For a Windows laptop with one 512GB NVMe disk, would you create separate C and D drives or just use C? Known folders are synced with OneDrive, if that changes the decision.
Would you split a 512GB workstation disk into C and D drives?
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d4~glyph
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I'd keep one C drive for a general workstation and leave the Windows and manufacturer system partitions alone. With 512GB, a split can leave one volume full while the other still has plenty of space. Standard layouts are also simpler to image and support.
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A separate data partition can make a Windows reinstall less disruptive if the reinstall leaves that partition intact. That's a reasonable reason to use one, though it doesn't protect the files from failure of the physical disk.
OneDrive syncing known folders helps with those folders, but check where the rest of the work data lives and whether it's protected too. A D drive is organization, not a backup.
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For a creative workstation, a separate volume can put a limit on how much space renders or other large files consume. That may help keep C from filling up, but it also means choosing a fixed amount of space for each side. A separate physical disk is another option on machines that can take one.
d4~glyph:
That sounds more useful for a specific workload than as the default for every laptop.
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Check for application or vendor requirements before deciding. A dev or test machine might benefit from a separate area for virtual machines, while an application using lots of temporary or scratch space needs enough free capacity wherever that space is configured.
Those are workload decisions, not a general need created by NVMe.
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Doodly:
Resizing later can be awkward once both partitions contain data. The space split that looks sensible on day one may not age well.