Scratch‑Disk SSD Allocation versus Smart Object Proxy for Lowering Photoshop RAM Usage

Goal: reduce peak RAM consumption when editing PSDs larger than available memory while preserving full‑resolution edit capability.

Constraint: workstation RAM is limited, so users must choose between configuring a fast SSD as Photoshop’s scratch disk or converting large raster layers to Smart Objects to work with low‑resolution proxies.

Uncertainty: the memory‑saving effectiveness of each technique varies with storage latency, PSD bit depth, and layer count, and it is unclear whether combining both approaches yields additional benefit over the better single method.

Does allocating a high‑speed SSD as scratch disk provide more predictable memory reduction than Smart Object substitution for 16‑bit, multi‑layer PSDs? How does storage speed (SSD vs HDD) influence the relative performance of each method? Is there a scenario where using both techniques together offers no further RAM savings compared to the superior individual approach?