Photoshop CS5 scratch disk on a dual disk setup?

[maz-o]

Ok, so I know the scratch disk has been covered a lot, but for my particular setup I'm getting mixed information...

I'll be running OSX and all apps on a 60GB SSD drive, and all my other files on a 7200rpm HDD. Both internal SATA2 on a MBP.

Which of these disks would be better to set up as the scratch disk? Adobe says not the boot disk and other sources say not the disk with the photos on it.

So which will give me the best performance? Thanks!


Bonus question: My 7200 is quite noisy and drain the battery. Will I see a significant decrease in Photoshop or overall performance if I downgrade the storage disk to 5400rpm?

 

[wheezy]

I think the SSD makes most sense. Despite photoshop wanting to run scratch on a separate disc, most laptop users never do this so I imagine Photoshop is still coded to work well with the same scratch as the program. And in your case, even a slightly overworked SSD will outperform the 7200, especially if you're pulling over huge files.

 

[Mr.Noisy]

Personally i'd run 2 partitions on the 7200, one for other files and one for the scratch disk, just my thoughts

 

[Eaton Photos]

Here's my 2¢....

I would suggest partitioning the SSD in half, and using the 2nd Partition for Scratch. The SSD is going to respond faster, than the 7200, and thus your not compromising the disk with all your images on it. At least if the SSD crashes, its just your OS, and you can restore it. Images on the other hand, if not backed up, usually go poof....

From an Image Storage standpoint, downgrading to a 5400 drive, will not be a negative. Slower spinning drives for storage, is more efficient than a higher speed drive, such as the 7200.

 

[firestarter]

I would suggest partitioning the SSD in half, and using the 2nd Partition for Scratch. The SSD is going to respond faster, than the 7200, and thus your not compromising the disk with all your images on it. At least if the SSD crashes, its just your OS, and you can restore it. Images on the other hand, if not backed up, usually go poof....

There's no point in partitioning an SSD.

Partitioning is useful on a HDD, to force files into a 'fast' area of the disk, or prevent fragmentation. Neither are issues for SDD (and the SDD controller effectively ignores partitioning anyway - wear levelling can store a new file in any physical location).