Storage 128 GB SSD + 1TB HDD vs 512 SSD?

hi everyone, new member btw..

which of the following is the better choice? I mainly use my Desktop PC for Web Development and a little Casual Gaming in my spare time.

 

Welcome to the forums.

It really depends on how much space your software is taking up currently. If it's funds that are the limiting factor, then getting just an SSD now will still give you an option to get a large HDD later when funds allow.

If it's capacity that's issue then I'd maybe go for a split and go big! What priority you set for each will depend on what you do - games eat up disk space in no time, but casual games can easily go on an HDD. More 'gamers' games will be affected by being on an HDD in terms of load times, but it can still be done (I have 128GB SSD with 1TB HDD).

 

512GB SSD any day of the week. If you hobble yourself with a 128GB SSD you're fairly quickly going to have to start installing things to the HDD, and thus losing the benefits of the SSD. Going SSD-only means everything is faster without any faffing about.

 

128GB is too small for an SSD imho, I'd want at least 256GB. You can always move games from HDD to SSD as you need (Steam Mover does this nicely, but I think there are now other methods available).

Ideally, SSD-only would be the answer but if you have to mix and match SSD and HDD then I'd say get a 256GB SSD and a 1TB HDD.

 

I used to have a 128Gb SSD but as others have said even with just an OS and programs it will fill up quickly. I now use a 512Gb for OS ETC and another one for games and a 1Tb HDD for everything else.

 

Another vote for at least 256GB and another hard drive to back up. 128GB is too little these days.

 

What motherboard / cpu do have? I had a similar issue with lack of disc space and funds for a large SSD - did some digging it at turns out my Gigabyte Z77 board had an mSATA slot for use with Intel's Smart Response Technology, pretty much a way of using a small SSD as a cache for the system HDD.

Ended up picking up an unused second hand 64gb mSATA SDD for £33 quid and a brand new3TB HDD for £60 - the caching system isn't as quick as a "proper" SSD but its noticeably quicker than before and I've gained 3TB of storage for a relatively small outlay.

 

Having all your data in a single system is a nightmare for data security too! Using SyncToy have an hourly run to an external network hard drive on a UPS with surge protection. And have that doing a differential into an online storage service. OneDrive or iCloud Drive would be fine if you’ve got enough spare room.

(Having said all of the above you’re talking to someone with no redundant copies of just about anything despite 3x 500gb SSDs and a 3TB NAS, as the NAS currently doesn’t work.)

 

Sorry for late reply....

thanks for the responses guys, I have decided to save up more for a 256 GB SSD + 1TB HDD.
Don't worry, I regularly backup important files in my external drive.