[SOLVED] External gaming hhd

[BearStag]

Hi all
I wasn't sure where to post this question because 'Storage' isn't my goal here....but gaming is.
I've been reading about external hard drives, both here and across the web, ad nauseam, and still don't have enough solid/legit information.

I've just gotten a new computer and unfortunately it only had a 500mb ssd. It does have room for a secondary ssd, but currently, I don't have the $$ for an ssd in the size that I need. (1TB isn't enough as the desktop I'm currently using has a TB and it's getting full.)

I've read that other can play their games from an external hhd (not ssd) through a usb 3 port and I want to know exactly what kind of set up would allow me to do that. Meaning, would I be looking at setting up an internal drive in an external case? Because generally the rpm on other externals is limited. Do I need to minimum amount of cache to allow me to game without frame rates dropping? If so, how much?

My new rig is a Skytech Blaze II
AMD Ryzen 7 2700 8 core
16GB DDR4
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
B450 MB

Any information would help me

 

[rgd1101]

get a internal hdd

 

[BearStag]

get a internal hdd

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

Anyone with some real experience with this?

 

[rgd1101]

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

Anyone with some real experience with this?

no problem.

 

[thepersonwithaface45]

I'd wait until you have enough $ for a meaningful upgrade that will last. I.E., M.2 SSD or 2.5" SSD. This way you won't have to fiddle around with any external drives, and you'll save money by not buying one.
If you're running out of space, I'd just reformat your drives and re-download anything essential. I mean, having cloud saves and client libraries, there's no point in having space be taken by things you rarely play/use.

 

[faalin]

There is no benefit between a 5400, 7200, or SSD other then load times.

in my computer i have
1 Samsung 960 Evo NVMe 500GB OS
1 Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe 1TB MMO games
1 WD Red 6TB 5400RPM Steam Library
2 WD Red Pro 6TB 7200RPM Movies/App installs/junk storage

I've moved games between all the drives and have never seen a difference between them other then load times. Unless you loading a Steam library on the external drive and moving between computers having your games on an external drive is not worth it. There's to much at stake between faulty USB cable, the enclosure interface card failing, or heat/vibrations killing the drive. Gaming on an external drive the number one thing you will have to watch for is heat because the drive is enclosed with no air blowing of the drive it will die a quick death.

In a perfect world SATA 3 transfers at 750 MB/s USB 3.0 does 625 MB/s, a platter drive is around 200MB/s and SSD is around 550MB/s so your limiting factor is still your drive for speed.