Recommended to install on SSD?

[GmanUK1965]

What if you haven't got a large enough SSD? Most of my games are on a standard 2 TB hard drive of which has 800gb unused. I have an 250gb SSD but it contains Windows 10 and other things and only has 45gb spare.

I am not going to invest in an SSD just for the sake of one game. Yes I know the majority of modern PCs have large SSDs but at the time of me buying this computer about two and half years ago it wasn't within my budget ( an RTX 2070 Super gfx and an AMD Ryzen 7 3800X processor with 32gb RAM was more important)

How much difference will it make being installed on a standard HD. I know the load times will be a bit longer. What other differences will it make?

[GmanUK1965]

Originally posted by Rytharr:

If you can't afford a SSD, which are dirt cheap these days, then maybe you shouldn't be buying video games.

Ha. This deserves some abuse but it would never get posted so what's the point

[Echoside7]

Originally posted by Midnight:

Going forward I don't think there's much of a point in having HDDs installed inside the PC. If you need the cheap capacity just get external enclosure. USB 3 will far exceed HDD speeds anyway.

That depends on the external drive really, a lot of them are just a 2.5/3.5 drive in an enclosure and still limit you to SATA speeds regardless of the USB's speed.

[Farsha]

In EA slower machines had issues to start the game from HDD completely.
And texture popping is really noticable on HDD in this game too.
So use SSD if you can.

[GmanUK1965]

I wished I hadn't started this post now but I have come to the conclusion that it's in my best interests to buy an SSD but it is not a necessity.

[glenn9171]

A 500GB SSD is a whopping $22 on Amazon right now. $28 for NVME. If you can't scrape up a couple of twenties, maybe pc gaming isn't right for you.

[Midnight]

Originally posted by echoside7:

Originally posted by Midnight:

Going forward I don't think there's much of a point in having HDDs installed inside the PC. If you need the cheap capacity just get external enclosure. USB 3 will far exceed HDD speeds anyway.

That depends on the external drive really, a lot of them are just a 2.5/3.5 drive in an enclosure and still limit you to SATA speeds regardless of the USB's speed.

Oh no. I'm talking regular drive inside a separate 3.5 enclosure or even a NAS.
Then of course speeds depend on the enclosure you get and the controller it has.

But that's when I need 10+ TB. I've got 3x NVMe slots so that's plenty for regular storage needs.

[GmanUK1965]

One final point. Just say I get an SSD when I get paid in two weeks time. Would it be possible to transfer any saves from a game on my HDD to the same game that is on the SSD (if I use an external one)?

[Midnight]

Originally posted by GmanUK1965:

I wished I hadn't started this post now but I have come to the conclusion that it's in my best interests to buy an SSD but it is not a necessity.

Not for BG3. But some games will seriously not run properly at all.

I'm talking falling through the ground upon load because meshes failed to load properly.

And it's just gonna get more and more common.

[Damage Case]

Originally posted by GmanUK1965:

One final point. Just say I get an SSD when I get paid in two weeks time. Would it be possible to transfer any saves from a game on my HDD to the same game that is on the SSD (if I use an external one)?

With no doubt if you can find them and move them or copy/paste them

[Cirrus]

Originally posted by GmanUK1965:

One final point. Just say I get an SSD when I get paid in two weeks time. Would it be possible to transfer any saves from a game on my HDD to the same game that is on the SSD (if I use an external one)?

I am assuming your small ssd is the c-drive? Saves go there, not the game install directory which for you is some other drive then? When moving game-files (or reinstalling) the game saves will stay in c-drive intact.

You should also enable the larian account and cross-save feature. Larian cloud will have 5 latest saves in safekeeping in that case.

[IrishUnicorn]

The diffrence in loading times between HDD and new SSD are REALLY significant, but most modern games should be okay on HDD. That being said, loading times on HDD can take up to couple minutes on new games, while being a couple seconds on a good ssd. Id get an ssd if You game a lot, but if You play an hour a week, You don't really need it.

[MisterRed]

Originally posted by MisterRed:

Originally posted by dolby:

install
Samsung Magician

https://semiconductor.samsung.com/consumer-storage/magician/

tells you all you need to know if it's m2, NVMe or if its SATA... state it's in, temps.. and you can update Firmware...

Thanks for the advice, sadly it seems I'm an idiot. I downloaded the file, and tried activating it, but since I didn't read instructions first I panicked and shut down my PC, now my ethernet isn't working. So, I guess ima have to reinstall drivers, hope that works

Reinstalling drivers fixed it. I kinda lied though, I forgot to check if the site was legit before pressing download and running it, so in case I was sent malware by a random internet stranger I panicked and tried to interrupt the download with a power down. I stg i try to build my own PC once and I start screwing everything up immediately, when my last one lasted 7 years.

Anyways, I hope everyone has fun tomorrow

[Darx]

its recommened but absolutly not needed

[GmanUK1965]

Originally posted by Cirrus:

Originally posted by GmanUK1965:

One final point. Just say I get an SSD when I get paid in two weeks time. Would it be possible to transfer any saves from a game on my HDD to the same game that is on the SSD (if I use an external one)?

I am assuming your small ssd is the c-drive? Saves go there, not the game install directory. When moving the game saves will stay…

Yes. My small ssd is on c-drive. So are you saying that if I reinstall the game on my soon to be external ssd, there will be no need to transfer the saves as the new install would find the games on my c-drive anyway?

[xebedy]

Consider the games minimum storage requirements copy and pasted from the FAQ in this forum:

"What are the system requirements for Windows?

MINIMUM:
Storage: 150 GB available space"

Currently, even in a top end system, the difference between an M.2 and an SSD, in most cases, is not humanly discernible.

In the OP's case of 1 SSD of 250GB that houses windows I would recommend upgrading your storage on your system, my philosophy is to buy an SSD is an investment (one that you would benefit from greatly), that can be easily moved into a newer machine, i.e. just don't get a Q3 cheapo SSD (half the life of older types).