Installing and updating Windows can take some time, so be patient. For this guide we’ll assume you’re installing Windows. With the SSD hooked up, power on the computer, insert your installation media (disc or USB drive), and install your operating system. This will ensure your computer doesn’t automatically try to install your operating system to the HDD. Once you’re sure you can properly mount both drives, go ahead and do so, but make sure you only hook the SSD up to your motherboard. Installing your operating system to the SSD However, chances are good you’ll have to buy a separate 2.5-inch mounting bracket. Computer cases are form-factored to fit 3.5-inch drives (the standard size for most HDD’s), and some even come with extra mounting brackets to fit 2.5-inch drives (the standard size for SSD’s). Also, make sure you’re able to mount both 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch hard drives into your case. A 120GB SSD should be fine, but if you want to be absolutely safe you can go with a 250GB drive.

Since the SSD is only being used for your computer’s operating system, it doesn’t need much space. Buying both kinds of drives is more expensive than simply going with one or the other, but the long-term benefits are well-worth the extra cost. First, you’ll obviously need both a working SSD and HDD. Using an SSD and an HDD in tandemīefore you begin the process of dual-booting, you’ll want to ensure you have the necessary hardware components. When done with two separate drives, it most often involves configuring your system so that the SSD does the heavy lifting of booting and running your operating system, while the HDD is used for the less demanding task of file storage. The process of running two operating systems on your PC is known as dual-booting. If you’re willing to invest in both an HDD and an SSD, there’s a way to configure them so that you get the best of both worlds. Here’s a little secret though: you don’t actually have to choose. Solid state drives, meanwhile, are far more durable and load faster than HDD’s since they have no moving parts, but they’re also noticeably more expensive (for comparison, a 250GB SSD costs about as much as a 1TB HDD). Hard disk drives are cheaper and more common, but their reliance on internal moving parts means that they’re much more prone to breaking down, and they tend to be slower. When constructing your own gaming PC, having to choose between a solid state drive (SSD) or hard disk drive (HDD) can be difficult.

Formatting ssd from bios