Hard drive too slow for games

[owismael31]

I have windows 10 on my HDD but it's slow when it comes to boot time and loading big games (it also causes PUBG and Fortnite to stutter in game as it suddenly jumps to 100% usage randomly)
It also is loud when it jumps to 100% usage.
I'm thinking about 2 solutions :
1st one is to buy a newer WD caviar blue (this current hdd is kinda old)
2nd one is to buy a 250 gb SSD and put windows and some games on it and AAA games on my current HDD since SSD storage is limited.
If i buy the SSD, and play a game on my HDD, would the stuttering, 100% usage spikes and sound be gone because it's not running windows anymore and be a bit faster for games ?

 

[Lutfij]

Option 2 is a better choice. On another note, make sure you have as little partitions on an HDD as possible. More partitions only add to more stress on the drive when it comes to data retrieval(during usage scenarios). Another point to keep in mind, what is your resource usage numbers when your system is idling? If you're at 100% soon after bootup, then you are experiencing a memory leak.

 

[ElectrO_90]

Will you install a new windows 10 from scratch or clone your hhd to your ssd?
Option 2 would make you feel like you have a new computer, but if you have bad drivers or something then who knows if the stuttering will stop.
recommend clean install onto new SSD

 

[owismael31]

Option 2 is a better choice. On another note, make sure you have as little partitions on an HDD as possible. More partitions only add to more stress on the drive when it comes to data retrieval(during usage scenarios). Another point to keep in mind, what is your resource usage numbers when your system is idling? If you're at 100% soon after bootup, then you are experiencing a memory leak.

Its at 100% soon after bootup but only for a few minutes, also the HDD is only 1 partition.

 

[ElectrO_90]

im guessing its an old computer, you should give specs
but no matter what an SSD will make it feel quicker and load things up fast

 

[owismael31]

Will you install a new windows 10 from scratch or clone your hhd to your ssd?
Option 2 would make you feel like you have a new computer, but if you have bad drivers or something then who knows if the stuttering will stop.
recommend clean install onto new SSD

Yes i'll be actually doing a clean install on SSD.
I noticed something else, i just benchmarked my current HDD with crystaldiskmarker and noticed that 4k speed is kinda slow and read is 50 mb/s but write speed is at a catastrophic 15mb/s !!
should i replace the HDD aswell or is write speed not important for loading games ?

 

[owismael31]

im guessing its an old computer, you should give specs
but no matter what an SSD will make it feel quicker and load things up fast

not that old, specs are fine, only HDD that is kinda slow
i5 4570, gtx 1050 2gb, 8 gb ram

 

[mgallo848]

I have windows 10 on my HDD but it's slow when it comes to boot time and loading big games (it also causes PUBG and Fortnite to stutter in game as it suddenly jumps to 100% usage randomly)
It also is loud when it jumps to 100% usage.
I'm thinking about 2 solutions :
1st one is to buy a newer WD caviar blue (this current hdd is kinda old)
2nd one is to buy a 250 gb SSD and put windows and some games on it and AAA games on my current HDD since SSD storage is limited.
If i buy the SSD, and play a game on my HDD, would the stuttering, 100% usage spikes and sound be gone because it's not running windows anymore and be a bit faster for games ?

A hard drive should never cause game stuttering unless it's:
1: About to die
2: Nearly completely full.
3: The rest of the system is not up to par and keeps accessing the HDD while gaming.

What are the rest of your system specs?

 

[owismael31]

I have windows 10 on my HDD but it's slow when it comes to boot time and loading big games (it also causes PUBG and Fortnite to stutter in game as it suddenly jumps to 100% usage randomly)
It also is loud when it jumps to 100% usage.
I'm thinking about 2 solutions :
1st one is to buy a newer WD caviar blue (this current hdd is kinda old)
2nd one is to buy a 250 gb SSD and put windows and some games on it and AAA games on my current HDD since SSD storage is limited.
If i buy the SSD, and play a game on my HDD, would the stuttering, 100% usage spikes and sound be gone because it's not running windows anymore and be a bit faster for games ?

A hard drive should never cause game stuttering unless it's:
1: About to die
2: Nearly completely full.
3: The rest of the system is not up to par and keeps accessing the HDD while gaming.

What are the rest of your system specs?

gtx 1050 2gb i5 4570 and 8gb ram
framerates are pretty smooth and consistent, but sometimes HDD jumps to 100% (can hear it and can see the HDD LED) and BOOM the game stutters a nasty stutter.

 

[ElectrO_90]

Before you panic about your existing hardware, download and install - Hard Disk sentinel - it will give you an easy viewable screen of how much life is expected in your HDD before it dies, also listing problems it has.

The specs of your computer are fine, and it won't be the computer being too slow really.
Drivers and maybe hdd failing are probably the culprits but get that software install now, and let us know the results. It runs constantly in the back ground of your computer, and doesn't really drain any resources.

 

[mgallo848]

Ok. The vram on your video card is on the low side. Just make sure you run your game graphics on low settings. If your system starts hitting (or tries to use more) than the 2 gb of vram you have it will start accessing the hard drive (which will cause 100% usage and stutter)

Your HDD may still be going bad but you want to rule out all other possible issues. If it turns out you're using too much vram, then an SSD would still cause some stuttering as well.

 

[owismael31]

Before you panic about your existing hardware, download and install - Hard Disk sentinel - it will give you an easy viewable screen of how much life is expected in your HDD before it dies, also listing problems it has.

The specs of your computer are fine, and it won't be the computer being too slow really.
Drivers and maybe hdd failing are probably the culprits but get that software install now, and let us know the results. It runs constantly in the back ground of your computer, and doesn't really drain any resources.

Ok. The vram on your video card is on the low side. Just make sure you run your game graphics on low settings. If your system starts hitting (or tries to use more) than the 2 gb of vram you have it will start accessing the hard drive (which will cause 100% usage and stutter)

Your HDD may still be going bad but you want to rule out all other possible issues. If it turns out you're using too much vram, then an SSD would still cause some stuttering as well.

im 100% sure its not a specs issue, pubg/fortnite barely use 1.7 gb vram on the settings i use, GPU and CPU run on a pretty cool temperature as well.

 

[mgallo848]

im 100% sure its not a specs issue, pubg/fortnite barely use 1.7 gb vram on the settings i use, GPU and CPU run on a pretty cool temperature as well.

Ok, if that's the case then yes I would run a HDD health like ElectrO_90 suggested and see if it's dying.

 

[geofelt]

What is the make/model of your HDD?
Download and run the maker's diagnostic and repair app.
Data lifeguard for WD.

Regardless, a SSD upgrade will be magical.
A ssd will be some 50x faster than a 10k hard drive in random I/O.
That is what windows does 90% of the time.
A SSD will be 3x to 10x faster in sequential depending on the device and your motherboard.

In theory, a ssd can help gaming by faster level loads, faster game checkpoints, and loading graphics textures.
Your results will vary.

Considering the lower prices for a good ssd, see if you can't justify a 500gb ssd and put all of your active games on it.
Repurpose your HDD for overflow and backup assuming it checks out ok.
For performance and reliability, I like the Samsung EVO the best.

 

[owismael31]

hard disk sentinel says the HDD health is 100% and performance is 100%, but when i did the crystaldiskmark bench here is what i got ...
https://imgur.com/a/GpkBwN3

 

[mgallo848]

hard disk sentinel says the HDD health is 100% and performance is 100%, but when i did the crystaldiskmark bench here is what i got ...
https://imgur.com/a/GpkBwN3

Wow, yes that's alot lower then I thought it would be. Time for a new SSD

 

[owismael31]

hard disk sentinel says the HDD health is 100% and performance is 100%, but when i did the crystaldiskmark bench here is what i got ...
https://imgur.com/a/GpkBwN3

Wow, yes that's alot lower then I thought it would be. Time for a new SSD

Yeah, i'm definitely getting an SSD, but my budget is limited and im thinking if i should get an SSD and keep this drive for other games or get a 1tb caviar blue

 

[mgallo848]

If you can't get both and you need the storage I would get the 1 tb for now. It's going to be a BIG improvement from the HDD you have now. Save a little more and get the SSD for Windows at a later date.

Edit: Once you get the 1 tb, I would copy everything to it and remove that slow drive from the system. With read/write speeds as bad as they are it's going to cause issues even with a new HDD installed.

(A PC is only as fast as it's slowest part)

 

[geofelt]

All hard drives perform essentially the same.
Buying a new one and expecting a big performance boost is not realistic.

 

[owismael31]

All hard drives perform essentially the same.
Buying a new one and expecting a big performance boost is not realistic.

did you see how my current one performs in benchmarks ? https://imgur.com/a/GpkBwN3

 

[mgallo848]

All hard drives perform essentially the same.
Buying a new one and expecting a big performance boost is not realistic.

I don't think you looked at the link he posted showing his current HDD speeds. https://imgur.com/a/GpkBwN3

 

[geofelt]

There can be many reasons for poor HDD performance.
Some motherboard sata adapters offer poor performance.
Full capacity may increase update times.
Defragmentation may be needed.
Chipset drivers may not be correct.

But the mechanical speeds will not be changing much , and that is what limits hard drive performance.
It would be unusual for the drive to be defective and still work.

Running the original manufacturer's diagnostic will give you a more authoritative idea of the true status of the drive.

And... there is no solution for bettering drive performance than a ssd.

 

[owismael31]

There can be many reasons for poor HDD performance.
Some motherboard sata adapters offer poor performance.
Full capacity may increase update times.
Defragmentation may be needed.
Chipset drivers may not be correct.

But the mechanical speeds will not be changing much , and that is what limits hard drive performance.
It would be unusual for the drive to be defective and still work.

Running the original manufacturer's diagnostic will give you a more authoritative idea of the true status of the drive.

And... there is no solution for bettering drive performance than a ssd.

The problem is not from my motherboard sata adapters, i tried my friend's HDD and it worked just fine (i even benchmarked it on my PC and everything was fine)
I did de-fragment my HDD a couple of days ago but saw no performance increase
as for the chipster drivers, can you tell me how to check if they're updated/update them ?
also you should check this out : https://imgur.com/a/GpkBwN3

 

[ElectrO_90]

Many things can stop you getting good bench marks, don't worry about it.
Get the SSD, install windows 10, then re-add the old hdd, don't install windows while you have the old hdd installed.
You may find when you do the next benchmark, it will be a lot quicker because windows won't be doing things with it.

 

[owismael31]

[Update] : i borrowed my friend's HDD and cloned my windows to it, i booted up from it and basically re-benchmarked my HDD without running windows at the same time, here are the results i got : https://imgur.com/a/XCt3Aet
Better results overall, especially on the 4k files but write speed is still very slow. As for gaming, will that slow write speed be a problem or should i just get an SSD and use this HDD as my second drive ?