MartyM Loc: Monroe, NC

Hi
I have a 2019 IMac 27" I5 with a 2TB fusion drive and 40GB RAM. I seem to have a longer than expected delay in going from LR Classic to PS 2019, both updated to latest versions. Also, delays when using some bruh functions. I can purchase 2X 16GB to replace the 2X 8GB and have a total of 64GB. I have already replace two slots with 2x 16GB. The cost of this is approximately $200.00, and I can install this myself.
I have a 2TB fusion drive. To replace this with a 2TB SSD would cost approximately $300.00 and whatever is the cost to have a pro install it. I will not attempt to do this myself! Is there a possibility that I do not have the "fusion" portion of the drive appropriately set up for this handoff between the two programs?
My goal is to get more performance, at least preceived performance, in LR and PS.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks
Marty
PS. I do not work on any video files, if that makes any difference.

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

LR/PS can be a memory hog if the memory is there. The concerns you voiced are best addressed with more memory.

charlienow Loc: Hershey, PA

Watching for reply’s

Steve Perry Loc: Sylvania, Ohio

First, you need to see if memory is the problem. Launch the Activity Monitor and check out the memory tab. If it's maxed out while using LR & PS, you need more RAM. Otherwise, it may be an issue elsewhere (not really sure if it's a fusion drive issue).

MartyM Loc: Monroe, NC

Thanks for your reply CPR. I am hoping that is the cure as it is also the easiest and least expensive fix!

MartyM Loc: Monroe, NC

I'll give that a look!. Thanks

sbohne

CPR is correct. However, you will see a huge improvement in performance by using a SEPARATE SCRATCH DISK. Don't replace your current drive, at least not yet. Purchase a small SSD drive: 64 or 128 GB is plenty. A quick look at eBay shows a NEW SanDisk 128Gb selling for 15-20 dollars. Use that drive ONLY for a scratch drive; not for any other user. See if that doesn't speed things up.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

A lot of your delay may be due to the apps being used most often.

The SSD of the fusion drive is small. A 2 TB fusion drive consists of a 2 TB spinning drive plus a 128 GB SSD. OS X manages what goes on the SSD portion based on how often the files are accessed, so basically the OS along with apps and files used often are placed on the SSD portion.

If you have a lot of data/apps that end up filling up the SSD portion then some apps of course have to be loaded from the spinning drive, causing a slight delay. A careful look at what your Mac is accessing normally will determine what can be on the SSD portion much of the time.

You can do some speed testing by using a free app from BlackMagic that at least puts numbers to your system to compare fusion drive speed vs spinning drives (external)

https://ccm.net/download/download-23008-blackmagic-disk-speed-test

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

From my understanding the 2019 fusion drive only has 24GB of flash memory. Nearly 19GB goes to the OS. I would think switching to a decent sized SSD for all programs, the catalog and the OS would speed things up quite a bit.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Which i5 cpu do you run?
What do you consider "longer than expected"?
Which brush functions in which software are you considering?

These are some applications you can use to test your system's performance.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/mac-benchmark-apps/

It will also help identify non-hardware related performance issues.

It could also be a case of expecting workstation performance from a desktop computer. Though with 40 gb ram and a six core cpu, even without hyperthreading, you should be doing fine.

The fusion drive is a mixed bag. If your software and data are loaded in the drive's cache, it will be as fast as an SSD drive. At other times, it's just a cheap, really slow 5400 rpm mechanical drive. The bad thing is that, depending on your fusion drive, it could only be 24 GB or 128 GB, which means that between the operating system, program(s) and data, a lot of the time you will be using that awful 5400 rpm drive. I would likely upgrade the drive to a 1 TB SSD, and purchase a big (4TB or bigger) separate mechanical data drive to use externally, with either a Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.1 interface. I prefer drives that are data center or enterprise class drives with 5 yr warranties. WD Re drives (not the Reds which are slower) or the HGST Ultrastar drives would be my recommendation. Avoid getting the prepackaged multi-TB drives that you can get for around $100-$120 - they are junk and not likely to last past their 1 or 2 yr warranties. You can purchase USB 3.1 or Thunderbolt (harder to find but places like Newegg sells them) enclosures and install your drive in a matter of 3-5 mins.

Photoshop likes to have a fast, dedicated scratch disk, but more ram will minimize the need/benefit of a large, dedicated scratch disk. Lightroom is ok with as little as 8 gb ram but 16 is a little better. A pair of fast drives, one for program and catalog and the other for data, will speed things up a bit, as will an 6 to 8 core hyperthreaded cpu, preferably one that can be slightly overclocked - if that is possible on an iMac.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

You should have enough RAM already. 64 would allow you to keep more apps running, but 16 is usually enough for Lightroom or Photoshop unless your files are huge PSBs.

The SSD IS a big help. I had an 8 GB Late 2013 iMac with a 1TB 5400 RPM hard drive and Core i5. It crawled. So last December, I swapped the RAM for 16GB and the drive for a 2TB SSD. OWC provided tools, parts, and instructional video. It was a tricky three hour chore, but the computer SCREAMS compared to its stock state.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Is that a recent change? a 1 TB fusion consisted of a 1 TB spinning drive + a 24 GB SSD... a 2 TB fusion was a 2 TB spinning plus a 128 GB SSD, and a 3 TB Fusion was a 3 TB spinning plus a 128 GB SSD...

My internal fusion drive tops out at 2.12 TB of space - 2 TB spinning and 121 GB of SSD (usable space)

While 128 GB is not big, it is enough to hold my OS, plus almost all of my apps that get used frequently and Black Magic shows that it is pretty snappy.

That being said - my next iMac will be at least a 512 SSD internal - that will hold all my apps plus my OS with about 256GB of free space. My images and data are stored on externals.

Fusion Drive Speed Test


External TB Duo green drives

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

I thought the OP said they had the 1T. When the fusion dive was first out (I think for maybe only one year) you could get a larger flash drive with 1T.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

Yes, you are correct, and with a 1 TB the SSD part is pretty paltry.

OS X does make it pretty easy to create a new Fusion drive by adding an external via either eSATA, Thunderbolt or USB 3.x and allow a larger SSD portion without opening up the iMac. I did this on an older non fusion iMac by adding a 256 GB SSD thru the Thunderbolt port and merging the two drives into a Fusion drive... boot time and disk performance was radically improved for sure!

It is a command line process, but actually pretty simple to follow and accomplish.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

SSD.