Question Question about SSD.

[roadrage0446]

Im running out of space on my hard drive and was wondering if i could get an external SSD to run my games off of. Could i just use the ssd for games and will there be an improvement in FPS or do i have to install windows on it also? Im a bit confused on how SSD's work.

 

[captaincharisma]

depending on how old your PC is the USB ports may not be fast enough to run games over an external drive correctly

 

[J_E_D_70]

What is your PC? If it's a laptop, I'd replace the internal drive with a much larger SSD rather than try to run it externally. SSDs have become relatively inexpensive.

 

[TJ Hooker]

SSDs make no difference on FPS, they just help with loading times. No, you don't need to have windows installed on the SSD, just the game.

 

[roadrage0446]

My pc is about 4 years old. Dell 8700. so i could keep my games installed on the external ssd and play them right off that?

 

[J_E_D_70]

There's no good reason to run games off external drives via USB. If it was a good idea, lots of people would do it. Get a standard 2.5" SSD and install it in the case with sata cables.

 

[roadrage0446]

do i need to remove the current hard drive?

 

[spencer.cleaves2]

Don't get an external SSD. Depending on your budget and your motherboard, I would recommend to get an NVMe SSD if your Mobo supports an M.2 drive (because they are the fastest). If you can't fit one of those into your budget, get a 2.5 SATA SSD. They are still going to be extremely fast at booting up games. Unfortunately, SSD's will have no impact on in game performance, they will just speed up the time it takes for you to get though loading screens.

 

[spencer.cleaves2]

You also should be able to keep your HDD in the system, most cases have multiple HDD/SSD slots so you can install more storage. You could install Windows to the SSD if you want but just make sure you get the file from the current windows on your computer or else you would have to re-do all your windows settings.

 

[roadrage0446]

thanks so much guys, I was totally clueless.

 

[J_E_D_70]

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-migrate-to-a-solid-state-drive-without-reinstall-5837543