[ccc_]

regarding hgst drives...I have half a dozen of assorted vintages and sizes...no failures and low initial prices

I no longer store images on my system drive (everything runs much faster)

it's overkill but his is what I do (and have done for almost a decade)

working files live on a second system drive

all graphic files (clipart, photos and created images) stored on an inexpensive NAS
a 3tb usb desktop drive *segregated" from the system via power switch
a2tb portable usb drive locked in a safe
in addition to this everything is backed up weekly to the "cloud"
individual sd cards are labelled and stored for one year after last image taken with it

I follow a similar regime with articles I've written

we used three and four tier backup procedures when I worked for a living
they work as well in real life

good luck deciding!

[RAART]

Yes, the HGST drives are good but on the expensive side. I always loved IBM legacy that Hitachi continued and HGST know. As everyone have SSD's now as main drive I am looking now for more "cool" and quite drives. This brings me to WD Red.

In regards of LR I do not think that 5400rpm vs 7200rpm will make some practical difference as once the picture loaded only small data bits will be used to be written on HD. Anyway this is just my opinion/impression while working with raw files an LR.

[emalvick]

To the OP, ultimately, I think you should just do what works for you. As you see there are a lot of ways to do things. I personally do a lot like what you are suggesting you'll do. I run all my software off a main (primary) SSD that holds my OS, Photoshop, LR, DxO Pro, etc. My database files related to photography (LR, my cataloging software, etc) are also on the SSD.

I then have 2 or 3 other internal drives of various types. I have a NAS drive in one of the slots. I don't like it. Read reviews of different drives. Some of them spin up a bit slowly. It would make LR a bear. I use that drive for movies and music, but it is accidental that it didn't house my photographs. The actual RPMs don't matter much from my casual use.

The photo drive is a 2 TB drive. I'll be building a new system next year, and I'll likely stick with that size. If you look at reviews of HDs on Amazon and elsewhere, the reliability at 1 and 2 TB is much better than larger sizes (or it was, I've not checked recently). I'll see where things are at next year.

I think you could just get a 2 TB for under $100 and be done with it. Overall, I think that as long as you stick with WD, Seagate, HGST or similar, you'll generally be safe. Some HDDs come dead on arrival, but I think the chances of that are the same regardless of brand. As long as you have backups, keep the receipt, and keep the warranty information, all will be good for you.