I'm planning a move to Linux and trying to choose the best drive setup. On Windows, the operating system and installed programs can gradually consume much more space than expected through caches, application data, catalogs, and files stored in user folders. I'm wondering how similar Linux is, especially if I'll be using photo and video applications. If my photos, videos, and other large files live on separate drives, do I still need a large system drive? I currently have a 512GB NVMe drive, a 2TB NVMe drive, and a 4TB SATA SSD available. How would you use them, and how much space would you realistically reserve for the Linux root filesystem, home directory, and applications?
3 Answers
One thing to clarify is that a boot partition is not the same as the entire system drive. The boot partition only holds the files needed to start the system and is usually just a few gigabytes. The root filesystem contains Linux and installed programs, while /home contains user data and application settings. Old kernels and package caches need some breathing room, but they don’t justify a multi-terabyte boot partition. Your 512GB NVMe could easily handle Linux, applications, and a reasonable home directory, with the larger drives reserved for games, media, backups, or photo catalogs.
Linux itself usually needs far less space than Windows. A 100–128GB root filesystem is enough for the operating system and a substantial amount of software if your large media files live elsewhere. Keeping /home separate makes it easier to manage personal files, application settings, caches, and future reinstalls. A 512GB system drive would be more than comfortable, while 2TB is unnecessary unless you also want games, project files, or media on it.
The exact amount depends more on what you install than on Linux itself. Photo and video applications can create catalogs, previews, caches, and temporary renders, but those can be placed under your home directory or redirected to another drive. For a simple setup, I’d use the fastest or newest drive for Linux and leave plenty of free space rather than buying capacity specifically for the operating system. Even systems with lots of software often use well under 100GB for the root filesystem.
That distinction helps. I was using “boot drive” to mean the whole drive containing the operating system, but I’ll plan the layout around separate boot, root, and home areas instead.