Buying New Windows 10 Laptop - Storage Alternatives, Advice Please

I will be buying a new Windows 10 laptop and am deciding whether to get one with SSD or traditional hard drive. In addition to Windows 10 (approx. 32GB) and Microsoft Office Home (approx. 4GB), I have assorted apps of about 4GB, and about 41GB personal files which will surely double to maybe 80GB over next few years. This adds to approx. 124GB.

I am considering three configuration alternatives with respect to storge:
(1) Store everything on an internal 256GB SSD
(2) Store everything on an internal 500GB traditional hard drive (since traditional drives are cheaper than SSD although less reliable)
(3) Store Windows 10, Office, and Apps on internal 128GB SSD, and store personal files on external hard drive that is always attached to laptop vis USB

What are folks' thoughts and comments on these alternatives. Anything else I should consider? Am I being silly (and cheap? ) to not just go with alternative #1, the 256GB SSD?

 

SSD....all day!

 

No brainer: SSD.

Forget the 128GB and go with at least 250GB (500+ if the budget allows). While 128GB is technically plenty, Windows works best when there is lots of free disk space to work in and that's regardless if using an SSD or a HD. Lots of free disk space gives Windows plenty of room for the Page File and temp files. On a hard drive, it gives Windows lots of room for temporary space during defragging. On a SSD, lots of free space gives Windows lots of room for TRIM and wear leveling.

Plus, your personal habits may change. Maybe you will want to save a bunch of your favorite tunes, or temporarily store some movies for when you are on the road. Having a bunch of extra disk space will give you the freedom to do so without impacting or even worrying about performance.

You are being wise by asking questions. As for cheap, think "strategically" or long term. If you factor the extra cost of SSD over the expected life of the computer, you will see that not only does the extra cost add very little, you may actually come out ahead by going with SSD.

There are several tangible and intangible advantages that all must be factored in - especially with a notebook.

• The slowest SSD can run circles around the fastest hard drives. So SSDs perform much better.
• SSDs consume less power resulting lower energy costs and longer battery runtimes.
• SSDs generate less heat (always important in the confined spaces of a notebook case) - but less heat also means less work for the notebook's cooling system (fans) and less work means lower energy costs.
• SSDs weigh less (important when lugging a notebook around).
• SSDs boot faster and load programs faster resulting in less wait time, more productivity time.
• SSDs make no noise.
  
• SSDs perform much better (worth repeating).

So once you spread the cost to operate (run, charge and cool) the notebook and the potential for increased productivity due to time savings over the entire life expectancy of the notebook, much if not all of the extra initial cost of the SSD are offset.

But forget everything else for a moment and just look at performance. If not used to a SSD, you will be amazed. I've been using nothing but SSDs for years now and am still amazed at how quickly my computers boot and my applications load. Once you see how a SSD improves over all computer performance, going with a HD is a disappointment. Do you want to be disappointed EVERY time you boot (or wake) your notebook for the life of your notebook?

Do you want to be thinking every day for the next 5 years, "Gee I wish I got a SSD instead of this slow, noisy, power hungry, slow, clunky, heavy, heat producing (did I mention slow?) hard drive"?

Oh, and make sure you get at least 8GB of RAM too.

 

Good rundown by Digerati- and ssd is obviously better.
Personally, I would say -as you put it
(3) Store Windows 10, Office, and Apps on internal 128GB SSD, and store personal files on external hard drive that is always attached to laptop vis USB -but, use another SSD instead of a hard drive.
My reason being that your data is not affected if you have a Windows crash - just my thoughts.

 

Digerati -- thank you so much for sucn a throughful reply. Very much appreciated.

David

 

No problem.

As for the idea of keeping personal files on an external drive, I don't agree with that strategy - especially if the reasoning for going with a notebook is the requirement for mobility. Do you really want to lug another device, its USB cable and its power supply around? Not me.

While true your data may not be affected if Windows crashes, the fact the data is on an external drive does not preclude it from being affected if Windows crashes. An open file can just as easily become corrupted no matter where it is located. Drives can fail no matter where they are located. The requirement to keep backups of our important data does not change just because it may be located on an external drive.

 

GoshenGeek
Digerati's has his view -mine also works- Your choice
Laptop/notebook caddies are so small for hard drives,or, ssd,s , and can be used s both backup, and f you have a dvd writer in the laptop/notebook, it can often be removed and the second hard drive/ssd be fitted in it's place with
Universal-SATA-2nd-HDD-SSD-Hard-Drive-Caddy-for-Cd-dvd-rom-Optical-Bay

Like this
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/vmgAAOSwtQZdZM2d/s-l1600.jpg

 

If it has an optical drive, and if it can easily be removed and replaced with a drive in a caddy, then sure, this option would work. It was never about whether or not a method works. It was about portability (lugging more devices about) and the issue of file integrity - which remains the same regardless.

Do note that many opticals designed for notebooks are slim, about the same thickness as the tray on a normal optical drive. So the cavities they slip into may not support a hard drive. SSDs, however, should be no problem.

 

or use a larger SSD and create a data partition for your personal files. That provides the same data security as an external drive without the mobility hindrance. I do this on every computer, static or mobile.