My laptop is down to about 5 GB of free space, and the live-service games I play keep getting larger with updates. I've already spent a lot of time using WizTree to remove unnecessary files, so deleting more is only a temporary fix. I mainly want to install games on additional storage rather than move photos or videos, since I have very little personal media. Would an external hard drive or external SSD work well for this, and what is the difference between them? Are they generally plug-and-play? I'm using an HP EliteBook 845 G10 with a Ryzen 7 7840U and would appreciate advice on whether an internal upgrade might be a better option.
2 Answers
Before buying an external drive, check whether the laptop has a replaceable internal M.2 NVMe SSD. An internal upgrade is usually the cleanest and fastest option for games, but you need to confirm the supported drive size and whether there is a second slot or whether the current drive must be replaced. The HP service manual or the exact maintenance specifications should show this, and opening the laptop may affect warranty coverage depending on your region.
An external SSD is probably the simplest solution. Plug it into a fast USB port, format it if necessary, and choose it as the installation location in your game launcher. SSDs are much faster and quieter than external hard drives, while hard drives are cheaper per terabyte but have slower loading times and are more easily affected by movement. Make sure the drive and its cable support USB 3.x or better; very slow USB connections can become a noticeable bottleneck. You normally won’t need special software.
If you replace the existing internal drive, you’ll also need to clone it or reinstall Windows and your programs. Adding a second internal drive, if there is an empty slot, avoids that extra work.