NVME SSD and SATA SSD Configuration

[warlock111395]

I have had a Samsung 850 Evo 1TB as my only storage device for last couple of years now. During the Samsung Black Friday sale I picked up a 500GB 960 Evo NVME drive to go along with my other upgrades. I have never actually had more than one drive in use at a time as i just replaced my old HDD with the SSD. What is the best way to configure my new system with these two drives and how do i do it? Any tips would be appreciated. I stream and play Ark: Survival Evolved, World of Warcraft, Black Desert Online, Overwatch,Forza 7, and retro games. I don't really do any photo or video editing right now but i have plans to do so in the future.

CPU:i7-9700k
MOBO:Asus Tuf z390 pro gaming with wifi
RAM:32GB (2x16GB) G.Skill Ripjaws X 2133Mhz
GPU:EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Black Edition
PSU:EVGA 1600W G2 PSU
SSD:Samsung 960 Evo 500GB
SSD:Samsung 850 Evo 1TB
Case:Fractal Define R5
OS: Windows 10 Home 64 Bit

 

[Lutfij]

Can you pass on the specs to your system like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:

I'd have the OS on the 960 Evo and then use the 850 as the storage device/game drive. I actually don't see myself living off SSD's since partitioning an SSD is a bad idea and I need to organize a lot of my content. I do a lot of photography and tend to have a huge backlog of pics to sort through.

 

[velocityg4]

Knowing more about what you do with your computer would be helpful.

 

[warlock111395]

Can you pass on the specs to your system like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:

I'd have the OS on the 960 Evo and then use the 850 as the storage device/game drive. I actually don't see myself living off SSD's since partitioning an SSD is a bad idea and I need to organize a lot of my content. I do a lot of photography and tend to have a huge backlog of pics to sort through.

Updated Post

 

[geofelt]

Assuming you want windows on the 960 and the used space on your 1tb drive will fit, here is what I would do:

1. Go ahead and install the 960 drive in your m.2 slot.
2. Download and install the Samsung pcie nmve drivers from the Samsung web site.
3. Use the Samsung ssd migration app to move your C drive and installed apps to the 960.
4. Change the boot order and boot from the 960 drive.
I have done this before, the process works.
When done, you can do what you wish with the 1tb drive.

In the event that all your data will not fit in 500gb, you can exclude large data folders from the move.
They will still be available after.
You will likely want to delete the old windows folder along with folders for the app that were moved.

 

[warlock111395]

what do i need to do to migrate only windows? i am thinking of doing windows and my top 5 games on the 960, and everything else on the 850.

 

[geofelt]

what do i need to do to migrate only windows? i am thinking of doing windows and my top 5 games on the 960, and everything else on the 850.

You really can't just migrate windows and expect any games to run.
There may be an exception for steam games.
If you have room, I would uninstall the ones you do not want on the 850 to make room.
Then migrate to the 960 with 5 you do want.
You will need to reinstall the other games on the 850.
The reason is that the registry will have moved to the 960 and previously installed games have entries in the old registry.

Again, since many have only steam games, I think there is a procedure to move steam games from one device to another.
I am no expert there.