“Is 500GB SSD enough for gaming and other personal files or would I need to get more storage?” is a common query asked by many gaming fans because the memory that comes in the console can sometimes be less.
The amount of data varies from person to person and so does the need of the hour.
In this guide, we bring you an ultimate analysis and a conclusive result to answer your question and give you all the valuable information about the topic of SSDs for gaming.
Contents
Is Having 500GB SSD Enough for Gaming?
This is a very simple and straightforward answer to the question, but surely there are many layers to the answer and they are mostly personal. An SSD drive is a great choice for someone who is looking to increase their already filled-up storage, be it in gaming, office work, or even personal use.
What matters most is that you anticipate the amount of data that you will be dealing with before spending money on any product.
For this reason, here is an elaborate look at a 500GB SSD that will help put things into perspective. We do caution you that this account is basically for anyone looking to buy an SSD for gaming purposes.
If your query is for personal use, we suggest that you make decisions according to your data but the general information that we give you here will most definitely still apply.
– SSD and Gaming
Gaming and SSD go together like peanut butter and jelly and it has been working this way for a long time. Every gamer knows the struggle behind finding the perfect additional storage device for their console and it has always been a topic of debate whether every gamer needs one or not.
The reasons behind the use of SSD for gaming are that the games that the companies offer are massive in size and a simple console is unable to hold a whole lot of them.
A simple console would typically come with 500GB of storage and 10-20 percent of this storage will be taken up by the operating software and the rest would be available for storing your games and applications or any sort of media that you want on there.
Typically for casual gaming and merriment, this storage would be enough. You can easily keep a handful of games on here as well as some pretty cool applications.
In the case of professional gaming or even intense gaming, or in the case where you are a collector and keep a whole lot of games in your collection with their additional packs, you will need additional storage and this is where the SSDs come in handy.
These SSDs are specifically not built for gaming purposes but they surely fit in very well. Their compact design and style in addition to high-performing data storage and usage abilities make them the best addition to your gaming setup.
– Number of Games in a 500GB SSD
A high graphics game would be around the range of 30-50GB and would require an additional working disk space of 20GB, so basically, you can fit a whole lot of games on a 500GB SSD.
Games like “Fallout 4” will eventually break your drive if you are planning on keeping it with the rest of the lot because of how bloated its size is, but here is where smart managing comes in.
A 500GB SSD will be a great choice for you and also enough to hold your games if you divide your game’s stash into two parts: the forevers and the presents.
The forevers will contain the ever-green games that you will never want to get rid of and are close to your heart. The presents will be the games that you are trying out and are new.
So you can easily organize your games in this way that will give you a sense of storage and also what to keep and what to let go.
– Best SSD For Gaming
The best SSD out there should be used for your console and gaming without a doubt. An SSD that will not risk your data and will also be reliable for long-term use and worth every penny that you have spent on it. The best available SSD for gaming right now is WD Black SN850X. This beast comes in three storage types: 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB, which is massive storage space.
You can get your hands on a unit for around $150 to $700, which may be a lot but this SSD has a lot to offer. It has speeds of around 6,600MS/s and 7,300MB/s. Your games will load faster and you will see a visible change in the gameplay because of the increased performance.
The only downside to this SSD is, of course, the price, but when it comes to quality, nothing really comes cheap.
Another great SSD in the 500GB range is the SK Hynix Platinum P41. This beautiful yet sleekly-designed SSD is a go-to choice for many gamers and professionals. The only downside to this device is that it gets a little hot while in use.
This normally may not be a very big concern but in the long term, it can cause some problems.
– 500GB SSD vs 1TB SSD In Gaming
The main difference between a 500GB SSD and a 1TB SSD in gaming is only their size. While a 500GB SSD might be more than enough for gaming and storage purposes, a 1TB SSD might be a bigger and better upgrade.
In the end, it will all depend on how many games you are looking forward to keeping and how many applications will make the cut.
If you have a 1TB SSD, you do not need to think about the memory of any game or application that you will be downloading but only that your internet is fast enough to do it. So all in all, a 500GB SSD or a 1TB SSD is a great choice for gaming according to your needs as a gamer.
An SSD can store all sorts of media, you name it and it will store it. This Solid State Drive is made to store every type of data which will contain all sorts of media and files so you do not need to be concerned whether it will work with your data because it will.
The SSD is most commonly used to store high-memory games, high-performing applications, high-end images, important documents, and files of basically any and all types.
It is greatly up to you and how you decide to use the storage that comes with an SSD and you can be as creative as you want to be; there is no limit. There is actually no restriction here in the case of media. The only thing that you need to look out for is the storage space and what kind of media will fill it the most.
– SSDs vs Hard Drives for Gaming
The reason that an SSD and a hard drive are different is that a hard drive makes use of the read-and-then-write method with various mechanical parts involved, which makes the process slow, whereas an SSD has only two mechanical parts which make the process way faster and optimized.
The advantages of owning an SSD are surely the speed, the fast boot-up time, durability, less power consumption, and the variety of sizes that it comes in, which is why SSds are better suited for gaming needs.
There are multiple uses for an SSD in almost every field of work. People also rely on an SSD more than a hard drive because an SSD is far more resistant to damage and corruption than a regular hard drive. The only catch here is the price, because an SSD can be pricey whereas a hard drive can be purchased for much cheaper.
Also, if the chips inside the device are somehow damaged, there is a high chance that your data is gone and there is nothing anybody can do to retrieve it.
What Are the Types of SSDs Used for Gaming?
The different types of SSDs that can be used for gaming include PCIe-based Flash, Flash DIMMs, NVMe SSD, NVMe-oF, and Hybrid DRAM-flash Storage. An advantage of using SSD is that it comes in many different types and storage options so you have a wide choice range to choose from.
Here are the types of gaming SSDs commonly available in the market:
- PCIe-based Flash
- Flash DIMMs
- NVMe SSD
- NVMe-oF
- Hybrid DRAM-flash Storage (crucial MX)
Peripheral Component Interconnect Express-based flash has an increased performance ratio than the already great SSD. The biggest advantage of owning a PCIe-based flash drive is the lowest rate of latency that it has to offer.
The only catch here is that it comes with limited storage options. The Flash DIMMs offer even greatly reduced latency and performance.
The NVMe stands for non-volatile memory express and is designed for incredibly high performance in a high-performing atmosphere.
The NVMe-oF stands for non-volatile memory express over fabric, which allows the transfer of huge amounts of data between a system and another SSD, but all of this is done with great speed and performance.
Finally, Hybrid DRAM-flash Storage, where the DRAM stands for dynamic random access memory, offers great speed and performance between software, applications, and storage.
An SSD is a type of storage device with great memory and performance. It is non-volatile and stores data on solid-state flash memory. These devices have revolutionized remote storage and have left hard drives behind because they are super fast and accommodating. The acronym SSD stands for Solid State Device.
FAQs
– Will Using an SSD Affect Gaming FPS?
No, using an SSD will not affect gaming FPS because it actually depends on the game and not on the SSD or the external hard drive you use. The games may load faster and you may see increased performance, but FPS cannot be judged by an SSD.
For better FPS, you will definitely need to look for a better-performing internet connection or connect to a 5G service for the highest unbreakable speed.
This will also depend on the game’s performance, so even if you have the fastest internet speed in the world, it will not make your game faster if the game itself is slow and laggy.
– What To Do if My SSD Gets Corrupted?
If your SSD gets corrupted, you can easily uncorrupt it by using a third-party app or simply by performing some manual steps. Unlike the common belief that if your SSD is corrupted you cannot do anything to save it, you can actually save all of your data.
Of course, this is not the case when your SSD becomes severely damaged or corrupted to the point of no return.
Conclusion
We have covered a whole lot of ground on the subject of 500GB SSDs being enough for gaming. It is generally a personal preference and the best point that will help you make your decision is your gaming needs.
Here, we provided an extensive account on SSDs and gaming which will help you in making an informed decision, so here are some points to conclude the article:
- If you are a person who likes to keep a lot of heavy games and have an attachment to them, a 500GB SSD might not be enough for you.
- If you can easily delete a game to make space for new ones, then 500GB will certainly be enough.
- The advantages of owning an SSD are surely the speed, the fast boot-up time, durability, less power consumption, and the variety of sizes that it comes in.
- A simple console would typically come with 500GB of storage and 10-20 percent of this storage will be taken up by the operating software. The rest would be available for storing your games and applications or any sort of media that you want on there.
We hope that this guide on gaming and SSDs was helpful and educational for you!
