HDD Swap/Sanity Check

[SiverJohn17]

I have been postponing this for a while as I wanted to see what Windows 10 was like. I have seen it and have the same feelings towards it as 8. Therefore I want to switch back to Arch Linux. I was curious if swapping out the current HDD into an external enclosure that I can connect to over USB will still allow me to boot Windows. I figure it should and that is why this is partially titled sanity check. If anyone has a better suggestion than just physically swapping I am open to that. I tried cloning before when I still had Windows 8, but it wouldn't boot from the extra HDD I had. Both HDD are nearly identical.

The only reason I want to keep Windows even on an external drive is for gaming. Yes, I know that is a terrible solution for gaming. I don't game often therefore I don't care. Worst case scenario I will just remove my optical drive and install an extra sled. Obviously I am using a laptop. ASUS Q550LF to be specific.