How Should I Partition a 2TB SSD for a Windows/Linux Gaming Dual Boot?
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MellowCedar42
I'm considering installing CachyOS alongside Windows on a single 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD. Linux would become my primary operating system, but I still play some games that require Windows, especially titles with multiplayer anti-cheat systems. I'm new to Linux and would like a setup that leaves enough room for both operating systems and their games without creating unnecessary maintenance headaches. How much space would you allocate to each system, and are there any partitioning or filesystem choices I should keep in mind?
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If possible, using separate physical drives makes dual-booting simpler and reduces the chance of one operating system affecting the other. If you only have the 2TB SSD, install both in UEFI mode, let each system have its own space, and keep an external backup of important files. There’s no need to create many separate Linux partitions unless you have a specific reason; a small EFI system partition, a Linux root partition, and optionally a separate home or games partition are usually enough.
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Base the Windows partition on the games that genuinely require Windows, then add roughly 100–150GB for the operating system, updates, applications, and some breathing room. For example, if your Windows-only games need 150GB, a Windows partition around 300–400GB would be more comfortable than trying to squeeze everything into 50GB. Give the remaining space to Linux using a native filesystem such as ext4 or Btrfs.
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I’d avoid making the Windows partition too small. Around 250GB is a reasonable starting point if you only plan to keep a few Windows games there, but large modern games can consume that quickly. Remember that games installed on a separate NTFS data partition can be awkward to share with Linux gaming tools because Proton prefixes and Linux filesystem features do not always work well on NTFS.
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