested. 
Would it? Thanks.

Jim - you said "Given a choice, I would have one SSD for OS & Programs, and the other for Catalog and Previews.". 

1) Would you put the OS/programs on the 950 or 850?
2) Where would you put the scratch disk?
3) Cache database = im also not sure what this means. I only read a post in another thread in adobe forums wherein someone is asking where to best place the "cache database". Im not sure if its from lightroom/photoshop/premiere or after effects. 
4) I guess I won't really need 1:1 previews as I don't really zoom in 1:1. Maybe "standard" setting would be fine as I only use the Largest Thumbnail size in Grid view. I guess "standard" would already cover this.  

Marc - I will also put my OS/apps/cahces/etc in an SSD. I am just thinking in what SSD to put it in. The faster 950 SSD or the slower 850 Pro SSD. I think im already ok in leaving the photo/video storage files in my Western Digital 6TB Re+ HDD. Thanks. 

Gnits - I plan to backup my photo/video/LR catalog/files in my WD Black 4TB. I will do this manually since I actually don't have that much photos compared to you guys as I am only a hobbyist. Another backup goes to my external HD which I take home and copy to my home computer.


----------



## Gnits (Jul 15, 2016)

If you are going to a lot of effort to build a system then make it easy to recover from a crash of your C drive. 

1. Go to the effort to create a Recovery Drive on a USB fob drive. This is not a copy of your C drive, just enough to get your Pc to be able to start to recover.  I have one created and gaffer taped to the side of my Pc so i always know where it is.
2. Learn how to do a system image backup.  You can do this from your C drive to any of your other internal  drives. If you keep your C drive for windows and apps only then it will take up very little space on your backup drive. This takes 10 to 15 mins for a C drive with windows and apps.






 

With 1) and 2) completed.... you will find it a relatively painless experience to recover your system.

Repeat step 2 after any significant changes .... you can overwrite the previous copy (if you wish) so you are not taking up undue space on your backup drive. 


Microsoft should make this an easier process to find,rather than buried in layers of menus.... but it is simple and it works.  I have automated step 2 (with Macrium) so it happens automatically every morning for me.


----------



## Jim Wilde (Jul 15, 2016)

joms said:


> Jim - you said "Given a choice, I would have one SSD for OS & Programs, and the other for Catalog and Previews.".
> 
> 1) Would you put the OS/programs on the 950 or 850?
> 2) Where would you put the scratch disk?
> ...



1. Probably on the fastest of the two. 
2. I've never paid much attention to that, as I'm not a heavy Photoshop user. Currently on my Mac it's specified for the internal SSD, but as it's easily changed from one drive to another, it would be easy enough to experiment to find the best option.
3. Possibly that referred to the Library Previews cache, which indeed is a form of database.
4. Sure, if you don't zoom to 1:1 then you won't need 1:1 previews. I assume you also view images in the Loupe using Fit or Fill viewing modes, in which case Standard-sized previews would be good enough for that provided they are big enough (see my earlier comment about using the "Auto" size option in the Catalog Settings).


----------



## tspear (Jul 16, 2016)

Most mother boards with Intel chipsets now support Smart Response Technology (I think that was the name). Basically this is Intel's answer to the Apple Fusion drive.
Use the 850 (as the slower of the two SSDs) for the OS, Scratch and Programs.
Then use SRT to have the 950 cache the WD drive. Place all catalogs, photos, everything there. 
The SSD then acts as a 512GB cache of the HDD. Based on normal usage, the files which are not accessed are migrated off the SSD to the HDD, and you do not have to do anything. It all happens behind the scenes for you.
I have setup a few servers like this, works great. When I get a new computer, this is the basic setup I am going to pursue.


----------

