I'm trying to decide on the best extra storage option for my setup, specifically for media, apps, and some gaming. My motherboard supports 3 M.2 slots (all PCIe 4.0 x 4) and 4 SATA 6Gb/s ports. Currently, I have a 1TB Gen 4 NVMe SSD as my main drive where I keep my Windows OS and games like CS2 and PUBG, but I'm running out of space since I also store movies, TV series, and data analysis tools. I'm considering: 1TB Gen 3 NVMe SSD (new), 2TB 7200 RPM HDD, or 4TB 5400 RPM surveillance HDD. Given that my usage priorities are data science tools and media storage, which option should I go for?
2 Answers
If your main concern is speed for apps and tools, then definitely keep those on SSDs. For media storage like your movies and lectures, the 5400 RPM HDD will save you a lot of cash and is adequate for non-intensive use. Just remember that HDDs take a bit more power when spinning up, so keep your power supply safety in check!
You're definitely leaning towards SSDs for speed, especially for data science tools and games since they offer quicker load times. However, for storing movies and other media, a 5400 RPM HDD is perfectly fine and way cheaper per gigabyte. If your budget allows it and you can fit it, having an all-SSD setup is great for lower noise and better energy efficiency, but just make sure your PSU can handle any additional load.
That's good to know! My PSU is 850W and has about 250-300W headroom, so I should be fine, right?
What about using the 7200 RPM HDD instead? Wouldn't that be a better choice for media?