Running Windows 10 solely on an HDD for gaming purposes is possible, but performance may be limited.
Running Windows 10 solely on an HDD for gaming purposes is possible, but performance may be limited.
Hi I'm trying to be a Linux user, because of the many benefits, but there is one downside, I can't play my games without going into a lot of trouble with things like Wine or VM's. So I want to use my 2TB HDD for a Windows install onto a 128GB partition, and run all games from the other partition on my HDD.(Games are already on there) This way I can keep Ubuntu on my SSD. Now one thing that bothers me is, I haven't used Windows on an HDD in a loooooong time. So I am wondering how it would perform while booting, and how the system would feel? Also, would it affect my Games performance(compared to Windows on SSD)? I think not, as they are already on the HDD(always were). But still, maybe a .net framework or DirectX could be bottle necked a bit because of the HDD? I hope someone can help me answer those questions. Thanks!
You may create an additional division on your SSD (based on available space) and set up Windows 10, keeping your games on the HDD. If you have a dual-boot configuration, the process will be slower to start up. The exact duration depends on your setup and the boot manager you choose. I won’t cover that here. However, typical performance ranges are: Windows 8+ with SSD – 5 to 12 seconds; Windows 8+ with HDD – about 30 seconds to a minute. Key factors affecting speed include whether your system uses UEFI or BIOS (properly set up), hardware specs and their efficiency, the type of storage (HDD vs SSD), presence of antivirus or other security tools, and how fragmented the HDD is. Game load times can differ noticeably based on these elements. For instance, some games may run smoothly on an SSD while showing minor delays on an HDD, especially if they rely heavily on dynamic loading. This variation depends on the game engine and its handling of file accesses. If your HDD struggles with rapid scene changes, frame rates might drop despite high FPS numbers. Remember, these details don’t change how many frames per second you see. .NET is a development environment that influences program startup times, but it doesn’t affect runtime performance. It’s just one of many tools developers can use. Graphics APIs like DirectX and OpenGL/Vulkan depend mainly on your GPU and CPU for rendering quality.
Sure, everything looks fine. I plan to run the game without installing anything extra on Windows—just keep the essentials like DirectX. Performance issues aren’t a concern for me; I don’t mind delays in launching apps as long as frame rates stay stable. I’m avoiding installing Windows on my SSD since it’s only 250GB, and I need quick access to Ubuntu applications like UE4 so they load faster and don’t slow down my workflow.