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What's the Best Drive Setup for a New PC?

December 6, 2025 5 answers
Asked by GuitarHero42
I'm in the process of building a new PC and I'm curious about the best drive setup. Should I have a small drive just for the operating system and a larger one for games, a DAW, music plugins, and documents? Would this make it easier if I ever need to reinstall Windows, or would I still have to reinstall all my software anyway? Is there any performance benefit to separating drives, or is it just adding unnecessary complexity? Thanks for any advice!
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Answers

StarlordGam3r
While separating drives might not yield a performance boost, it can simplify your workflow. Just keep in mind, if you do separate them, reinstalling games could be a hassle since you'd need to relink them in your library. I still think it's easier to have everything on one drive and do a backup when needed!
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DataJunkie88
It really doesn't matter too much. The only slight difference might be if your drives have DRAM; then you might see some performance gains when writing large files. But in real-world usage, you probably won't notice much.
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BackupBoi007
Yes, I have a setup with a 500GB M.2 for Windows and programs, and another three 2TB M.2 drives just for games. Plus, I have a 10TB HDD for extra storage. I back up my C drive weekly, and it's been ages since I did a fresh install. If things go south, I just roll back. Works like a charm!
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PCMasterRaceFan
The way you set up your drives should depend on your budget. If you can afford it, go for larger drives. Most users don't use their C drive exclusively for Windows; it's perfectly fine to use that space for other stuff too. There's no downside.
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TechSavvyDude
Honestly, using a small SSD for your system and a larger one for games and apps used to be great when SSDs were pricey. Nowadays, with prices being reasonable, it's better to use an M.2 SSD for everything. It saves you the hassle of managing multiple drives and gives you incredible convenience.
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