Can I use an external SSD for gaming?

[Jeighke]

Hi Steam Community! I only have a 250GB internal SSD and, as I am now missing some storage space to install new games, I was wondering if it would be feasable to install and play games from an external SSD drive. And if so, what would be the best choice:

Samsung T5 1TB external SSD
or
Samsung 970 EVO PLUS M.2 NVME 1TB with enclosure
or
Samsung 960 EVO 2.5'' SATA III 1TB with enclosure

Honestly, I am a total neophyte with those things, and don't know which gear/setup would be the fastest, have the best performance.

Thank you all in advance!

[tacoshy]

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

Цитата допису Bad 💀 Motha:

Still better to have an enclosure that supports usb 3.1, especially if your desktop or laptop has it, which most do now. And it's backwards compatible with 3.0 for pcs or devices that don't have 3.1

3.0 is 3.1.... almost no one has gen 2.

No 3.0 is not 3.1.

3.0 is 5 Gbps
3.1 is 10 Gbps

And OP has USB-C which is 3.1 Gen 2

Most new pc's do have it. It has become a standard since 2-3 years already. Besides USB is backwards compatible. You can use USB 3.1 and connect it with limited speed to USB 3.0.

There is absolutely no reason to still get USB 3.0 enclosures.

[Dwerklesberry]

Цитата допису tacoshy:

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

3.0 is 3.1.... almost no one has gen 2.

No 3.0 is not 3.1.

3.0 is 5 Gbps
3.1 is 10 Gbps

And OP has USB-C which is 3.1 Gen 2

Most new pc's do have it. It has become a standard since 2-3 years already. Besides USB is backwards compatible. You can use USB 3.1 and connect it with limited speed to USB 3.0.

There is absolutely no reason to still get USB 3.0 enclosures.

Go back and check because I'm right, 3.0 is 3.1 Gen 1 5Gps
3.1 Gen 2 is 10Gbps
https://www.msi.com/blog/usb-3-1-gen1-gen2-explained

Is it confusing, that's kind of the point.

Plus, I already proved nvme doesn't improve game load times.

As I said, 4k random reads that matter aren't really constrained by interface until you reach the super high end.
https://www.techspot.com/review/1281-samsung-ssd-960-evo/page4.html
scroll down to random 4k, the numbers become tiny.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

If you say so. Most modern pcs that have usb 3.1 usually are gen2. Most motherboards and laptops didn't bother to put usb 3.1 on them back when it was gen1

But overall even if using sata3 ssd over usb 3.0, it's not that bad unless you're trying to do something that actually would help by having faster speeds through internal sata directly. Installing and running games off an external ssd, u shouldn't notice the difference. It's still a huge step up from any mechanical external hdd

[Dwerklesberry]

Цитата допису Bad 💀 Motha:

If you say so. All modern pcs that have usb 3.1 usually are gen2. Most motherboards and laptops didn't bother to put usb 3.1 on them back when it was gen1

The load times are already proven.

Sure you can buy more, but it costs more, sata docks do not benefit from gen2 without simultaneous access, not a gaming use case.

Most motherboards have had even a few usb 2.0 ports for far longer than you imagine. Useful for things that don't like the interference that comes with 3.0's high frequencies, like external soundcards.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/desktop-and-all-in-one-pcs/new-optiplex-5070-small-form-factor/spd/optiplex-5070-desktop/S014O5070SFFUS
An average modern desktop has... 1 USB 3.1 gen 2 port.

You are clearly confusing 3.1 gen 1 with type C, 3.1 is either type C or A, not just one and you can use an adapter.

[tacoshy]

Цитата допису Bad 💀 Motha:

If you say so. Most modern pcs that have usb 3.1 usually are gen2. Most motherboards and laptops didn't bother to put usb 3.1 on them back when it was gen1

But overall even if using sata3 ssd over usb 3.0, it's not that bad unless you're trying to do something that actually would help by having faster speeds through internal sata directly. Installing and running games off an external ssd, u shouldn't notice the difference. It's still a huge step up from any mechanical external hdd

exactly - but I still see no reason to get a USB 3.0 enclosure which is definetly 5Gbps when you get for the same price a 3.1 2nd Gen enclosure and preferably even a USB-C enclosure over the Mini-B enclosures.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Yes just buy enclosure that supports usb 3.1 gen2 and u won't have an issue with speeds, when available, and won't have an issue connecting to whatever device, whether it uses type-a or type-c and if needed, will work via usb 3.0 type-c for systems that don't have/support 3.1

[Dwerklesberry]

Цитата допису tacoshy:

Цитата допису Bad 💀 Motha:

If you say so. Most modern pcs that have usb 3.1 usually are gen2. Most motherboards and laptops didn't bother to put usb 3.1 on them back when it was gen1

But overall even if using sata3 ssd over usb 3.0, it's not that bad unless you're trying to do something that actually would help by having faster speeds through internal sata directly. Installing and running games off an external ssd, u shouldn't notice the difference. It's still a huge step up from any mechanical external hdd

exactly - but I still see no reason to get a USB 3.0 enclosure which is definetly 5Gbps when you get for the same price a 3.1 2nd Gen enclosure and preferably even a USB-C enclosure over the Mini-B enclosures.

Are you really doubling down on being wrong when its proven with citation that you didn't know what you were talking about.

What self powered usb 3.1 gen 2 docks exist, never mind enclosures that "cost the same". Now you will have to dig up some impractical solutions no one was talking about when it comes to a budget gaming external ssd solution because as I proved, the performance is the same.

[tacoshy]

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

Sure you can buy more, but it costs more, sata docks do not benefit from gen2 without simultaneous access, not a gaming use case. .

No it doesnt...

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

The load times are already proven.

it havent - you didnt post any Videos or links with external drives - I use them for ages and they actually matter. Espacially if you have to copy all the files to the drive and from it. If I have to move a 100GB game around at 300MB/s or 550MB/s makes a huge difference for me and surely for others too.
Espacially why you want to get the 300MB/s if you can get the 550MB/s for the same price?

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

You are clearly confusing 3.1 gen 1 with type C, 3.1 is either type C or A, not just one and you can use an adapter.

No we dont - laptops that use Thunderbolt USB-C have always 3.1 Gen 2. And all the new stuff (last 2-3 years) recently hit the market have through USB-C 2nd Gen.

[Dwerklesberry]

Цитата допису tacoshy:

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

Sure you can buy more, but it costs more, sata docks do not benefit from gen2 without simultaneous access, not a gaming use case. .

No it doesnt...

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

The load times are already proven.

it havent - you didnt post any Videos or links with external drives - I use them for ages and they actually matter. Espacially if you have to copy all the files to the drive and from it. If I have to move a 100GB game around at 300MB/s or 550MB/s makes a huge difference for me and surely for others too.
Espacially why you want to get the 300MB/s if you can get the 550MB/s for the same price?

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

You are clearly confusing 3.1 gen 1 with type C, 3.1 is either type C or A, not just one and you can use an adapter.

No we dont - laptops that use Thunderbolt USB-C have always 3.1 Gen 2. And all the new stuff (last 2-3 years) recently hit the market have through USB-C 2nd Gen.

You are making extraordinary claims without evidence at all. The Nvme vs sata game load benchmarks proved that load times were not bandwidth constrained, Usb 3.0 has similar bandwidth to sata.

We're not talking about the rare case of copying game files. You play games, not copy them on a day to day basis, stop grasping at straws when its clear you didn't even look a thing up before opening your mouth. The game load times are inconsequential, and that is all that matters.

Talking about 300MB/s when the random 4k reads are far lower, again, its like you are talking without knowledge...or even logic. You look at game loads between drives where one has a theoretical speed of multiples faster, yet the load times are the same, and still you don't understand why because it hurts your ego to be wrong.

And you can't even get USB 3.0 speeds right, modern docks have UASP, its closer to 500MB/s than 300
https://blog.startech.com/post/all-you-need-to-know-about-uasp/

[Bad 💀 Motha]

The OP link us to a port self powered usb 3.1 gen2 sata to usb enclosure.

So what's the problem, OP isn't trying to achieve nvme speeds via usb

[tacoshy]

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

You are making extraordinary claims without evidence at all. The Nvme vs sata game load benchmarks proved that load times were not bandwidth constrained, Usb 3.0 has similar bandwidth to sata.

Which is no evidence at all - and always said by us teven in this thread that NVMe vs SATA SSD makes nearly no difference. But by going internal NVMe vs Internal SATA does not proof anything to SATA SSD external with USB 3.0 or USB 3.1
Thats the msot unsitific claim youc an do. And No the simlair bandwith to STA with USB 3.0 you dotn have. Onyl on the apper because you miss the poitn that you never get the full bandwith with external drives in the first place.
Unfortunatly my PC here doesnt have USB 3.0 anymore - otherwise I would make a video for you about it.

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

We're not talking about the rare case of copying game files. You play games, not copy them on a day to day basis, stop grasping at straws when its clear you didn't even look a thing up before opening your mouth. The game load times are inconsequential, and that is all that matters.

Games loading are random right - but how you get the files there? and you cant believe that you use an external drive only to play games off and never use it to transfer files.


Still the price is the same - so why get USB 3.0 anyways? There is no reason to prefer it over 3.1

[Dwerklesberry]

Цитата допису tacoshy:

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

You are making extraordinary claims without evidence at all. The Nvme vs sata game load benchmarks proved that load times were not bandwidth constrained, Usb 3.0 has similar bandwidth to sata.

Which is no evidence at all - and always said by us teven in this thread that NVMe vs SATA SSD makes nearly no difference. But by going internal NVMe vs Internal SATA does not proof anything to SATA SSD external with USB 3.0 or USB 3.1
Thats the msot unsitific claim youc an do. And No the simlair bandwith to STA with USB 3.0 you dotn have. Onyl on the apper because you miss the poitn that you never get the full bandwith with external drives in the first place.
Unfortunatly my PC here doesnt have USB 3.0 anymore - otherwise I would make a video for you about it.

Цитата допису Dwerklesberry:

We're not talking about the rare case of copying game files. You play games, not copy them on a day to day basis, stop grasping at straws when its clear you didn't even look a thing up before opening your mouth. The game load times are inconsequential, and that is all that matters.

Games loading are random right - but how you get the files there? and you cant believe that you use an external drive only to play games off and never use it to transfer files.


Still the price is the same - so why get USB 3.0 anyways? There is no reason to prefer it over 3.1

When caught out the pedant starts to move the goal posts to places completely irrelevant to the discussion.

NO ONE CARES that it takes a few minutes longer to copy game files from another NVME SSD. Most people backup on harddrives which are slower than 3.0, or download their games, again, not at 500MB/s. So you are now left making up absurd situations so you can pretend to be right about something when you have clearly missed the point entirely.

[Dwerklesberry]

Well, here's a sale op
https://www.newegg.com/p/0VN-0069-00014?Item=9SIA6PF5VW0783
20.99 shipped *tax