Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Noctilux.95

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 20, 2010
614
433
LA
Hey guys, I'm looking for an external SSD HD to use for my Lightroom library. Something in the 2-TB range. What do you guys recommend and what should I avoid? Thanks!
 

mollyc

macrumors G3
Aug 18, 2016
8,064
50,728
i use seagate ironwolf drives but i think they are nas only. i’ve had good luck with owc branded drives for standalone.
 

kenoh

macrumors 604
Jul 18, 2008
6,507
10,850
Glasgow, UK
If you are looking for a mobile solution for on the go backups, then I have found SanDisk Extremes to be reliable.

For static drives - stay at home - then I would look at 2 drives, one a mirror of the other either in a NAS or direct attached. I have got a pair of Samsung Evo 860 2TB SSDs direct attached and they have been faultless though I think a newer version is available now.

+1 on Ironwolf platter drives in a NAS.
 

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,948
4,884
New Jersey Pine Barrens
Don't use Lightroom, but I have three 2tb Samsung T7's that have been great. One is geodata that I use with GIS software in a Windows VM, it is always connected to my 2018 Mini and gets hammered pretty hard every day. The second T7 is a backup of that, using Carbon Copy Cloner. And the third is a backup of my internal 2tb SSD. Also have three of the old Samsung T3 SSD's. No problems with any of these.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sparksd

Hunter5117

macrumors 6502a
Mar 17, 2010
569
401
I agree with the Samsung T7, I have not used the T5s. I have 4 of the T7s including a 2tb and they are fast, so far flawless and just little jewels.
 

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,948
4,884
New Jersey Pine Barrens
FWIW, this is what I'm getting with the included USB-C cable on a 2018 Mini

samsung-t7-2tb.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: sparksd

tizeye

macrumors 68040
Jul 17, 2013
3,241
35,935
Orlando, FL
Why? How fast do you need them to load between photos? Save your money. Lightroom on an SSD where ptogram response matters, library on a regular spinner.
 
  • Like
Reactions: whiteonline

jz0309

Contributor
Sep 25, 2018
11,380
30,023
SoCal
Hey guys, I'm looking for an external SSD HD to use for my Lightroom library. Something in the 2-TB range. What do you guys recommend and what should I avoid? Thanks!
I use a SanDisk ExtremePro 2TB that holds my originals, the LR index is on my internal 1TB - very happy with that setup. Samsung T7 will be fine too of course, just got a real good deal last year on mine.
~ 900MB/s read/write
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.