Question New 1TB SSD for Windows 10: One big drive or partition?

[scwtlover]

I have a two-years old Dell XPS 8930. It came with a 2TB hard drive, on which Windows 10 was installed, and to which I added 1.5TB and 1TB hard drives taken from its predecessor. Also connected to my home network is a 4TB WD MyCloud.

I'm running Windows 10 version 1909, and have 16GB of RAM. My main uses are office programs, such as Word and Outlook; the web; and photo editing, principally with DxO Photolab 3, occasionally supplemented by Affinity Photo and a few other programs.

I'm getting a 1TB WD SN550 SSD to use as my boot drive. I then intend to use the three hard drives for storage. My questions are: Why might I want, or not want, to format the SSD as a single drive? If I use only part of the SSD for Windows 10, how much, and why?

TIA

 

[jay32267]

I have a two-years old Dell XPS 8930. It came with a 2TB hard drive, on which Windows 10 was installed, and to which I added 1.5TB and 1TB hard drives taken from its predecessor. Also connected to my home network is a 4TB WD MyCloud.

I'm running Windows 10 version 1909, and have 16GB of RAM. My main uses are office programs, such as Word and Outlook; the web; and photo editing, principally with DxO Photolab 3, occasionally supplemented by Affinity Photo and a few other programs.

I'm getting a 1TB WD SN550 SSD to use as my boot drive. I then intend to use the three hard drives for storage. My questions are: Why might I want, or not want, to format the SSD as a single drive? If I use only part of the SSD for Windows 10, how much, and why?

TIA

Here are some reasons why people use more than one partition.
https://www.digitalcitizen.life/4-reasons-why-you-should-use-more-one-partition-your-pc
Personally I always partition my main drive as one partition because it works for me.

 

[phaelax]

If you have multiple drives already and the external WD for storing your data, there's really no need to partition your boot drive.

 

[scwtlover]

If you have multiple drives already and the external WD for storing your data, there's really no need to partition your boot drive.

Thanks. That’s the way I went.

 

[jay32267]

Thanks. That’s the way I went.

You're welcome.