When deciding how much storage to buy for your home computer, it’s important to consider your needs based on what you will be using the computer for. A home computer can be used for many purposes such as storing documents, photos, videos, music, games, online shopping, streaming content, remote working, and more. These different uses require varying amounts of storage space. In this article, we will provide an overview of typical storage needs for the most common uses of home computers, along with recommendations to help match your storage purchase to how you use your machine. Understanding your specific storage requirements will allow you to make an informed decision when buying your next computer or storage upgrade.
Operating System
The amount of storage space needed for your operating system depends on whether you plan to run Windows, Mac OS, or both. For Windows 10 or 11, Microsoft recommends having at least 32GB of free storage space, with 64GB or more being ideal for the best performance [1]. This provides room for Windows updates, temporary files, and some apps and data storage. If you want to run Windows on a Mac using Boot Camp, Apple recommends having at least 64GB of free storage space, with 128GB or more providing the best experience [2].
For Mac OS, you’ll want at least 20GB of free space for regular use with some extra room for macOS updates. The latest Mac OS versions like Monterey take up around 12GB on their own. So for a Mac-only setup, 64GB would be plenty for the OS with room to spare for other uses [3].
Documents
The average size of Microsoft Office documents has increased over time as features and formatting have become more complex. According to research from Microsoft, the average Word document size was around 10-15 KB in the late 1990s. By 2007, the average size had grown to around 100 KB. Today, the average Word document size is approximately 500 KB.[1]
For Excel spreadsheets, the average size was around 50 KB in the late 1990s, growing to around 900 KB by 2010. The average Excel file today is approximately 1-2 MB.[2]
PowerPoint presentations have seen similar growth, from around 1 MB on average in 2003 to approximately 5 MB today.[3]
In general, basic text or spreadsheet files with minimal formatting will be smaller, while files with lots of text formatting, images, charts and other elements will be larger.
[1] https://metadataconsulting.blogspot.com/2017/09/What-is-the-average-size-of-office-and-pdf-documents.html
[2] https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Average-Office-file-size-growth-over-time_fig1_291574903
[3] https://metadataconsulting.blogspot.com/2017/09/What-is-the-average-size-of-office-and-pdf-documents.html
Photos
The average photo size from most modern digital cameras is between 3-6 MB if shooting in JPEG format. For a quality photo library, plan for an average of 5 MB per photo. This means on a 64 GB hard drive you could store about 12,800 photos (64 GB / 5 MB per photo). According to the Expert Photography article, a 64 GB memory card can hold around 12,000 JPEG photos. They recommend a 16 GB card to hold a few thousand photos, 32 GB for under 10,000 photos, 64 GB for 10-20,000 photos, and 128+ GB for over 40,000 photos (https://expertphotography.com/how-many-photos-memory-card-holds/).
If shooting RAW photos, the file sizes will be much larger at around 10-80 MB per photo depending on camera settings. RAW photos retain more data for editing flexibility. The Storyteller Tech article states that on average, a 64 GB memory card can hold 8,889 RAW photos at 26 MB per photo (https://storytellertech.com/how-many-photos-per-gb/). For a sizable RAW photo library, plan for at least 250-500 GB of storage.
Music
The average size of a music file depends greatly on the audio quality. For standard quality MP3 files encoded at 128kbps, the average size is approximately 1MB per minute of audio. For higher quality such as 320kbps MP3 or lossless formats like FLAC, the average size increases to roughly 10MB per minute of audio [1].
In terms of total music library size, a poll on Reddit showed a wide range, with collections from 10GB to over 1TB. One user reported a library of 1218 songs taking up 10.83GB, working out to around 9MB per song on average [2]. So for a higher quality lossless music library, you can expect it to reach into the hundreds of gigabytes or even terabytes depending on the number of songs.
Videos
A key factor in determining your storage needs is the size of video files. Videos require substantial storage space. According to How to Accurately Calculate Video File Size (Plus), unedited raw HD video at 1080p resolution and 30 frames per second will use about 150MB of storage per second. That translates to around 540GB per hour.
For a typical video library, the storage needs add up quickly. A few hours of raw HD videos could easily require over 1TB of storage space. Even after editing and compression, high quality 1080p videos often range from 3 to 9GB per hour according to What is the file size per hour of recording 1080p of video?. Storing a modest library of compressed 1080p videos with a total runtime of 10-20 hours would likely need 30-180GB.
Lower resolutions like 720p have smaller file sizes, with 720p videos ranging 1-3GB per hour. But with large libraries, 1080p is preferable for higher quality. Overall, allotting at least 500GB – 1TB is recommended if you wish to maintain a video collection.
Games
Modern video games can take up a significant amount of storage space on a home computer. For example, popular titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare require 175-250 GB of available space for installation. Other AAA games like Red Dead Redemption 2 require 150 GB. Even indie games are growing in size, with titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator requiring 150 GB.
The storage requirements for video games continue to increase as game worlds become more expansive and graphics more detailed. Some recommendations for gamers looking to build or upgrade their home computer:
- Aim for at least 500 GB – 1 TB of SSD storage to accommodate today’s game sizes.
- Consider getting an additional HDD with at least 2 TB for games libraries.
- Check the recommended specs before purchasing new games.
- Uninstall games you are not currently playing to free up space.
With some strategic storage planning, gamers can build a home computer well-equipped to handle large modern game files. As games continue trending toward photorealistic graphics and giant open worlds, required storage space will likely continue increasing in the years ahead.
Backup
The amount of storage needed for backups depends on what kinds of data you want to back up, and how often you plan to do backups. Most experts recommend doing regular backups that include your operating system, installed programs, and documents to an external hard drive or the cloud. The recommended minimum for a full system backup is 128GB. However, some experts suggest 250GB or larger to allow room for growth and multiple versions of backups. How Big External Hard Drive Do I Need notes that a 250GB external drive can hold about 50,000 photos or 833 hours of video.
Recommendations
When deciding how much storage to get for your home computer, it really depends on how you plan to use it. Here are some recommended storage sizes based on common use cases:
Basic home office use – For web browsing, email, document editing and other basic tasks, 250-500GB should be sufficient.
Photo storage – If you take a lot of photos and want to store them all on your computer, plan for at least 1TB or more of storage. Photos take up a surprising amount of space.
Video editing – For storing and editing videos, aim for at least 2TB or more. Uncompressed video files are very large.
Gaming – Many modern game installations take up 25GB or more. Aim for at least 500GB to 1TB if you’re a gamer.
Media center – If you plan to store your movie and music library on your computer, get at least 2TB or more for all that media.
Backup needs – Consider if you’ll use your computer to back up phones, tablets or other devices. Extra storage will be needed for backups.
In summary, think about how you plan to use your computer and buy enough storage to accommodate your needs, with room to grow. For most home users today, 1TB is a good minimum size to aim for.
Conclusion
Determining your home computer storage needs depends on several key factors. First, consider which operating system and applications you need and how much space they require. Next, estimate the storage needed for your personal files like documents, photos, music, and videos. Games and software can also take up significant space. Don’t forget to budget room for backups to protect your data.
In general, it’s a good idea to allocate more storage than you think you currently need. Storage is relatively inexpensive and you will likely accumulate more files over time. For most home users doing common tasks, a 250GB to 500GB hard drive is usually sufficient. Power users may want 1TB or larger drives. Going with an external or secondary internal drive can provide flexibility to expand storage when needed.