External SSD Drive for Storage

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  1. Posts : 33
    Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
       #1

    External SSD Drive for Storage


    Hi Forum.

    I'm currently building a new PC, and gathering some information regarding storage devices. Would it be OK to only have one internal SSD 1T (NVME) as my primary drive which all the software (Windows , Adobe, general software) will be stored. And just have another external SSD where I can store my personal files and projects? I just read that SSD are better than HDD because they are more durable. So would this option be OK to consider?

    Thank you.
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  2. Posts : 2,068
    Windows 10 Pro
       #2

    Hard drives themselves last a very long. However, if you drop them when they are running, because of the moving parts you could damage them. So, SSD's are safer from drops.

    SSD's are much faster than hard drives, so having an external SSD would lead to better performance.
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  3. Posts : 21,421
    19044.1586 - 21H2 Pro x64
       #3

    Depending on how much storage you want to buy SSDs are very expensive compared to HDDs, so it depends on your needs and budget .

    If you are building a desktop, you can install both the SSD and HDD in the desktop and have a third external SSD or HDD drive if desired.
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  4. Posts : 15,426
    Windows10
       #4

    steve108 said:
    Depending on how much storage you want to buy SSDs are very expensive compared to HDDs, so it depends on your needs and budget .

    If you are building a desktop, you can install both the SSD and HDD in the desktop and have a third external SSD or HDD drive if desired.
    I would have 2 ssds installed internally for optimum performance and use the external hdd as a backup drive.
    OP would need to develop a backup strategy that suits them e.g. regular image backups of OS to HDD, and backup of data from data drive to hdd.

    I am paranoid, and I also ensure critical data is backed up to onedrive as well i.e.

    critical data - backup to onedrive and external drive (as well as keeping on pc) .

    Important but not that critical data, backup to hdd and keep on pc. I sonetimes back up to cloud as well.
    Useful data but not easy to replace but not really that important, backup to hdd and keep on pc space permitting. If you get low on space on data drive, think carefully if you remove it as you will only have one copy. Backup to cloud or 2nd hdd if possible
    General run of mill data that can be replacede.g. downloads of videos, backup to hdd and remove from pc, pragmatically accepting if hdd fails, this data is lost.

    I am not saying above strategy is right for OP but crucial point is you should always keep at least two copies of data (one on pc data drive, and one on backup media).

    HDDs are good for bulk storage, cloud less so. Conversely hdds are more likely to fail than a good cloud service.

    On the end, a user needs to develop a backup strategy that suits them.
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  5. Posts : 4,594
    Windows 10 Pro
       #5

    You`ll want another drive to store your data and keep images on. Where you keep it is up to you.

    Macrium Software | Reflect Free Edition
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  6. Posts : 33
    Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    cereberus said:
    I would have 2 ssds installed internally for optimum performance and use the external hdd as a backup drive.
    OP would need to develop a backup strategy that suits them e.g. regular image backups of OS to HDD, and backup of data from data drive to hdd.

    I am paranoid, and I also ensure critical data is backed up to onedrive as well i.e.

    critical data - backup to onedrive and external drive (as well as keeping on pc) .

    Important but not that critical data, backup to hdd and keep on pc. I sonetimes back up to cloud as well.
    Useful data but not easy to replace but not really that important, backup to hdd and keep on pc space permitting. If you get low on space on data drive, think carefully if you remove it as you will only have one copy. Backup to cloud or 2nd hdd if possible
    General run of mill data that can be replacede.g. downloads of videos, backup to hdd and remove from pc, pragmatically accepting if hdd fails, this data is lost.

    I am not saying above strategy is right for OP but crucial point is you should always keep at least two copies of data (one on pc data drive, and one on backup media).

    HDDs are good for bulk storage, cloud less so. Conversely hdds are more likely to fail than a good cloud service.

    On the end, a user needs to develop a backup strategy that suits them.
    You're right about the backup. I already have 4 external HDD with all my project files intact.

    But for this PC build, I'd rather just have one SSD with all the software installed on that, and each night I just store my projects on the external SDD, rather than having an internal HDD. I'm aware that the prices are much higher due to better performance.

    My main concern for starting this thread was if the PC would be affecting in anyway just having one SDD installed.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 15,426
    Windows10
       #7

    graphomet said:
    You're right about the backup. I already have 4 external HDD with all my project files intact.

    But for this PC build, I'd rather just have one SSD with all the software installed on that, and each night I just store my projects on the external SDD, rather than having an internal HDD. I'm aware that the prices are much higher due to better performance.

    My main concern for starting this thread was if the PC would be affecting in anyway just having one SDD installed.
    It all really comes down to sizes of SSDs and usage.

    A 1Tb ssd is not that expensive and you can partition it to keep data separate.

    However, you will always get better performance with two ssds e.g. backing up c drive to a partition on a single drive will be slower than backing up to a second internal drive as with a single drive Windows is always alternating between reading from and writing to the drive.

    With two drives, windows is more efficient


    For sure, impact on a single ssd is much lower than an HDD, but still there.

    It all comes down to your personal needs.
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  8. Posts : 4,594
    Windows 10 Pro
       #8

    Today, it goes without saying to install your OS and all your programs on 1 SSD or M.2

    980 PRO PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD 1TB Memory & Storage - MZ-V8P1T0B/AM | Samsung US
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  9. Posts : 33
    Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    AddRAM said:
    Today, it goes without saying to install your OS and all your programs on 1 SSD or M.2

    980 PRO PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD 1TB Memory & Storage - MZ-V8P1T0B/AM | Samsung US
    I had initially put for my PC build The crucial P1SSD 1T $125, because of its price convenience, but my work colleague kept on nagging about the speed which is at 3000, so he convinced me to get the Samsung 980 pro, like the one you mentioned, which came at $260 where I am located.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 4,594
    Windows 10 Pro
       #10

    If you get a board that supports PCI-E version 4.0, you will get even higher speeds.

    Have you picked out a motherboard and cpu yet ?
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