Is it really worth having a ssd just for windows

[briblo1982]

Is it better to have one big drive like 12TB for both windows and games. I was thinking about getting a m2 ssd for windows but i'm starting to think that it is not worth getting it just for windows

 

[Gam3r01]

Thats something youll have to decide on your own.
How important are a few seconds to you? When it comes to launching windows or various other applications?

Personally, I dont think you should build a PC without an SSD at this point in time, even if its a standard SATA 240gb drive.
On a side note, a 12TB drive sounds like a great way to lose all your data in one go, I would break that up into different drives.

 

[briblo1982]

Thats something youll have to decide on your own.
How important are a few seconds to you? When it comes to launching windows or various other applications?

Personally, I dont think you should build a PC without an SSD at this point in time, even if its a standard SATA 240gb drive.
On a side note, a 12TB drive sounds like a great way to lose all your data in one go, I would break that up into different drives.

I have been using the 12TB Drive just for games. Do you benefit from having a ssd in your machine

 

[Gam3r01]

I like being able to boot faster if I ever need to look up/print something before I go to class. It is also nice having applications launch faster, and having some smaller games load faster too.

I feel my SSD was worth the investment, I would like to have a larger one to replace my HDD, but I cant really afford it.

 

[briblo1982]

I like being able to boot faster if I ever need to look up/print something before I go to class. It is also nice having applications launch faster, and having some smaller games load faster too.

I feel my SSD was worth the investment, I would like to have a larger one to replace my HDD, but I cant really afford it.

I still feel a m2 ssd drive would be faster than traditonal sata drives. I just want a small 250GB M2 SSD for windows to boot faster

 

[Gam3r01]

Well, M.2 is just a form factor, there are M.2 drives that are still SATA speed. You should look at an NVME drive.
That being said, make sure you find one at a good price, there isnt really a massive difference between NVME and SATA in terms of real world performance, compared to HDD vs SSD.

 

[briblo1982]

Well, M.2 is just a form factor, there are M.2 drives that are still SATA speed. You should look at an NVME drive.
That being said, make sure you find one at a good price, there isnt really a massive difference between NVME and SATA in terms of real world performance, compared to HDD vs SSD.

Yeah that is what I meant. Where you can put on your motherboard. Would it be more efficient than a traditional drive

 

[Gam3r01]

It depends on the one you buy, some are the same speed as a traditional SSD, others are much faster on paper (NVME)

 

[USAFRet]

Is it better to have one big drive like 12TB for both windows and games. I was thinking about getting a m2 ssd for windows but i'm starting to think that it is not worth getting it just for windows

A 12TB for the OS and everything else?
That's a good way to lose everything all at once.

500GB SSD (either SATA or NVMe) for the OS and applications.
Other drives for all that other stuff. As much drive space and type as you need, and fits in your budget.

 

[geofelt]

I will never again build without a ssd for windows.
It makes everything you do seem quicker.
Maintenance takes less time.
Apps open quicker, browsing is quicker thumbnails open instantly...
I rarely boot(I use sleep instead)
Today, 240gb is minimum.
You can get a fair number of games on a 500gb ssd which is now more reasonably priced.

A SATA based ssd is fine, either M.2 format or sata connected.
The pcie drives will have faster sequential rates, but that is really secondary to the much lower latency for random access.

Buy a ssd of some sort, and put all you can on it; you will not regret it.

 

[USAFRet]

And your C drive is never "just windows".
Applications should go there as well.

Games, video, music...that goes on other drives.

 

[cryoburner]

You can of course install some of your actively played games on the SSD as well, to accelerate their load times.

 

[4745454b]

If you have a super low budget to build your machine I can understand spending only $50 on a single 1TB drive. If your build can only cost $500, you don't really have the budget to spend $75-$100+ on just a drive for windows. In time however you should have windows and your games only on SSDs.

Here is what I've done. Ran HDDs only for years. SSDs weren't around or cost too much. Over time I've had more spending money and have upgraded my PC. I got a 120GB SSD for Windows. Only windows and "mainline" apps are on it. I then got a 256GB SSD for my steam folder. This is the drive I need to upgrade next as I'm running out of room on this drive. I can't install more games due to a lack of space. I really need to get a new 1TB SSD for my steam folder. I still have spinning disks, but they only hold my Misc. stuff. Either old programs where I don't care about speed, my personal docs, backups of stuff, music and other media files, etc. With a proper real backup you can safely run a single 12TB drive, but I'm not aware of any 12TB SSDs. Most people these days expect windows and games to be on SSDs and want to see/feel that speed when they sit at a PC. Again, if the budget is tiny you probably can't swing the SSD. But you can usually get one in there if you have ~$700 or more to spend.

 

[mdd1963]

12 TB drives are not inexpensive either....but I suspect now is not the ideal time to recommend both a Crucial MX500 1 TB SSD and a 4 TB HGST spinning drive at near the same cost!