F5F Stay Refreshed Software PC Gaming Performance issue when using HDD alongside an SSD drive

Performance issue when using HDD alongside an SSD drive

Performance issue when using HDD alongside an SSD drive

R
RandiRed
Member
Find
58
06-23-2019, 05:11 AM
#1
I've been dealing with a persistent issue on my computer for months. While gaming, I often face sudden video stutters and poor audio quality. Recently, I found a YouTube tutorial titled "What Hard Drive bottleneck looks like." It matches what's happening in many demanding games today. Since I recently upgraded to an NVME drive and installed a fresh OS, most of my games run on a SATA SSD, with some on the NVME unit. None are stored on the HDD. My system has experienced freezing, frequent crashes, and BSODs. After switching the Ryzen cooler to the NZXT Kraken X72, those problems vanished, but the issues reappeared. What might be causing this? I've tried replacing every component, even the motherboard. The setup includes:

- 500GB NVME drive
- WD Black WDS500G3X0C (system & some games)
- 500GB SATA SSD
- Crucial MX500 (games)
- 128GB SATA SSD
- SanDisk SDSSDP128G (first SSD, used with software)
- 1000GB HDD SATA (WD10EZRZ-00HTKB0) – other software/data

Hardware: Ryzen 7 2700X (not overclocked), Aorus X470 Ultra Gaming, MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio, Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB 2x8GB at 3200MHz, Corsair RM750

If you need further help, let me know.
Reply
Reply
R
RandiRed
06-23-2019, 05:11 AM #1

I've been dealing with a persistent issue on my computer for months. While gaming, I often face sudden video stutters and poor audio quality. Recently, I found a YouTube tutorial titled "What Hard Drive bottleneck looks like." It matches what's happening in many demanding games today. Since I recently upgraded to an NVME drive and installed a fresh OS, most of my games run on a SATA SSD, with some on the NVME unit. None are stored on the HDD. My system has experienced freezing, frequent crashes, and BSODs. After switching the Ryzen cooler to the NZXT Kraken X72, those problems vanished, but the issues reappeared. What might be causing this? I've tried replacing every component, even the motherboard. The setup includes:

- 500GB NVME drive
- WD Black WDS500G3X0C (system & some games)
- 500GB SATA SSD
- Crucial MX500 (games)
- 128GB SATA SSD
- SanDisk SDSSDP128G (first SSD, used with software)
- 1000GB HDD SATA (WD10EZRZ-00HTKB0) – other software/data

Hardware: Ryzen 7 2700X (not overclocked), Aorus X470 Ultra Gaming, MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio, Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB 2x8GB at 3200MHz, Corsair RM750

If you need further help, let me know.

Reply
Reply
L
LWF_iLucky
Member
Find
68
06-23-2019, 01:20 PM
#2
If the game is hosted on Steam, you can set up a fresh game collection on the NVMe storage, then transfer the titles there. This ensures any concerns about limited storage capacity are addressed.
Reply
Reply
L
LWF_iLucky
06-23-2019, 01:20 PM #2

If the game is hosted on Steam, you can set up a fresh game collection on the NVMe storage, then transfer the titles there. This ensures any concerns about limited storage capacity are addressed.

Reply
Reply
M
Menno1600
Member
Find
142
06-23-2019, 02:51 PM
#3
Usually games run fine on an HDD, but in your situation it seems like one or more drives might be faulty. Perhaps the SSDs lack DRAM cache, for instance. I’d check by taking out all drives except the NVMe ones and running a game that had problems before. If it works then... install another hard drive and see if it improves. If not, it’s likely something is wrong with your drives overall.
Reply
Reply
M
Menno1600
06-23-2019, 02:51 PM #3

Usually games run fine on an HDD, but in your situation it seems like one or more drives might be faulty. Perhaps the SSDs lack DRAM cache, for instance. I’d check by taking out all drives except the NVMe ones and running a game that had problems before. If it works then... install another hard drive and see if it improves. If not, it’s likely something is wrong with your drives overall.

Reply
Reply
J
jjsoini
Posting Freak
Find
809
06-24-2019, 01:28 AM
#4
I no longer rely on HDDs for gaming, though I’m uncertain about SSDs without cache. I’ll attempt to disconnect all drives and keep only NVMe with the operating system and two games where the problem is most apparent.
Reply
Reply
J
jjsoini
06-24-2019, 01:28 AM #4

I no longer rely on HDDs for gaming, though I’m uncertain about SSDs without cache. I’ll attempt to disconnect all drives and keep only NVMe with the operating system and two games where the problem is most apparent.

Reply
Reply
L
LOVAC13
Member
Find
108
06-29-2019, 01:26 PM
#5
The video highlights performance issues caused by the game running on a slow HDD while the CPU and RAM struggle to keep up. The bottleneck comes from the hard drive's slow speed, not the game's storage medium. A fast SSD would resolve this problem.
Reply
Reply
L
LOVAC13
06-29-2019, 01:26 PM #5

The video highlights performance issues caused by the game running on a slow HDD while the CPU and RAM struggle to keep up. The bottleneck comes from the hard drive's slow speed, not the game's storage medium. A fast SSD would resolve this problem.

Reply
Reply
J
jerrydog01
Senior Member
Find
703
06-29-2019, 02:43 PM
#6
However, it's possible the memory controller on the motherboard might be faulty.
Reply
Reply
J
jerrydog01
06-29-2019, 02:43 PM #6

However, it's possible the memory controller on the motherboard might be faulty.

Reply
Reply
A
Anton_Nord
Member
Find
119
06-29-2019, 03:57 PM
#7
They mentioned it twice that no games are available on the HDD. But maybe the HDD is waking up from standby since Windows can briefly activate it, causing random behavior because of how Windows works.
Reply
Reply
A
Anton_Nord
06-29-2019, 03:57 PM #7

They mentioned it twice that no games are available on the HDD. But maybe the HDD is waking up from standby since Windows can briefly activate it, causing random behavior because of how Windows works.

Reply
Reply