Is It Practical To Encrypt A Gaming Computer?

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Cluelessn00b

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May 7, 2013
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Hello everyone. I'm due to buy a new computer. Since my Xbox360 went out I've been thinking about dropping $800 on a gaming computer, and asking my friend to help me put my build together.

My question is would it be practical to encrypt an $800 gaming computer, and still be able to use it for actual gaming? A co-worker of mine recently had his house burglarized. While I don't think that this will happen to me I'd rather do full drive encryption just in case; so if my computer ever does get snatched I won't have to worry about some criminal looking at sensitive data.

Also keep in mind that if I do use full drive encryption I'd be fine with dropping some extra money on a processor that has AES-NI instructions, and possibly using the hard drive from my old computer as a secondary unencrypted hard drive just to install games on.

So what do you think? Can I have full drive encryption and still use an $800 rig as a gaming computer under these conditions? Also if I put in my old hard drive, and leave it unencrypted to only install games on could the operating system leak any data?

Thanks for your help!
 
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joecole1572
Full drive encryption is not really processor intensive. No need to drop extra dough on the AES-NI if it comes down to it. I use it on my laptop and still game with no performance drop.

It is pretty easy to set up with tru crypt, but if you have a driver issue or have to enter recovery mode using an install disk, full drive encryption is a pain. You have to decrypt the whole drive to do a system restore if windows can't load on its own.

You have to ask yourself:
1) How sensitive is the data I am going to keep on my computer?
2) Will I be willing to put up with decrypting the drive if I have to fix the computer outside of Windows on the hard drive?

Edit: Having a second unencrypted drive is not really necessary.

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joecole1572

joecole1572

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Jun 30, 2008
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Full drive encryption is not really processor intensive. No need to drop extra dough on the AES-NI if it comes down to it. I use it on my laptop and still game with no performance drop.

It is pretty easy to set up with tru crypt, but if you have a driver issue or have to enter recovery mode using an install disk, full drive encryption is a pain. You have to decrypt the whole drive to do a system restore if windows can't load on its own.

You have to ask yourself:
1) How sensitive is the data I am going to keep on my computer?
2) Will I be willing to put up with decrypting the drive if I have to fix the computer outside of Windows on the hard drive?

Edit: Having a second unencrypted drive is not really necessary.

 
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