Cache Files stored in odd place

Hi,

First time user.

I created a test folder for my first project, and Resolve decided this is where it should store all of the cache files. I am hoping to move this to a new location. I think I see how to do that, but WHERE should I put it? Are cache files going to be big? Should I move this to my internal drive, or create them on my external drive? What if I switch drives and work on a different project? Will I need to change the location again?

Resolve seems great - especially the audio mixer. But man, I might just go back to FCP because of this project manager stuff, and this cache file location management. It is a royal pain.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

I recommend the training material from BMD (see the Resolve product page for training links). Terminology is important and when you say 'cached files' it could mean proxies or it could mean files from the render cache. Proxies can be stored in a subfolder beside their source counterparts (it's an option) but render files are usually stored elsewhere (and should be on a very fast internal SSD). It would be very strange if Resolve decided to store them on your external drive, but that could be because your drive setup in the system preferences does not point to your internal drive as the first in the list of drives. There's a lot to this discussion. I believe some of this is addressed in the training material - maybe others will provide additional tips.

I use and recommend the following arrangement as a starting point.

System
Libraries/Databases
Export
Cache/Gallery/Proxies
Media

The first two won't need to be very large. NVMe or SSD are good choices. The latter three, depending on your camera and workload, may benefit from being much larger. (I use 10 TB HDD's.)

Keep everything on internal drives. Use externals only for backups and archives.

It is the render files I believe. Not sure why it picked that drive, but I'll point them internally and see how it goes.

It is the render files I believe. Not sure why it picked that drive, but I'll point them internally and see how it goes.

By default, Resolve uses the first drive location listed in the system preferences - I always make sure that drive is my fast internal SSD but you can also change the render cache location at the project level if you wish.

OK. Just off the plane.

All the working folders were pointed to the external drive. It is not listed first on anything. But I did create a test project on that drive, in a folder called Test. So for whatever reason, everything went there when I created the new project instead of internal. I attached an image of the place in Project Settings I'm talking about. All three paths were pointing to the external drive.

In addition, the Media Storage was pointing to the same folder. I moved that to the same folder as the project. Who knows. But it's working, and before, it was stuttering on playback. Now it's smooth.

But I have a funny feeling things aren't right. So I might reinstall and start from scratch. But that's terrifying, because I'd be restoring the project from a backup that was made with the other paths....

Oh well, I'm on a deadline. I gotta move back to FCP for now. It was fun while it lasted, and there are some great things about Resolve.

Any insight would be welcome, so I have a better understanding of what might have happened....

The first entry in media storage settings should (must) be a local internal fast drive with enough capacity to hold the render cache files. It is not recommended to use an external drive for this purpose (at least in terms of best practices).

Thank you - I’ll change that.