Lightroom PC drive usage?

ajf

ajf

ajf

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Would be interested in seeing how Lightroom users here configure drives in terms of cache, catalog, program and image files.

Some articles I have read suggest using seperate drives for cache, catalog and program then just use external (presumably USB) drives for the image files.

I am trying to decide the best drive spec and arrangement for a new PC.
 
When I was looking at the same thing I found that in reality it doesn't seem to make much difference.

Saying that I have Lightroom, my catalogs and cache on my SSD and pictures on their own separate drive.

I would say I noticed a small improvement in load times but nothing jaw dropping.

The biggest improvement you will see is in more RAM and a better CPU.

I wouldn't say don't use a SSD, just don't expect it to be a night and day difference in load times etc.

I wouldn't use external drives for the images, mainly because of the limitation and latency of USB (well I have USB2, maybe USB3 will be better) and I decided a long time ago to get a dedicated hard drive for my images and then just do backups to external drives.

Basically I have:

SSD - Lightroom | cache | catalog(s)

1.5TB drive - images

2x1TB external drives - backups

If you have the space then increase the cache size and alter some settings in that, as well as how you render the previews when importing, IIRC if you choose full previews it will take longer to import and process but then editing will be faster.
 
Oh and if I were you if you don't already then think about splitting your catalogs up. I split mine per year to make them easier to manage but it depends on what you do, possibly for weddings and things you could create a catalog per wedding or shoot, I've used separate catalogs for things like holidays where I've taken a lot of shots, but then I usually merge them in to my year catalogs.

Just helps to keep catalog sizes down which I found helped with performance.
 
I have my OS (Win7) and all Applications on an SSD and Lightroom images, Previews & Catalogue on a separate 1Tb SATA drive. This is backed up internally onto another 1Tb drive and then to an external eSATA drive which is a much faster interface than USB2.

I only have 1 catalogue and I merge all my travel Catalogues into the Master one each time I return. I haven't noticed a huge difference splitting up Catalogues other than its much more difficult to keep track of everything. With one catalogue and good Key wording and Rating it's easy to find all your Coastal Sunsets for example rather than having to quit and search each Catalogue individually.

Biggest improvement was upgrading to an i7 CPU and as much RAM as you can install.
 
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Thanks for the feedback.
I'm still debating the final spec etc so this will help hopefully!

I've read conflicting views about the catalog size so I might do some tests with my existing setup anyway and see if there are distinct differences.

Regarding external storage of images my understanding was because once the initial import is done, most edits are being written to the catalog and cache etc, so there is only a small performance hit from the lower speeds.

I must admit though I couldn't see a specific advantage to using external drives other than maybe different drives for different subjects etc, or security.
 
The main advantage to an external drive is flexibility. You can work on your entire Catalogue (if you wanted to) remotely with your laptop or in the office /home on a desktop. It's not affected by your OS either.

Speed is the main drawback, especially in the Develop Module when the whole RAW image is pulled up. CPU power also helps here but I noticed a huge improvement going from USB2 to FW800 and now SATA2.
 
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