[SOLVED] I have a NVME SSD + SATA SSD + HDD. What is the best way to divide the tasks between them?

[Schytheron]

I have a 2TB NVME SSD, a 750GB SATA SSD and a normal 1TB HDD. I was thinking about exclusively storing games (game files) on the NVME SSD while using the SATA SSD as the main/boot drive (Windows install) + storing software on it while I use the normal HDD for normal big file storage (media etc.).

However, I don't know if this is a good idea. If I store games on the NVME SSD, I would still have to store save games, game launchers (Steam, Origin etc.), config files etc. on the main drive (SATA SDD). Will writing/reading data (save games, launchers, config files etc.) across drives affect the game performance in any way? The reason I want to use the SATA SSD as my boot drive is to prevent AppData + other Windows garbage files from being stored on the NVME SSD and to avoid writing data unnecessarily to the NVME drive when doing normal stuff, like browsing etc. to increase it's life span.

Is this a dumb idea? Is there a more optimal way to divide the tasks to get the most out of each drive? How do you, personally, divide it (if you have multiple drives with multiple purposes)?

 

[Lutfij]

Logically, I'd store the games on the largest SSD you have, then have the OS on the smaller capacity SSD and then have the HDD as secondary or tertiary storage. In your scenario, you can keep the 2TB NVMe drive as the game library, the SATA SSD as the OS drive(+apps) and then the HDD as said tertiary drive.

Including the make and model of all your storage drives would help us two fold. Logically I'd keep the faster drive for the OS and the slower larger drive for the game library(if I had more money to spend/allocate, then a second NVMe SSD with a large capcity to improve game loading times, while also knowing my apps and OS are on a fast drive).

 

[Lafong]

to increase it's life span.

That would be at the bottom of my list of reasons.

 

[Schytheron]

Logically, I'd store the games on the largest SSD you have, then have the OS on the smaller capacity SSD and then have the HDD as secondary or tertiary storage. In your scenario, you can keep the 2TB NVMe drive as the game library, the SATA SSD as the OS drive(+apps) and then the HDD as said tertiary drive.

Including the make and model of all your storage drives would help us two fold. Logically I'd keep the faster drive for the OS and the slower larger drive for the game library(if I had more money to spend/allocate, then a second NVMe SSD with a large capcity to improve game loading times, while also knowing my apps and OS are on a fast drive).

The NVME drive IS both my fastest and largest drive. My drives are a: Corsair Force MP600 2TB (NVME SSD), Crucial MX500 750GB (SATA SSD) and a random SAMSUNG 7200 RPM 1TB HDD. I also prefer the same idea as yours but, the only thing I worry about is if I store my games/game files on the NVME while storing the other game related files (save files, config files, game launchers etc.) on my slower SATA SSD, will this have any impact on my game's performance (micro stutter etc.)? Is there a way to store my save files and config files on the same NVME drive as my games (without causing any issues)?

 

[Schytheron]

That would be at the bottom of my list of reasons.

How long of a life span does a NVME M2 drive have? More or less than a SATA SSD?

 

[Lafong]

How long of a life span does a NVME M2 drive have? More or less than a SATA SSD?

No way to determine the life span of YOUR drive. It's all speculation. SATA or NVMe or whatever.

If it fails, you can also speculate why.

You can be as worried about it as you care to be. Perhaps highly. Perhaps indifferent. Drives are replaceable. If they fail, you get a new one and soldier on.

 

[THpapi]

Yeah I wouldn't worry about SSD longevity, as long as you keep your important photos, documents, things dear to you on your HDD, just remember to back those up every now and then; I think the idea of the SSD's wearing out isn't really an issue. I'm inclined to agree with booting off the 750 even though its a sata.. Because 2tb is a waste of a boot drive, and I hate cluttering up a boot drive with other things besides OS and hardware utilities out of best practices even if its a 2TB... but Honestly thats not a bad idea either... I think the real "Pro Answer" is to use your 2TB as a boot drive AND a game drive for your favorite games. Because honestly you can fill that thing up to easily over 1TB with it still outperforming the sata SSD, and then use your sata as a secondary game drive. This way you have the fastest possible boot for your OS and your favorite games. But booting off a sata SSD isn't bad at all either..... you can always change it later too lol

 

[USAFRet]

Lifespan due to too many write cycles is a non issue, outside of something in a busy data center.

Performance differences between the various types of SSD is minimal, even if the sequential benchmarks show otherwise.

Your system will be using both drives anyway, so at some point it has to talk to the minimally slower SATA SSD. Either for the actual game content, or for the saves, or whatever.


Recommendation:
Put the OS, all your applications, and most games on the 2TB NVMe.
Put other games on the SATA SSD.
Put photo/video/music on the HDD.

Create some comprehensive automated backup routine.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YoRKQy-UO4

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9LyNXpsOo

 

[geofelt]

Truth from USAFRet ^^^