Which is better for this scenario: One 256GB SSD or Two 128GB

[hikoPC]

I'm building my first high end PC with gaming in mind and I wanted to ask the good people on here for some advice:

Basically I want both my Operating System and the games I install on a SSD. Initially my idea was to buy 2 Samsung 840 Pro 128GB drives and have my OS and games on separate drives, but would I be better off using just one 256GB 840 Pro and installing the OS & Games on separate partitions?

I'm just wondering because I know the life of a SSD is dependent on how often you write to it. Would having a gaming directory on a OS drive shorten the lifespan of my drive in comparison to two independent drives?

 

[clutchc]

Get the biggest single SSD you can afford. Put the OS and most used apps/pgms on the SSD and everything else on a HDD.

 

[Dereck47]

You don't have to worry about drive longevity with current generation SSD's. Especially if you're primarily gaming. Get the 256GB drive.

You also don't really need to create a separate partition for your games. You can have a main folder called C:/Games and then create sub-folders for each separate game that you install.

 

[hikoPC]

Thanks guys, 256GB it is!

You also don't really need to create a separate partition for your games. You can have a main folder called C:/Games and then create sub-folders for each separate game that you install.

I considered that but IMO it's best to have the OS on a separate partition so you can wipe it and do a fresh install whenever you need to without having to re-download and/or re-install all your games.

 

[Dereck47]

I considered that but IMO it's best to have the OS on a separate partition so you can wipe it and do a fresh install whenever you need to without having to re-download and/or re-install all your games.

Good point.

 

[clutchc]

I considered that but IMO it's best to have the OS on a separate partition so you can wipe it and do a fresh install whenever you need to without having to re-download and/or re-install all your games.

Won't the Win Registry, location pointers, etc. be missing after a clean install of the OS if the newly-installed OS isn't made aware of the games and other pgms?

 

[spooky2th]

Lot's of people have found that trim does not work on a second SSD. So, be wary.

 

[aramisathei]

The registry issues could be a problem, but if using something like Steam that may not be much of an issue.
Also of note: the write performance of the 256 models is significantly better than the 128s.

 

[hikoPC]

Yeah that was a big boon for the 256GB drive, are the 512 faster still?