Any good in having separate drives for OS and storage?
- Thread starter doopydug
- Start date
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i just bought one today, putting os and games installs on there, then a serperate ssd for documents / images etc
Soldato
I ALWAYS have a different drive for the OS/Programs and docs etc, in fact in my main rig I have other drives for specific storage/uses such as downloads and scratch etc. Bit overkill but it's how I like to keep things organised.
Soldato
I have long had separate drives, currently a 1TB for Windows, files & apps, then a 2TB for Games. But the requirement for that is less of a thing now especially with gigabit internet. Re-downloading my Steam library isn't the problem it used to be on a 26Mbit ADSL connection. All my personal files are backed up to NAS also. Furthermore, OS re-installs aren't common like they used to be in XP to Win8.1 days, so it really isn't a concern to me any longer. But it won't be changing until I upgrade my SSD.
Always keep OS and program files away from storage and data.
One reason it puts less strain / writes on the OS drive, also reduces the risk of data corruption especially if lots of storage read/writes.
Another reason is it increases performance, for example access to your storage drive won't slow down your OS drive.
One reason it puts less strain / writes on the OS drive, also reduces the risk of data corruption especially if lots of storage read/writes.
Another reason is it increases performance, for example access to your storage drive won't slow down your OS drive.
You can reinstall the OS without affecting your data if kept separately. I wouldn't buy a 2nd drive just split that name into 2 partitions.
Permabanned
os and games on my m.2 .. doc's pics and downloaded stuff on a sata .. and 2 iron storage discs .. films tv ect ect ..
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Recently upgraded from multiple SATA SSDs and a gen3 nvme m.2 to a single 4TB nvme 4gen, figured if I'm paying for a new motherboard with gen4 compatibility and a new m.2 I may as well get the performance on everything I do.
As others have said the benefit is really when you come to re-install an OS - you aren't looking for a place to then store a bunch of stuff while you format the main drive.
I used to use partitions in the distant past when I only used one drive, but it always turns into a juggling act of how much space to allocate.
I used to use partitions in the distant past when I only used one drive, but it always turns into a juggling act of how much space to allocate.
Soldato
I used to when drives where smaller, these days I don't bother, if I've got separate drives in they are for backup / media storage.
Associate
Always have the OS on a seperate drive with just the OS (and potentially the few software that prefer to run from C drive). Or at the very least on a seperate partition.
This includes putting directories like My documents, pictures, etc on the other drive. May take a few extra minutes at the start to remap those locations, but worth the effort.
It'll still behave the same, just that everything will be stored on another drive. The exception is when programs put stuff in that hidden appdata folder, they will be on C drive unfortunately.
If something goes wrong and you need to do stuff to Windows like reinstall, there will be no worries about your files since they'll be seperate. Obviously copying and backing up the appdata stuff is the exception.
My current OS drive is a standalone 250GB SSD and it's never gotten close to full running Windows 10. Going forward I'll have a 1TB M.2 on the new build (and 2TB M.2 for other storage), since the 1TB is overkill for OS, I'll just partition it and use some of it for some storage.
This includes putting directories like My documents, pictures, etc on the other drive. May take a few extra minutes at the start to remap those locations, but worth the effort.
It'll still behave the same, just that everything will be stored on another drive. The exception is when programs put stuff in that hidden appdata folder, they will be on C drive unfortunately.
If something goes wrong and you need to do stuff to Windows like reinstall, there will be no worries about your files since they'll be seperate. Obviously copying and backing up the appdata stuff is the exception.
My current OS drive is a standalone 250GB SSD and it's never gotten close to full running Windows 10. Going forward I'll have a 1TB M.2 on the new build (and 2TB M.2 for other storage), since the 1TB is overkill for OS, I'll just partition it and use some of it for some storage.
Associate
Same here, fresh installs are a rarity these days - oh how things have progressed!
I used to run seperate drives with a 1TB NVME and 1TB SATA SSD. The OS drive would sit there with 80% free space whereas the 2nd drive (games drive) would be mostly full. I've since replaced the two drives for a single 2TB NVMe of which I've parititioned into a 200GB OS drive (currently 77GB free) and the rest is used for games.
There's no wrong or right way, it's personal preference really. SSDs are so fast that unless you are hammering the drive with writes you won't notice any performance reduction. You just have to know your previous usage to be able to size the partitions correctly.
There's no wrong or right way, it's personal preference really. SSDs are so fast that unless you are hammering the drive with writes you won't notice any performance reduction. You just have to know your previous usage to be able to size the partitions correctly.
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Associate
My OCD kicks in and I have to keep the OS separate lol.
I was bitten years ago when an old disc drive failed me, caused no end of headaches and a long time to sort out and reinstall everything, very slow internet made it even worse.
I was bitten years ago when an old disc drive failed me, caused no end of headaches and a long time to sort out and reinstall everything, very slow internet made it even worse.
Soldato
I do that.
The reason I do this is that when a drive suffers a hardware failure, I haven't lost my entire system.
Last year one of my SSD's suddenly failed (the control chip blew up). It took 24 hours to get a new drive and five hours to copy my data to it from a backup. Had I also had to install the OS and apps, it would have taken a lot longer.
I had a second drive, in another PC, that literally wore out. Again, took a few hours to sort it out.
A huge advantage with steam is that you can place the Steam folder on any drive and subsequently move the SSD to to another PC easily. Steam sorts the mess out. When it can take five hours to copy games from one PC to another, this is a real benefit.
The reason I do this is that when a drive suffers a hardware failure, I haven't lost my entire system.
Last year one of my SSD's suddenly failed (the control chip blew up). It took 24 hours to get a new drive and five hours to copy my data to it from a backup. Had I also had to install the OS and apps, it would have taken a lot longer.
I had a second drive, in another PC, that literally wore out. Again, took a few hours to sort it out.
A huge advantage with steam is that you can place the Steam folder on any drive and subsequently move the SSD to to another PC easily. Steam sorts the mess out. When it can take five hours to copy games from one PC to another, this is a real benefit.
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