Internal disk as a scratch disk for raw photo editing?

Question

Level 1

32 points

Internal disk as a scratch disk for raw photo editing?

Hello friends,

System: Mac Mini M1 SSD 1TB / 16GB Ram.

I am thinking of using my internal disk as a scratch disk for raw photo editing with various applications (Capture One, Affintiy Photo, DxO Photolab 4). I think about by the end of projects to archive them in an OWC Thunderbay 4 unit + additional external backup.

The internal disk is much faster than the SATA HDDs I have inside the Thunderbay 4 even with Thunderbolt 3.

Doubts:

1.

Is it a good idea to use the operating system disk as a scratch disk for the one I describe?

2.

Can it lead to premature wear and tear of the internal disk and then compromise the operating system and require a repair that I foresee on this new Mac M1 is not simple, is not cheap and can not be solved at home as in the past?

3.

If it's a good idea to use this disk as a scratch disk, should I separate the operating system on one volume and the rest of the disk space on another volume?

4.

Can this allow me to re-install macOS if necessary, without touching the other volume dedicated for photo editing work, on the same disc?

5.

Lastly; if this SDD is in APFS format, is it better to use Volumes or Partitions?

I look forward to your help; always excellent in this forum, to be able to make the best decision.

Thank you very much.

Stay safe.

Posted on Apr 25, 2021 7:11 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

den.thed

Level 9

77,830 points

Apr 25, 2021 8:32 AM in response to ateliercunha

No
Yes
I wouldn’t with APFS
Perhaps
It will be APFS

IMHO a better plan, would be to use an external SSD as a scratch disk instead of the internal SSD.

For example > https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-drives/OWC-Envoy-Pro

Reply

Answer 2

den.thed

Level 9

77,830 points

Apr 25, 2021 10:07 AM in response to ateliercunha

That M1’s drive is not replaceable like the older Mac’s.
Yes again, the drive is not replaceable like older Mac’s.
Reinstalling macOS could wipe or require wiping the drive.

Reply

Answer 3

ateliercunha Author

Level 1

32 points

Apr 25, 2021 8:54 AM in response to den.thed

Hi.

May I ask "why" for some of your answers? I want to fully understand these issues. And thanks for the suggestion of the external drive.

1.Why?

Does it have to do with your answer to point 2? Can it lead to premature wear and tear of the internal disk?

3.Why?

Thank you very much.

Reply

Answer 4

ateliercunha Author

Level 1

32 points

Apr 25, 2021 11:17 AM in response to den.thed

https://www.owcdigital.com/products/mercury-elite-pro-mini-usb-c

Can this USB-C enclosure with a Samsung 860 EVO SSD (which I already had from my old Mac Pro 5.1), be a viable solution for editing? Thanks.

Reply

Answer 5

Apr 25, 2021 1:29 PM in response to ateliercunha

FWIW, unless you are a pro and working on 100's of photos per session,

5-6 days a week, the Mini might not be the best choice in the first

place, regardless of its architecture.

If you are an advanced amateur and processing 2-3 dozen photos

3 or 4 times a week (like I often do with my M1 MacBook Air also using

PhotoLab 4 and Affinity photo) will not likely have an issue with

the internal. I have been tracking my internal SSD writes (when I

heard of an "excessive write issue"), and I have had my M1 MacBook Air

since the end of November. By very conservative estimates with a low

TBW lifetime (the actual is probably higher), at my current usage, my

estimated SSD life is about 12-14 years (512 GB drive). Long before then, my

MBA will likely be long in tooth and will need to be upgraded anyway.

My cycle seems to be 6-7 years before I deem it is time to send my

computers to the great bit bucket in the sky.

BTW, this is on an 8GB RAM M1 MBA and a good portion of my disk usage

are likely due to memory swapping and as fast as the machine is in general

it isn't even noticeable.

If you are still open to the Mini, you could always get a Thunderbolt/NVMe

based external SSD for a "work in progress" disk. They aren't as fast as the

internal but the are so fast you would not notice a difference. Most

are rated int the 2800 Megabytes/second range.

Reply

Answer 6

ateliercunha Author

Level 1

32 points

Apr 25, 2021 1:36 PM in response to woodmeister50

Thank you very much for your message. Relevant information. For now I will see if the enclosure + SSD solution works well according to my needs. I will also test editing from the internal disk to compare. Of course, Thunderbolt / NVMe disks are always an option .-)

Reply

Answer 7

Apr 26, 2021 4:03 AM in response to ateliercunha

ateliercunha wrote:

Thank you very much for your message. Relevant information. For now I will see if the enclosure + SSD solution works well according to my needs. I will also test editing from the internal disk to compare. Of course, Thunderbolt / NVMe disks are always an option .-)

If you are going with the 16GB, then you will not have the

memory swapping writes like I have and thus reduce disk writes

further. On one other note, the larger the SSD, generally the

longer its life time.

Also, unless you are working with multi gigabyte images, the actual

image editing writes are not all that large.

Reply