Hi all.
As we’re facing tough times at the moment and being forced to work more from home, I wanted to build a new machine to replace my ageing MacBook Pro 2015, and learn some new software.
The list of things I’d like to experiment with (of course I can’t specialise in all of these but wanted to try and see which ones I’d like to pursue) include Maya, Zbrush, Substance, Unreal, and then Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere. Maybe things like Houdini and Nuke and other Foundry software too. Also Python, but that’s not a programme. I don’t know much about rendering but Redshift keeps appearing when I search. I’m interested in 2D and 3D characters, animation and games, photography and filmmaking, and coding. So far I have only used the Adobe software, but was never very good with organising where I kept my files (was just all on the laptop’s single SSD).
Build would be something like a 5900x, 3080 (Ti maybe if they release one), 64GB RAM, B550 motherboard (MSI Gaming Edge Wifi).
Where I am confused are the storage options. I know you’re meant to install your OS and software on the fastest drive (the M.2 PCIe4 slot on the motherboard - Probably a Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB), and then I was going to opt for a second M.2, some SSDs, and large HDDs (to keep old files I am not currently working on).
How should this all be arranged to perform optimally, where everything can be accessed and worked with fastest? Do you all have a process you go through, such as keeping certain files on an M.2 or SSD while working on them, and then moving them to a HDD once you’re done with that project? Does this create any issues with the software knowing where the files are stored if you wish to work on an old project again later? Do you upload large files to a cloud service for a backup, too? With the software I listed above, are there any additional considerations I’ve missed? I am also not well-informed about where the cache or scratch disks should be, and if they should only be used for that, or if they can also be used for storage. Any examples of a workflow would be super helpful, then I know which storage options to look out for and pick up when the prices are low.
Thank you so much and sorry for my great ignorance.