Dual Boot Question

ShachMaT · July 14, 2023

Hello everyone!

I am using Intel's QLC M.2 NVMe SSD (Win boot) and 500GB HDD (everything else).

I want to switch to Dual boot (Win + Linux) with setup:

Intel's QLC M.2 NVMe SSD - stays as Win boot
[+] Crucial MX500 1TB SATA SSD - as games drive for Win
[+] Sabrent Rocket 4.0 500GB NVMe - Linux boot + everything else (applications, documents, etc.)

Additionally i will use fairly new 1TB HDD as a backup plan.

I want this setup to be reliable and last long (i wish to use it with my next PC 1-2 years from now).

I do:

mostly gaming (90%)
some 3D modelling for 3D printing
sometimes stream gameplays
rarely: convert media files, encode videos, etc.

Is this setup OK? Maybe a bit overkill with Rocket 4.0 as a boot drive?

WildCAt · July 25, 2023

Well, you'll have fast boot times and read-write on Linux

It's generally a good idea to have Linux and Windows on separate drives.

Don't use HDD as boot drive for Windows 10 or newer. Boot will take forever and PC can be unusable for up to 5 min after it has "booted", HDD often will be at 100% load. For Linux boot from HDD should be fiiine, just a bit slower on boot time, and a bit less snappier, apps might take a second to load, but otherwise it's ok. I've been running Linux from USB sticks as drives (not live boot, but as a mounted drive, I've INSTALLED Linux there), SD cards and other weird configurations. But since you have a spare SSD, it'd be a better experience.

It makes sense to have better/faster SSD for the OS you use the most. I daily drive Linux, so I currently have Linux on m.2 Firecuda and Windows on an old SATA Samsung. Works fine.

Oh, also, if you're going to reinstall windows and want to use grub to boot windows - disconnect all other drives -> then install windows. Because windows likes to put it's boot loader in weird places (other disks) and then grub won't find it by default. Happened to me multiple times. I mean, Windows does not even ask, where to put it Otherwise you'll need to tweak grub, or use BIOS to to boot windows.