How to setup lightroom on a 27" imac? Fusion? External SSD?

[zalle]

Hi,

I'm using a 2017 27" iMac. It has a fusion drive (write speed 900MB/s, Read speed 1400MB/s).

I currently have my files + Lightroom Catalog + Cache on an external SSD (write speed 420MB/s, Write speed 420MB/s).

Would my system (Lightroom) be faster if I used the internal fusion drive? What should I put there? Files? Catalog? Cache? Nothing?

I would probably be better off using a NVMe M2... Correct? Never used one. What speeds could I expect using one of those?

Thanks

 

[gilby101]

Hi,

I'm using a 2017 27" iMac. It has a fusion drive (write speed 900MB/s, Write speed 1400MB/s).

I currently have my files + Lightroom Catalog + Cache on an external SSD (write speed 420MB/s, Write speed 420MB/s).

Would my system (Lightroom) be faster if I used the internal fusion drive? What should I put there? Files? Catalog? Cache? Nothing?

I would probably be better off using a NVMe M2... Correct? Never used one. What speeds could I expect using one of those?

Thanks

General advice (ask elsewhere for specific device recommendations):

Put your LR catalog and cache on the fastest disk. Photos less critical.

An NVMe in a Thunderbolt 3 enclosure would be faster than your Fusion Drive or your external SSD. More than 2 GByte/s if you don't go for the cheapest. You could put macOS, apps, etc. as well as LR catalog on it.