I've got a 2tb HDD with all my games on it that I think is starting to fail so I want to buy a new drive to move all my games too.
Thinking of getting something that is 4tb and I think SSD is out of my budget at this capacity.
Can anyone suggest what to buy? I saw the 4tb Barracuda is 120 on Amazon but seems to be 5400rpm, Is this a huge issue for gaming?
Should I just grab another 2tb at 7200rpm
I've got a 500gb nvme for the main drive. The HDD is just a secondary drive.
Then I'll buy a 2TB 7200RPM for a second drive unless you want to go 1TB SSD and swap if your inclined. Just concentrate on games that you really play for the main
or even storage IMO
Nah. For sequential read / write 5400 rpm is fine. It is just random read write is problem because head needs to move mechanically. Shouldn't be a problem at all for storage. Less heat means longer life too.
Just bollocks, 5400 is noticeably slower than 7200 and it's close to thumb drive speed at times if it's SMR.
SMR is slow regardless of rpm. The rest is bollocks
The only way I'll get a 5400 rpm drive, if someone is throwing out their 10 yo core 2 duo case on the street kerb with the drive included. They've passed thier use by date and are too slow.
Depending on what sort of computer you have, I'd get 2 1tb SSDs if you can't afford a 2tb or bigger.
For a gaming disk you want an nvme when gaming on it, and a big storage disk for when not playing on it.
so i keep a 1tb nvme for active games i am playing with, and a 16tb disk for games i am not.
Is there much difference between SATA and NVMe SSDs for games?
I would guess the difference to be so minor that it's unnoticeable to most
There is a difference in load times, a quite significant difference.
Is it really that different?
This video indicates around 10% longer loading time with SATA SSD over NVMe which really isn't much it in my opinion
Are there specific games which have a more significant difference?
@FireRunner: Some games are more optimised that others, and you are comparing sata ssd with nvme, i am comparing mechanical drives to nvme. I am assuming your 2 tb is a hdd not a ssd.
@garetz: Sorry, was a bit ambiguous when a asked "difference between SATA and NVMe SSDs for games?"
I meant SATA SSD and NVMe SSD. I know HDDs are going to be far slower which is also shown in that video
My original question was wondering why you needed an NVMe specifically rather than just any (quality) SSD
@FireRunner: Ssds are getting harder to obtain, and nvme have a performance edge over ssds at around the same price point, so why not.
Is it really that different?
True. OP should make sure they got enough ram. Not enough ram to load into just makes sure their SSD gets trashed.
If you double your budget you can get a 2tb ssd.
Consider hybrid?
When the 2TB hard drive in my 18 month old HP laptop carked it in 2017, I replaced it with a Seagate 2.5" FireCuda ST2000LX001.
This has 8GB SSD and 2TB HDD. The drive automatically puts the most used software (the operating system) onto the SSD for better bootup and performance.
It was $149 in 2017, prices now are oddly $200 up to $500.
No problems with it over 4 years. I have Hard Disk Sentinel checking it every day, I do not want to get caught out again with a drive failure.
Buy an SSD unless your games are very small. At minimum you will halve loading times.
if you can wrap your budget around ssd's you'll be pretty well off,
otherwise wd black drives have served me well in the past for game storage
So it seems like the solution is get an SSD.
Recommendations on which?
I like the Samsung's
Mechanical HDD for the memes and culture storage.
SSD for the games and anything else like editing or productivity work.
I like the Samsung line for ssds.
Stay away from conventional 5400 RPM old spinning disc drives for main/gaming "C"; or even storage IMO. Usually they are used as a secondary drive for storage; and now these days the 7200RPM drives due to cost vs storage capacity. SSD is the way to go for the main drive. Go for 512GB SSD or above. If you have many games in your library, install the most demanding in C drive and then install other games in D drive.