• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Using a SSD and HD for storage?

Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
3,842 (0.62/day)
Location
Maryland
System Name HAL
Processor Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
Motherboard Z790 Arous master
Cooling EKWB Quantum Velocity V2 & (2) 360 Corsair XR7 Rads push/pull
Memory 2x 32GB (64GB) Gskill trident 6000 CL30 @28 1T
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 Gigagbyte gaming OC @ +200/1300
Storage (M2's) 2x Samsung 980 pro 2TB, 1xWD Black 2TB, 1x SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) 65" LG OLED 120HZ
Case Lian Li dyanmic Evo11 with distro plate
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350
Software Microsoft Windows 11 x64
Kreij aka "The man" just gave away a 256 gb SSD in a contest I won so I am trying to figure out what I can do here. I have almost 500gb worth of things I'd like to keep..

Can I put the OS on the SSD with like games and stuff. Then use the 1TB HD as some kind of storage drive? I'm not really sure how to go about doing that..
Anyone mind showing me the way. I have done raid0 before with 2 hd's but I bet this is different XD.

Would I have to boot from each one individually, to have them both accessible?
Or is there a way I can have the SSD and the HD running at the same time, and accessible at the same time?
I am totally out of my element XD.. But it should be fun learning..lol.

I'm thinking I'd install the OS on both.. Then programs and games to the ssd and all the other stuff to the 1tb? idk...lol
Maybe I should just get an external hd or something?
Any advice would be really appreciated.
I have to head to bed, so please forgive me if I can't respond tonight.

Thank you. :)
 

sneekypeet

Retired Super Moderator
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
29,407 (4.48/day)
System Name EVA-01
Processor Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s) Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s) Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software Windows 11
Put SSD in the machine, load OS.
Put 1TB in machine, format if needed, assign letter if not already done, add data.

It really is that simple.
You can easily divert installs of some applications to the 1TB drive as well and allow them to run from there if you happen to load up that SSD.
 

manofthem

WCG-TPU Team All-Star!
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
10,960 (2.27/day)
Location
Florida
Processor 3900X @ 4.0
Motherboard Asus ROG Strix X570-E
Cooling DeepCool Castle 360EX
Memory G Skill Trident Z Neo 32GB 3600
Video Card(s) RX 5700 XT Pulse
Storage Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB
Display(s) LG 34UC88
Case Thermaltake P3
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III 750w
Mouse Logitech G900
Keyboard G Skill KM570 MX Silver
Software Windows 10 Pro
Congrats on winning the ssd. Wasn't that a Vertex 4? That's super fast and you're going to love it. As sneekypeet said, install to ssd, which should take maybe 10 minutes. Then go from there. Keep your programs and some games on the ssd, as you'll appreciate the speed boost and snappiness. Then load your data onto the hdd. You're good to go.

Welcome to beautiful land of ssds! :toast:
 
Last edited:
Joined
May 4, 2012
Messages
412 (0.09/day)
Processor Intel i7 10700K
Motherboard Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Pro AX
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory DDR4 Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHZ (2X16GB)
Video Card(s) Palit GTX1080ti Super JetStream 11GB
Storage Trandscend 370s 256GB / WD Caviar Black 2+1TB
Display(s) Acer XB270HU 144hz Gsync
Case Phanteks Eclipse P600S White
Audio Device(s) Sound Blaster ZXR
Power Supply Corsair RM1000X 1000W 80 Plus Gold
Having 2 OS on two drives will require you to select either one every time you start up. Doing so kinda negate one of the strongest benefits of having an SSD: quick boot time. I have a plextor 128GB SSD that I use for OS and programs, while I keep all my games and stuff in 1TB hdd. Loading a game off SSD is faster than from HDD but not as fast as loading OS, as you can still see the "now loading" screen from time to time. Therefore I don't waste my SSD space with gigantic games. Just get a fast HDD like WD black and you are good to go.
 

sneekypeet

Retired Super Moderator
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
29,407 (4.48/day)
System Name EVA-01
Processor Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s) Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s) Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software Windows 11
Oh I forgot to add, if not already set, make sure you are in AHCI mode in the bios;)
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
3,842 (0.62/day)
Location
Maryland
System Name HAL
Processor Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
Motherboard Z790 Arous master
Cooling EKWB Quantum Velocity V2 & (2) 360 Corsair XR7 Rads push/pull
Memory 2x 32GB (64GB) Gskill trident 6000 CL30 @28 1T
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 Gigagbyte gaming OC @ +200/1300
Storage (M2's) 2x Samsung 980 pro 2TB, 1xWD Black 2TB, 1x SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) 65" LG OLED 120HZ
Case Lian Li dyanmic Evo11 with distro plate
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350
Software Microsoft Windows 11 x64
Great info, thank you guys. Yea it's a vertex 4! I was like wooot!
AHCI mode, will do. ;)

I'm a bit confused now after reading what Silapacorn said.. Using the SDD for my games is a bad idea?
What else would I want to use an SSD for? lol.. Not like I want to store music on it or movies, I see no benefit from that.
I'd think games being the most active on storage use, would benefit the most from the ssd. Is that not the case?
Just want to do this the right way, the best way to run my games.
 

sneekypeet

Retired Super Moderator
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
29,407 (4.48/day)
System Name EVA-01
Processor Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s) Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s) Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software Windows 11
Just put what you want on the SSD. Only when it gets full should you need to worry about what goes where, or if you need to shift older games off and newer titles onto the SSD.
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
3,842 (0.62/day)
Location
Maryland
System Name HAL
Processor Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
Motherboard Z790 Arous master
Cooling EKWB Quantum Velocity V2 & (2) 360 Corsair XR7 Rads push/pull
Memory 2x 32GB (64GB) Gskill trident 6000 CL30 @28 1T
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 Gigagbyte gaming OC @ +200/1300
Storage (M2's) 2x Samsung 980 pro 2TB, 1xWD Black 2TB, 1x SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) 65" LG OLED 120HZ
Case Lian Li dyanmic Evo11 with distro plate
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350
Software Microsoft Windows 11 x64
Just put what you want on the SSD. Only when it gets full should you need to worry about what goes where, or if you need to shift older games off and newer titles onto the SSD.

I usually uninstall games I stop using and store the save files, so that's pretty much what I'd be doing. Yea, I think with 256 gb I could manage that. It's not like it's a 60 or something..

You know.. Maybe just using an external HD would make this easier then.. I mean I could store movies, music and all that on the external 1TB just fine anyway right? I can't forsee any issues but I'm no storage pro.

I could also make a partition on the external for my autocad files I guess.
I hope I can rename the "F" letter my External has. It would need to be the "P" drive for my Xrefs to be located.
Is that easy to do?

Then maybe I could just say "screw the 1TB internal" and focus solely on the super schmexy SSD.. :pimp:

If that's the case, I'll be giving away a 1TB internal HD..lol..

PS: I sooo want to break my wallet right now and get another 256 vertex 4 and raid 0 them or something..lol
Idk if SSD's even raid.. Eesh.. I'm so out of date..
 

sneekypeet

Retired Super Moderator
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
29,407 (4.48/day)
System Name EVA-01
Processor Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s) Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s) Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software Windows 11
if its inside or outside, parted or not, it will all work the same way man. I'm not trying to be rude here, but you really are over thinking this. It is as easy as it sounds.

The OS will set up the SSD (make sure you look at SSD tweak threads for shutting down un-needed things). Then it is just like another HDD, just faster, the rules don't change;)

SSDs do raid, and even have trim support in raid now. Do you need it? Likely that V4 is gonna be plenty fast and you can drop wallet burning cash into something else;)
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
3,842 (0.62/day)
Location
Maryland
System Name HAL
Processor Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
Motherboard Z790 Arous master
Cooling EKWB Quantum Velocity V2 & (2) 360 Corsair XR7 Rads push/pull
Memory 2x 32GB (64GB) Gskill trident 6000 CL30 @28 1T
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 Gigagbyte gaming OC @ +200/1300
Storage (M2's) 2x Samsung 980 pro 2TB, 1xWD Black 2TB, 1x SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) 65" LG OLED 120HZ
Case Lian Li dyanmic Evo11 with distro plate
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350
Software Microsoft Windows 11 x64
if its inside or outside, parted or not, it will all work the same way man. I'm not trying to be rude here, but you really are over thinking this. It is as easy as it sounds.

The OS will set up the SSD (make sure you look at SSD tweak threads for shutting down un-needed things). Then it is just like another HDD, just faster, the rules don't change;)

SSDs do raid, and even have trim support in raid now. Do you need it? Likely that V4 is gonna be plenty fast and you can drop wallet burning cash into something else;)

Lol, didn't think you were trying to be rude.. But I appreciate the clarification. I'm just very ignorant about SSD's as I wasn't expecting to get one XD.. I'm kind of impressed the newer tech, integrates so easily with existing tech.. Great to hear. :)
Thanks again.

:toast:
 

AlienIsGOD

Vanguard Beta Tester
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
Messages
5,111 (0.89/day)
Location
Kingston, Ontario Canada
System Name Aliens Ryzen Rig | 2nd Hand Omen
Processor Ryzen R5 5600 | Ryzen R5 3600
Motherboard Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite (F61 BIOS) | B450 matx
Cooling DeepCool Castle EX V2 240mm AIO| stock for now
Memory 8GB X 2 DDR4 3000mhz Team Group Vulcan | 16GB DDR4
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 8GB | GTX 1650 4GB
Storage Adata XPG 8200 PRO 512GB SSD OS / 240 SSD + 2TB M.2 SSD Games / 1000 GB Data | SSD + HDD
Display(s) Acer ED273 27" VA 144hz Freesync |TCL 32" 1080P w/ HDR
Case NZXT H500 Black | HP Omen Obelisk
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek | Onboard Realtek
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650w 80+ Gold | 500w
Mouse Steelseries Rival 500 15 button mouse w/ Razor Goliathus Chroma XL mousemat | Logitech G502
Keyboard Logitech G910 Orion Spark RGB w/ Romer G tactile keys | Logitech G513 Carbon w/ Romer G tactile keys
Software Windows 10 Pro | Windows 10 Pro
Using the SDD for my games is a bad idea?

no man, its a fine idea. Lots of ppl put 1 or 2 games on their SSD. I have BF3 on mine and am thinking about putting GW 2 on it too. You just need to remember that you can only have a game or 3 depending on size of game and SSD.
 
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
3,842 (0.62/day)
Location
Maryland
System Name HAL
Processor Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
Motherboard Z790 Arous master
Cooling EKWB Quantum Velocity V2 & (2) 360 Corsair XR7 Rads push/pull
Memory 2x 32GB (64GB) Gskill trident 6000 CL30 @28 1T
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 Gigagbyte gaming OC @ +200/1300
Storage (M2's) 2x Samsung 980 pro 2TB, 1xWD Black 2TB, 1x SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) 65" LG OLED 120HZ
Case Lian Li dyanmic Evo11 with distro plate
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350
Software Microsoft Windows 11 x64
no man, its a fine idea. Lots of ppl put 1 or 2 games on their SSD. I have BF3 on mine and am thinking about putting GW 2 on it too. You just need to remember that you can only have a game or 3 depending on size of game and SSD.

That's why I'm so happy Kreij is awesome and put up a massive 256 gb SSD! woootfish!
 
Joined
Jun 12, 2007
Messages
4,815 (0.78/day)
Location
Wangas, New Zealand
System Name Darth Obsidious
Processor Intel i5 2500K
Motherboard ASUS P8Z68-V/Gen3
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212+ in Push Pull
Memory 2X4GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) ASUS R9 270x TOP
Storage 128GB Samsung 830 SSD, 1TB WD Black, 2TB WD Green
Display(s) LG IPS234V-PN
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) Infrasonic Quartet
Power Supply Corsair HX650w
Software Windows 7 64bit and Windows XP Home
Benchmark Scores 2cm mark on bench with a razor blade.
Currently using SSD primarily as OS and 1TB WD Black as steam games drive.
No waiting around for loading the desktop!

Enjoy your SSD.
 

JrRacinFan

Served 5k and counting ...
Joined
Mar 17, 2007
Messages
20,073 (3.23/day)
Location
Youngstown, OH
System Name Dual Build Streamer
Processor Ryzen 7900x3d : Ryzen 4600G
Motherboard AsRock B650E Steel Legend : Giga B450i Aorus
Cooling Custom Water 1x420 : Stock
Memory 32GB T-Force Deltas : 16GB Dominator Platinums
Video Card(s) PowerColor 7900 XTX Liquid Devil: iGPU
Storage 20+ TB
Display(s) Sammy 49" 5k Ultrawide
Case Custom White Painted Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2
Audio Device(s) Onboard : Onboard
Power Supply EVGA 1200W P2
Mouse Corsair M65 RGB Elite White
Keyboard Hyperx Origins 65
Software Windows 10
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
Messages
4,213 (0.75/day)
Location
Vietnam
System Name Gaming System / HTPC-Server
Processor i7 8700K (@4.8 Ghz All-Core) / R7 5900X
Motherboard Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming / MSI B450 Mortar Max
Cooling CM ML360 / CM ML240L
Memory 16Gb Hynix @3200 MHz / 16Gb Hynix @3000Mhz
Video Card(s) Zotac 3080 / Colorful 1060
Storage 750G MX300 + 2x500G NVMe / 40Tb Reds + 1Tb WD Blue NVMe
Display(s) LG 27GN800-B 27'' 2K 144Hz / Sony TV
Case Xigmatek Aquarius Plus / Corsair Air 240
Audio Device(s) On Board Realtek
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III Gold 750W / Andyson TX-700 Platinum
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero / K400+
Keyboard Wooting Two / K400+
Software Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores Cinebench R15 = 1542 3D Mark Timespy = 9758
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
3,842 (0.62/day)
Location
Maryland
System Name HAL
Processor Core i9 13900k @5.8-6.1
Motherboard Z790 Arous master
Cooling EKWB Quantum Velocity V2 & (2) 360 Corsair XR7 Rads push/pull
Memory 2x 32GB (64GB) Gskill trident 6000 CL30 @28 1T
Video Card(s) RTX 4090 Gigagbyte gaming OC @ +200/1300
Storage (M2's) 2x Samsung 980 pro 2TB, 1xWD Black 2TB, 1x SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB
Display(s) 65" LG OLED 120HZ
Case Lian Li dyanmic Evo11 with distro plate
Power Supply Thermaltake 1350
Software Microsoft Windows 11 x64
Oh wow, thanks guys.. Some great links here. I thought the thread died.. I'll be installing it tonight so I very much appreciate the info..
I was told to disable some things to make it last longer.. Guess I need to look into that as well..
:toast:
 
Joined
Nov 1, 2008
Messages
4,213 (0.75/day)
Location
Vietnam
System Name Gaming System / HTPC-Server
Processor i7 8700K (@4.8 Ghz All-Core) / R7 5900X
Motherboard Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming / MSI B450 Mortar Max
Cooling CM ML360 / CM ML240L
Memory 16Gb Hynix @3200 MHz / 16Gb Hynix @3000Mhz
Video Card(s) Zotac 3080 / Colorful 1060
Storage 750G MX300 + 2x500G NVMe / 40Tb Reds + 1Tb WD Blue NVMe
Display(s) LG 27GN800-B 27'' 2K 144Hz / Sony TV
Case Xigmatek Aquarius Plus / Corsair Air 240
Audio Device(s) On Board Realtek
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III Gold 750W / Andyson TX-700 Platinum
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero / K400+
Keyboard Wooting Two / K400+
Software Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores Cinebench R15 = 1542 3D Mark Timespy = 9758
Oh wow, thanks guys.. Some great links here. I thought the thread died.. I'll be installing it tonight so I very much appreciate the info..
I was told to disable some things to make it last longer.. Guess I need to look into that as well..
:toast:

you'll only really need to disable hibernation and indexing, you can also disable system restore if you make regular backups, too. Everything else is fine. Defrag should automatically be disabled.
 
Top