2TB SSD or 2-4TB HDD + 16GB 3200Mhz ram

[Anthony813]

As the title says, I have those options listed above, and i am not sure what should I get. My current hard drive is complete trash, 10mb/s gets my disc at 100%, every time i download something big like windows updates or steam games my pc freezes, and it is now incredibly slow at installing. For example it's been 27 hours since i started downloading r6s, and i still have 10gb left. My internet speed is fine and it was supposed to be done in 3 hours time. Anyway, I can only afford either the 2tb ssd in black friday, or the 2 to 4tb hdd (barracuda) and the ram. The problem with 2tb is that i fear that i may run out of space, as I usually save a lot of clips, and download big games, which is why i am thinking of a 3tb hdd or more. However, ssd's are much faster so i'm not sure. I also have intel optane, which supposedly boosts any hdd, and i'm not sure if optane will interfere with an ssd, or how it would work out. I also need the ram because i am using around 60% of my ram (8gb 2666mhz, dual channel), without opening anything. I am a streamer, and I usually have my ram at 80-90% above without having chrome open. I do need chrome in my streams to check the chat and play some music. I feel like upgrading my ram in both the speed and the capacity would improve my pc overall.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that my computer is a laptop, so I can only use 2.5" hard drives.

So, which option should I choose?

Below is my dxdiag, in case someone wants to know my specs.

dxdiag.txt

[kdawwgg1221]

Look when I tell you this, you are going to think I am insane. My favorite upgrade by far to my super budget PC is throwing a SATA SSD drive in there and installing a fresh set of windows. Watching those boot times were so satisfying compared to my old HDD.

 

This is just an example, however, NVME M.2 drives are widely popular with even better RW Speeds. That is my next upgrade and it is totally worth the switch 

[TTPerformance]

So I'm a little confused that your only two options are to get a huge 2 TB SSD or 8TB of HDD storage. What about just getting a 500 - 1000 GB SSD and one of the 4TB HDD's? Then installing a fresh copy of Windows and taste the feeling of having both, a fast computer AND a lot of storage for your files, games, and video clips. I would really suggest this option rather than your original plan. (And more RAM and speed is always nice but look closely on the timings aswell )

[Kedohawyr]

You have an Acer Nitro AN515-52 correct?

 

Web search seems to suggest that it does have an M.2 slot supporting SATA and NVME (limited to 2 lanes instead of 4 but that's of little importance) in addition to the 2.5" HDD bay. Additionally I doubt you can fit a 4TB HDD into that laptop or any laptop really, the 2.5" ones that I know are all over 10mm or more in height (they're designed only for servers) and that won't fit. Further if I'm reading the specs right you need to stick to 7mm if you want to fit an M.2 at the same time.

 

Using a HDD as your boot drive for Windows 10 is never going to be good even with more RAM. After double checking that your laptop has a compatible M.2 slot for yourself you should probably purchase a 1TB M.2 SATA SSD (like a Crucial MX500 or WD Blue 3D) for Windows plus a 2TB 2.5" 7mm HDD for your videos and less load intensive games (open world games that load progressively should go on the SSD)

 

Also your description makes it sound like your HDD is terribly fragmented (do you have less than 15% free space?) so you should check that too.

[seagate_surfer]

What about all updates, not only for the system but for your devices too?

[Anthony813]

On 11/1/2019 at 1:29 PM, Kedohawyr said:

You have an Acer Nitro AN515-52 correct?

 

Web search seems to suggest that it does have an M.2 slot supporting SATA and NVME (limited to 2 lanes instead of 4 but that's of little importance) in addition to the 2.5" HDD bay. Additionally I doubt you can fit a 4TB HDD into that laptop or any laptop really, the 2.5" ones that I know are all over 10mm or more in height (they're designed only for servers) and that won't fit. Further if I'm reading the specs right you need to stick to 7mm if you want to fit an M.2 at the same time.

 

Using a HDD as your boot drive for Windows 10 is never going to be good even with more RAM. After double checking that your laptop has a compatible M.2 slot for yourself you should probably purchase a 1TB M.2 SATA SSD (like a Crucial MX500 or WD Blue 3D) for Windows plus a 2TB 2.5" 7mm HDD for your videos and less load intensive games (open world games that load progressively should go on the SSD)

 

Also your description makes it sound like your HDD is terribly fragmented (do you have less than 15% free space?) so you should check that too.

Yeah my HDD is almost full

[Anthony813]

@Kedohawyr Is installing those types of SSD safe? I am quite afraid that i may damage my pc in doing so

[seagate_surfer]

On 11/2/2019 at 8:33 AM, Anthony813 said:

@Kedohawyr Is installing those types of SSD safe? I am quite afraid that i may damage my pc in doing so

I don't think you will ever damage a computer by just installing any storage device. They are not the type of device that can damage a computer like that so no worries.