SSD and external Hardrive VS Cheap SSD and Hardrive

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The_Ma5ter

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Sep 6, 2014
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Here is my build: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/The_Ma5ter/saved/#view=4Vxkcf It is titled Final Build #3. I plan on using this build almost entirely for gaming. If that is the case, I imagine I would put my Steam game library and my one or 2 Origin games along with my OS on my SSD. However, the current SSD on my build doesn't have enough space to fit all of my games on it. I would need to get at least 200 GBs. I also own a Seagate 1 TB external hard-drive. Would it be a good idea for me to eliminate the Hard-Drive on my build and get a better SSD and use my slow yet reliable Seagate for all my random non game stuff? The SSD could be up to 120 (possibly 130) dollars. Is there an SSD that holds at least 200 GB and is worth the money and speed difference? What do you guys think?

Sorry if you have to read this over a couple times to get the meaning, I didnt explain it as well as I could have.
 
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Avoid using an external drive for game or software storage. A lot of externals have powersaving routines built in that affect performance, and USB connections aren't the most reliable. They're usually have a much lower RPM (which is why they don't advertise the speed), and have cheap build quality. Externals should only be used for storage of photos, files and videos.
 
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I might not have made this very clear. I will only be putting my games on the SSD (assmuing it has 200GB). The harddrive is just for photos and videos I safe. I don't mind if it is somewhat slow (as long as it isnt super slow). I might still dowload stuff from the internet that could be large files.
 
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Your best bet would be to get a SSHD for game storage. A SSHD is basically a big HD with a small SSD on it. When used for game storage it automatically moves the files for what game you are playing to the SSD portion. So if for the next 2 weeks you are playing Far Cry 3, shortly after you start playing the drives algorithms will move all the frequently used files for FC3 to the SSD portion. When you start playing FC4, it will take the FC3 files off the SSD portion and move the FC4 files there.... in large games like FC4 this even works as you move from region to region.

Look for the Seagate SSHD here (hint it's near the top)
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/hdd-charts-2013/-17-PCMark-7-Gaming,2915.html

Now look for the WD Blue (hint it's 3rd from bottom)

With games like FC4, Witcher 3 hitting 40 GB even doubling the SSD size doesn't give you much room.

Seagate Hybrid Drive ST2000DX001 2TB MLC/8GB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s NCQ 3.5" Desktop SSHD
Extra savings w/ promo code ESCANKV27, ends 2/20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178380

 
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Okay, I gotcha. I misunderstood. Yeah, that'd be fine. As long as you're not trying to install games and software on an external, you're good to go.
 
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Windows will eat up about 80GB once you get your programs installed and Windows updates etc . No matter where ya put programs (on other drives for example), they still like to put "common files" on C. And that also assumed no storage of e-mails, my documents etc on C:\

With the 120 GB ya have in ya build that doesn't leave enough room for even 1 of today's AAA titles which are running as high as 40GB. And with any drive, you need 15% free.

A 250 GB HD will have about 232B Gb of usable space
Setting aside 15% leaves you with 197 GB.
Figure 80GB for Windows , common files and say 20GB for page and temp files, you have 97 GB for games.

Far Cry 4 = 30GB
Witcher 3 = 40 GB
Shadow of Mordor = 40 GB
BF4 = 30 GB
Watch Dogs = 20 GB

That's why I find SSHDs so useful ... when used as boot drives they boot in 16.5 seconds to the SSDs 15.6. When used for game storage, the automatically move the files back and forth to the SSD portion so you don't have to copy / paste back and forth from the slow external drive.
 
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I have installed well over dozen of them .... my oldest personal one goes back to November 2011.... no reported failures as yet. Have one 750 GB here in my lappie, another in my old lappie.... two 2 TB jobs upstairs in a water cooled desktop that are 1.5 years old ... working as a file server, CAD working station during the day and a gaming box so they get heavy usage. All are 7200 rpm.

I just compared the reviews on the 1 TB SSD and the 1 TB WD Blue. The SSHD got 18% negative reviews (5%) 2 eggs and (13%) 1 egg ...... to 18 negative reviews (4%) 2 eggs and (15%) 1 egg for the WD son that's a statistically insignificant variation even tho it could be argued that someone who gets a SSHD has higher expectations.

Overall, here's the latest return rates for the last two sampling periods:

- Seagate 0,86% (0,95%)
- Toshiba 1,02% (1,54%)
- Hitachi 1,08% (1,16%)
- Western 1,13% (1,19%)
Click to expand...

Again, not a very significant difference.... 0.27% (0.24%)
 
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The hard drive part of a SSHD is going to have the same failure potential of any hard drive. My personal experience is get the biggest SSD you can swing and plan on upgrading that in a few years as your game collection expands. I personally no longer have the patience to wait for my games to load from HD which is why I upgraded to a 1TB SSD last year (with the help of some unexpected income 😉 ).
 
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We have a box with two 256 GB Samsung Pros and two 2 TB SSDs in my SOHO. We can boot from both and we can play games from both. So far no one has been able to tell the difference with booting, AutoCAD or gaming. I measured a 0.9 second difference in booting with a stop watch but w/o the watch,15.6 versus 16.5 seconds is just too close to call. Also tested with a hi performance HD and the 21.2 seconds was noticeable but only if ya pay attention.

Gaming wise, on the SSHDs, the first time or 2 you play a new game, if you focus on the time, you can sometimes notice a difference.... after the SSHD moves all the commonly used files to the SSD by the 3rd or so time you load it, ya can't tell the difference. I have used blind testing swapping back and forth between loading the game off SSD versus SSHD and no one has ever noticed.
 
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So overall if you had to choose, considering I will mainly be gaming....What do you guys think? SSHD vs HD and lower end SSD vs Higher end SSD and external HD (all under 1120 dollars)


@SR-71 Blackbird
@i7Baby
 
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