Upgrading SSD and Gaming Performance

So I am currently using a WD Blue 250gb SSD and it only had 5gb of space left. I plan to upgrade to a WD Black 2tb SSD, but I wish to know how best to do this. Should I transfer all files from the old SSD to the new SSD or only apps and other files but keep the system files on the old one? My other main reason for getting a new bigger SSD to install certain games on it so as to cut down on loading time.

An example is the video game Ark: Survival Evolved and the new Ascended version coming out. I currently have it on my WD Black 4tb HDD and it takes a while to load up big servers and many players have told me it is best to install the game on an SSD for faster loading times as even a fast gaming HDD will still require 10-15 minutes to load up a heavily modded server. The same can be said of the game Garry's Mod as well. Is it best to have these games on the SSD by themselves or can they be on the SSD with other install apps without hurting performance? 

Hi, please note : all drives but especially C: must have 15% free at all times for swap file, updates, general well being of what your doing at any given moment.

You can upgrade to any you want from WD to Seagate as own WD and a few others now.

In 2 of my setups which are old but reliable are : 1 Corsair 250 GB Drive which is using  62 GB of space for everything that needs to go to C: and the ones that go anyways.

Everything else is installed using the Custom install option onto my HDD's which are 2gog and a 4 Gig.  Is about the same for the other system.  250gb C: drive.

On my Laptop which is new more or less is my preference of using a 500 GB SSD which following my install rules still only has under a 100gb.    So if you want a fast drive go small, they are cheaper than for booting and less chance of damage to a solid state drive.

Then go big on storage for what does not change.     But ya you may want a read of this : https://www.crucial.com/articles/for-gamers/hdd-or-ssd-for-gaming  not trying to validate how I run but.........

So is your system able to install a M.2 Drive and if so that is faster than a 2.5 SSD.

More info is needed ;=}

Hi, please note : all drives but especially C: must have 15% free at all times for swap file, updates, general well being of what your doing at any given moment.
 
You can upgrade to any you want from WD to Seagate as own WD and a few others now.
 
In 2 of my setups which are old but reliable are : 1 Corsair 250 GB Drive which is using  62 GB of space for everything that needs to go to C: and the ones that go anyways.
 
Everything else is installed using the Custom install option onto my HDD's which are 2gog and a 4 Gig.  Is about the same for the other system.  250gb C: drive.
 
On my Laptop which is new more or less is my preference of using a 500 GB SSD which following my install rules still only has under a 100gb.    So if you want a fast drive go small, they are cheaper than for booting and less chance of damage to a solid state drive.
 
Then go big on storage for what does not change.     But ya you may want a read of this : https://www.crucial.com/articles/for-gamers/hdd-or-ssd-for-gaming  not trying to validate how I run but.........
 
So is your system able to install a M.2 Drive and if so that is faster than a 2.5 SSD.
 
More info is needed ;=}

Edited by ArchmageHisummoner, 10 October 2023 - 06:44 AM.

According to your specs, would losing 2 SATA drive connections be a problem ? You  don't show the use of any others apart from one for the 4TB WD. Replacing your existing SSD with say a 1TB nVME would give a dramatic increase in loading speed and also possibly in playing speed as well. because of your present C:\ drive being overloaded. A reputable brand in the UK would be priced in the range £40 to £60. 2TB drives are roughly double this. Even using your existing SSD as additional storage you would still have 2 SATA connectors for other purposes.

Chris Cosgrove

According to your specs, would losing 2 SATA drive connections be a problem ? You  don't show the use of any others apart from one for the 4TB WD. Replacing your existing SSD with say a 1TB nVME would give a dramatic increase in loading speed and also possibly in playing speed as well. because of your present C:\ drive being overloaded. A reputable brand in the UK would be priced in the range £40 to £60. 2TB drives are roughly double this. Even using your existing SSD as additional storage you would still have 2 SATA connectors for other purposes.

 

Chris Cosgrove

I currently use the SATA 1,2, and 3. 1. CD drive 2. HDD and 3. SDD. So, I would likely use the 4th slot for one extra 4tb HDD and the nVME will be installed so the 5th and 6th slots will be disabled by that.

That still sounds do-able -

1 SATA x optical drive

2 SATA x HDD

1 SATA x SSD

2 taken up by nVME = 6 SATA total

Chris Cosgrove

As an interim stop-gap aide, to regain perhaps 10-20 GB in short order, set your recycle bin properties manually to only 2-3 GB in size...

Let me say, none expert here. I upgraded to a 2TB SSD. What I did was download all important files to an external hard drive. I formatted the 250 TB SSD kept it in the computer and used it for a small amount of games. I then completely reinstalled Windows 10 into the new 2 TD SSD. I know this sounds like a huge pain but you would not believe how much better my computer worked after I did that. A clean Windows 10 install was the smartest thing I could have done. My opinion only.