Ancient Computer Pagefile (Games)

[prince_xaine]

Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-Bit
Motherboard: Inspiron 530S
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 @3.3 GHz
Memory: 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM @800 MHz
Graphics: Zotac Nvidia GeForce GT 1030
SSD: Kingston A400 120 GB [SATA II]
HDD: Western Digital Black 720 [SATA II]

Okay, so this super potato dates back to 2008 when Vista was still a thing. Everything has been updated to it's maximum capabilities. While I am aware that I could update the graphics further, the processor would still bottleneck games, so the increase in performance wouldn't be worth the price. The RAM is at it's maximum - 4GB. While this is terrible here are my options:

VIRTUAL RAM SETUP:

1. SSD (OS + PAGE); HDD (GAMES)
2. SSD (OS); HDD (GAMES + PAGE)
3. SSD (OS); HDD (GAMES); SSD 2 (PAGE)

I am aware the last option would be the fastest, however, i do not think the performance gain would be worth my spare SSD.

I believe Option 1 would be my best bet otherwise, however, if you guys think Option 3 is the only way to go for maximum FPS in games, then so be it. The spare SSD is only $28 USD anyways.

Let me know what you think!

 

[USAFRet]

Option 1, unless you really want to buy a cheesy second SSD.

 

[jojesa]

There will be no difference in performance between 1 and 3.
I will go with option
4. 480GB SSD (OS + Games + PAGE); HDD (user files). Let Windows manage paging file.
There you will see a bit of performance boost on startup and loading games and apps.
You won't need a fast SSD, since you only have SATA II

 

[prince_xaine]

Well I have an extra on hand.
Will the OS Drive benefit much by separating the Pagefile into a separate SSD?
Would the performance margin be enough to create a noticeable difference in performance?

 

[jojesa]

Well I have an extra on hand.
Will the OS Drive benefit much by separating the Pagefile into a separate SSD?
Would the performance margin be enough to create a noticeable difference in performance?

Nope, there wouldn't be noticeable performance. It will have just some extra space available if you move the paging file.

 

[USAFRet]

Well I have an extra on hand.
Will the OS Drive benefit much by separating the Pagefile into a separate SSD?
Would the performance margin be enough to create a noticeable difference in performance?

No difference between 1 and 3.
Depending on the size of the secondary SSD, you could use the rest of the space for other things.

Which specific drives are we talking about here?

 

[prince_xaine]

I have the Kingston A400 installed for OS, a WD Black 720 GB for games and then I could put in another Kingston A400 for the pagefile. Both Kingstons have 120 GB for the OS. Idk why people get scared with a dedicated OS drive being small. Keep it clean and your personal files off of it and it's fine.

 

[USAFRet]

I have the Kingston A400 installed for OS, a WD Black 720 GB for games and then I could put in another Kingston A400 for the pagefile. Both Kingstons have 120 GB for the OS. Idk why people get scared with a dedicated OS drive being small. Keep it clean and your personal files off of it and it's fine.

It depends on what applications you have and use.
My C drive (500GB 850 EVO), with only the OS and applications (no games or doc/music/video), is approx 260GB used.
Some things, like Visual Studio, can take up a lot of space.

Just my Program Files and Program Files (x86) take up ~100GB.
Obviously, a 120GB drive would not work.

Having it be 'just the OS' is tossing away 1/2 the benefit of the SSD. Applications benefit as well.

 

[prince_xaine]

I have the Kingston A400 installed for OS, a WD Black 720 GB for games and then I could put in another Kingston A400 for the pagefile. Both Kingstons have 120 GB for the OS. Idk why people get scared with a dedicated OS drive being small. Keep it clean and your personal files off of it and it's fine.

It depends on what applications you have and use.
My C drive (500GB 850 EVO), with only the OS and applications (no games or doc/music/video), is approx 260GB used.
Some things, like Visual Studio, can take up a lot of space.

Just my Program Files and Program Files (x86) take up ~100GB.
Obviously, a 120GB drive would not work.

Having it be 'just the OS' is tossing away 1/2 the benefit of the SSD. Applications benefit as well.

My main computer has:
Samsung 850 Evo 500 GB (28.4 GB Used) [OS]
Kingston A400 120 GB (32.4 GB Used) [Programs]
Western Digital Black 6TB (994 GB Used) [Games]
Western Digital Black 6TB (12 GB Used) [Media - Games if 75% of first drive is full]

I have about two dozen programs installed and have not even come close to filling either drive. Obviously, everyone has different uses for the computer as you have stated, but this is a general idea for someone who doesn't use their computer for professional work.

The reasoning for the first SSD and the second, is because while originally I had OS+Programs, I decided for a seperate programs drive. This actually increases performance if you think about it. SATA and it's limitations. I was gonna switch both of them, but that was a lot of work and I don't need space for more programs apparently so my OS is free to use the 850 Evo, I open programs on a seperate drive, so no windows updates slow downs, and plenty of storage for everything else.

 

[prince_xaine]

As a side note, this potato PC is able to run The Witcher 3. Hmmm. Think they are overmarketing the hardware you need to play a game?