When it comes to storage, one of the most common questions is “How much SSD and HDD storage do I need?” The answer depends on your specific needs and budget. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through how to determine the right amount of SSD and HDD storage for your desktop or laptop.
SSD vs HDD: Key Differences
Before we dive into storage recommendations, let’s briefly go over the key differences between solid state drives (SSD) and hard disk drives (HDD):
- SSDs are faster, more reliable, and more power efficient than HDDs, but they are also more expensive per gigabyte.
- HDDs have slower read/write speeds, higher failure rates, and are less power efficient. But they offer more storage capacity per dollar compared to SSDs.
- For optimal performance, it’s best to use SSDs for your operating system, programs and games, and use HDDs for your documents, media, and other files.
OS Drive: 250GB – 500GB SSD
Your operating system drive is one of the most important components. This is where your Windows, Mac OS, or Linux installation resides. Your OS drive affects overall system performance and boot times more than any other drive.
For your OS drive, we recommend a minimum of 250GB SSD, but 500GB or 1TB are ideal for most users. Here’s a quick guideline:
- 250GB SSD: Good for a minimal Windows 10 or Linux install, but limits your programs and files capacity.
- 500GB SSD: The sweet spot for most OS installs, provides room for plenty of programs.
- 1TB SSD: Ideal for Windows 10 or Linux power users who install lots of applications.
Some key notes:
- Use a 2.5″ SATA SSD or an M.2 NVMe SSD for best performance.
- Enable TRIM if supported by your SSD and OS to maintain optimal performance.
- Keep at least 20% free space on your OS drive for best performance.
Programs & Games: 250GB – 1TB SSD
The fastest SSDs available today can reach 3,500+ MB/s read and write speeds. This is 5-6x faster than even the fastest hard drives. For this reason, we highly recommend installing your business programs, creative suites, games, and any applications that benefit from speed on an SSD.
Here are some SSD recommendations based on your storage needs:
- 250GB SSD: Good for basic office programs, indie games, and lighter software uses.
- 500GB SSD: Ideal for more professional creative software, bigger game libraries, and power users.
- 1TB SSD: For advanced creative suites, massive game libraries, and running virtual machines.
When possible, install your most used games/apps on the fastest SSD available. An M.2 NVMe or PCIe 4.0 SSD will provide the best game load times and overall system responsiveness.
Media Storage: 1TB – 8TB HDD
When it comes to photos, videos, music, and other media libraries, sheer capacity is more important than speed. This makes traditional hard drives the ideal – and most cost effective – choice for mass media storage.
For media storage needs, we recommend 1TB to 8TB capacities depending on your storage requirements. Some guidelines:
- 1TB HDD: Good starter size for storing photos, music, documents and small media libraries.
- 2-4TB HDD: Ideal for larger personal media libraries and families who need extra capacity.
- 6-8TB HDD: For professional media editors and content creators storing large 4K/8K videos and libraries.
For the best media storage performance, choose a 7200RPM or even 10,000RPM HDD. Also consider a NAS (network attached storage) with multiple bays to future proof your storage capacity.
Documents & Backups: 500GB – 4TB HDD
Your documents, spreadsheets, downloads folder, and any other files you access regularly should be stored on a dedicated “documents” hard drive. This keeps your system drive lean and saves SSD space.
For document storage, 500GB to 4TB capacities are common depending on your needs:
- 500GB: Good for school/business documents and average file storage needs.
- 1-2TB: Ideal for families or business users with lots of large files.
- 4TB: For advanced business users with massive spreadsheets, databases, etc.
It’s also wise to use a separate drive for your automated system backups. This ensures your backups are isolated from your primary document storage.
RAID Configurations
With RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks), multiple drives are linked together to increase capacity, speed, or redundancy:
- RAID 0: Stripes data across two or more disks for increased speed.
- RAID 1: Mirrors data across disks for 100% redundancy.
- RAID 5: Stripes data and adds parity for fault tolerance.
- RAID 10: Mirrors data and stripes the mirrors together.
For home users, RAID 0 can boost speed for media editing, while RAID 1 provides excellent redundancy for backup drives. But RAID is more common for businesses using NAS servers.
The Ideal Storage Combo
Now let’s put it all together into a recommended ideal setup for a power desktop user or professional content creator:
- 500GB NVMe SSD – For your OS, programs, and active games.
- 2TB SATA SSD – For your media project files and game library.
- 8TB HDD – For your media storage and archives.
- 4TB HDD – For your documents and local backups.
This provides both fast SSD speeds and massive HDD capacity. You can adjust the capacity recommendations as needed for your specific workflow.
Laptop Storage Considerations
Laptops require a different storage approach, since you only have space for one or two drives. Some guidelines:
- Always get an SSD as your primary drive. 250GB minimum, 500GB+ is ideal.
- Use large external HDDs via USB or Thunderbolt when you need expanded media storage.
- For professional creative work, consider laptops with dual storage bays for both SSD speed and HDD capacity.
- Use cloud storage when possible for unlimited document storage and backup capacity.
The Bottom Line
SSD and HDD storage needs depend heavily on your budget and workflow. But here are some general guidelines:
- OS & Programs: 250GB – 1TB SSD
- Games & Apps: 500GB – 2TB SSD
- Media Storage: 1TB – 8TB HDD
- Documents: 500GB – 4TB HDD
Dual SSD and HDD setups provide the right balance of speed and capacity for serious desktop users. Supplement with cloud and external drives as needed. For laptops, use an SSD for your OS and programs, with external HDDs for media libraries.
FAQ
Do you really need an SSD?
An SSD is highly recommended for most PC or laptop users today. The speed boost for your operating system, programs, and games is very noticeable compared to a mechanical hard drive. Prices have also come down significantly in recent years, making SSDs affordable for both budget and high-end builds.
Should I get an HDD for extra storage?
In most cases, yes. HDDs are still the most cost-effective way to add a lot of storage capacity to your system. Use SSDs for your most performance-sensitive data, while using HDDs for media files, documents, backups, and other data that doesn’t require ultra-fast speeds.
What size SSD is recommended for gaming?
For dedicated gaming PCs, a 500GB to 1TB SSD is recommended to store your game library. Higher capacity 2TB+ SSDs are great for serious gamers with huge game collections. Install your most-played games on the fastest SSD for quick load times.
Is a hybrid HDD/SSD drive worth it?
Hybrid drives with a small SSD cache and larger HDD are not recommended for most users today. They don’t provide the full SSD experience, and the two separate SSD/HDD setup will almost always outperform a hybrid drive. Get a dedicated SSD instead for your OS and programs.
Should I RAID my SSDs for extra speed?
RAID 0 can boost SSD speeds for pro media editors, but has limited real-world impact for most desktop users. For redundancy, RAID 1 mirroring is recommended for HDD backup drives. For home users, it’s often better to just get a larger, higher capacity SSD instead of going through the hassle of setting up and managing a RAID array.
How important is getting an NVMe SSD?
NVMe SSDs are up to 6-7x faster than standard SATA SSDs when it comes to maximum speeds. For everyday use, the performance difference is less noticeable outside of very large file transfers. NVMe makes the most difference for professional media editors. For typical desktop users, a SATA SSD will provide big improvements over an HDD at a lower cost.
Should I get 2.5″ or M.2 SSD?
2.5″ SATA and M.2 SSDs perform similarly when it comes to SATA 3.0 speeds (up to 550 MB/s). But M.2 SSDs run cooler and don’t require drive cables, so they are commonly used in modern desktops and laptops. M.2 is required to achieve faster NVMe speeds.