Time to buy my storage, need help :)! (SSD vs. HDD)

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spanishguy

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Hello guys, so I am looking to get a gaming desktop put together (link below), and I was also looking to overclocking it. Another performance difference will depend on if I pick HDD or SSD. My concern with SSD is the storage available in it. The speed is desirable but obviously not much space. Since I am planning on putting games in it, I imagine a 120GB SSD might run out of space. As an example, right now in my 3 year old computer I have used up 205GB of space. I was wondering if there is a way around this issue, maybe an external hard drive. Should I go for the nice boost in speed and get an external hard drive or just stick with HDD? I am hoping not to spend more than $150 on storage unless it is a few bucks above and worth it.

My build: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/spanishguy/saved/2jyw

Will I have any issues if I buy a SSD and get an external hard drive and then have to boot games from that external hard drive?

Edit: Just been reading and was wondering if it was possible to do a SSD/HDD Combo. Would that give me both speed and space?

Thanks for your help, I am looking to buy this piece tonight.
 
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Jaxem
The SSD + HDD for games and media is probably the best all around solution if you can't afford a massive SSD (which many of us can't). There's no problem using this kind of setup, i have a 180GB ssd for my os and apps, then a 1TB that has 400 GB worth of games, pictures and music on it, no problems whatsoever. For OS and apps, 120GB is plenty, you probably won't even halfway fill it.
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ACTechy

ACTechy

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You can have both an SSD and a HDD connected inside your computer, which is what most builders are doing nowadays. If you want your OS and games on it, just make sure you get at least 120GB, preferably 250GB or so (you run out of space faster than you'd think)...then make your HDD your media/documents drive. All internal.
 
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Jaxem

Jaxem

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The SSD + HDD for games and media is probably the best all around solution if you can't afford a massive SSD (which many of us can't). There's no problem using this kind of setup, i have a 180GB ssd for my os and apps, then a 1TB that has 400 GB worth of games, pictures and music on it, no problems whatsoever. For OS and apps, 120GB is plenty, you probably won't even halfway fill it.
 
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spanishguy

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Ok, sounds like this might be the way to go for me as long as its not too complicated to setup. This is the first time I am building my own PC. Which SSD do you guys recommend to go with the current 1TB HDD i have right now?
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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When budget isn't an issue, id say get an SSD....but if it is, it's certainly the last thing I'd add. I mean when you add an SSD and a person's boot time drops from 21.2 seconds to 15.6 seconds or even 11-12 seconds it's like "wow"....and that's pretty much the end of it. I mean you can get a 7.9 WEI score if that's what is important to you ..... and if ya use as a scratch disk in Adobe or some other storage intensive app, it is a real time saver. But in every days use, even in gaming, it's hardly any impact.

I have two otherwise identical laptops..... one has a tie 1 SSD and 7200 rpm HD .... the other has a hybrid SSHD. If I use a stop watch, one boots about a second faster than the other. But w/o the stopwatch, ta can't tell them apart running AutoCAD or gaming.

At $150....I'd do the SSHD and get a SSD when budget allows.

Hurry one left :)
Seagate Momentus XT 750 GB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 32 MB Cache Model ST750LX003
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Momentus-7200RPM-Hybrid-ST750LX003/dp/B00691WMJG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379375521&sr=8-1&keywords=Momentus+XT
 
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spanishguy

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So you are saying that if I am going to solely be opening games and basically have a whole bunch of firefox tabs open and browse alot of videos and pages, an SSD will really not excel too much? Just for startup and memory intensive programs?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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For a PC devoted to only gaming, I'd move an SSD down the priority list.
Me personally, I wouldn't build another one without it, but this PC (and all the others around here) is not devoted to only games.
 
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ACTechy

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I've got two of that same Samsung SSD and it works great (a little slower write speeds, but it's still a huge upgrade). When I built last, I just bought an SSD and waited to get a HDD until I needed it and I could find a good sale, worked out fine. Can't go wrong.
 
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spanishguy

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Haha, wow thats the one you linked. I forgot to look at it :) Ok cool, and one last question before i buy it then isssss, It does not matter if I mix a samsung SSD with another brand's HDD? Such as the Seagate one i have already :)?

 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Does not matter. In this current PC, I have a Sandisk and Kingston SSD' and two different brand HDD's.
Does not matter.
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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I'm saying that yes, if you had two machines side by side .... one with an SSD + HD and one with an SSD and not knowing which was which, you'd be hard pressed ti tell them apart.....unless you sat , stared at screen pushed start and did ..... one mississsipi.....two mississsipi.....

rendering yes....photo editing yes.....one can make a ROI argument to he boss and show a payback......but web browsing, gaming .... uhuh

Now that being said, I'll prolly put two 256 GB SSDs in RAID 0 in my next build..... but I'm a geek .... the equivalent to the guy who puts a $1,000 set of chrome rims on a car ..... or who puts on exhaust headers to get a performance boost that I'll never really get anything out of driving to work in bumper to bumper traffic :). They key is the machine goes faster .... but you don't :)

If I get to work, drop my laptop on desk, power it on ....then go get cup of joe from coffee machine .... accomplishing that all in 45 seconds ..... does it matter if my machine booted in 15.6 (SSD), 16.4 (SSHD) or 21.2 (HD) seconds.

On my son's box.... it boots from both SSD or HD ....I changed boot order from SSD-HD to HD-SSD ..... he never noticed.....told him 2 weeks later.

We have two lappies in office....1st one had SSD _ HD ....2nd one has SSHD ..... no one can tell which is which unless ya stare and count or use a stop watch.

 
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