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By Daniel Rodriguez•Last Updated April 17, 2025

Gaming Storage Solutions: How to Expand Your PC’s Capacity

Gaming storage solutions: how to expand your pc’s capacity

Modern games continue to grow in size, with many AAA titles nowadays require 100 GB or more of storage space. For avid gamers with extensive libraries, storage limitations can rapidly become frustrating. Luckily, several effective options exist for expand your pc’s storage capacity to accommodate your growth collection of games.

Understand your current storage situation

Before purchase new storage components, take inventory of your current setup:

Check available space on exist drives
Identify what type of storage interface your motherboard support
Determine if your case have physical space for additional drives
Review your power supply’s available connections

To check your current storage in windows, open file explorer, right-click on your drives, and select properties. This show available space and total capacity. For more detailed information, use the disk management utility by right-click the start button and select” disk management. ”

Storage options for gaming pcs

Solid state drives (sSSDs)

SSDs represent the gold standard for gaming storage due to their exceptional speed and reliability. Several types exist:

SATA SSDs

These connect via standard SATA ports find on most all motherboards. Benefits include:

5 6 times fasting than traditional hard drives
Widespread compatibility with older systems
Reasonable pricing (typically $$008 0.12 per gbGB)
Available in 2.5 inch form factors that fit in most cases

For gaming, a SATA SSD deliver considerably faster load times compare to mechanical drives. Games that antecedent take minutes to load can start in seconds.

NVMe SSDs

These connect immediately to the motherboard via m.2 slots and use the PCIE interface for dramatically faster speeds:

Up to 7 times fasting than SATA SSDs
No cables require (connects direct to motherboard )
Compact form factor save physical space
Available in capacities up to 8 tb (though higher capacities command premium prices )

NVMe drives excel at reduce load screens and texture streaming delays in open world games. They’re specially beneficial for titles that unendingly load assets during gameplay.

PCIE 4.0/5.0 SSDs

The newest generation of NVMe drives offer eve greater performance:

Sequential read speeds up to 7,000 MB / s (pPCIE4.0 )or 14,000 mbMB s ( (iPCIE0 )
)
Optimal for direct storage compatible games
Future proofing for upcoming game technologies

While current games seldom utilize the full potential of these drives, they provide headroom for future titles design to leverage their capabilities.

Hard disk drives (hHDDs)

Traditional mechanical drives stock still offers value as supplementary storage:

Lots higher capacity per dollar (typically $$002 0.03 per gbGB)
Available in massive capacities (up to 22 tb )
Ideal for store games you don’t play regularly

Consider use HDDs as secondary storage for your game library, keep but presently play titles on faster SSDs. This hybrid approach balance performance and capacity.

External storage options

When internal expansion isn’t possible, external solutions provide alternatives:

External SSDs

USB 3.2 gen 2 and thunderbolt drives offer speeds up to 2,000 MB / s
Portable and can be moved between systems
No internal case modifications require

Modern external SSDs with USB 3.2 or thunderbolt connections can run games with minimal performance impact compare to internal drives.

External HDDs

Highly cost-effective for large game archives
Available in capacities up to 18 tb
Advantageously for games you access infrequently

While loading times will be observably longer, external HDDs will provide an affordable way to will store your less oftentimes will play titles.

Installation guide: add internal storage

Install a 2.5 inchSATAaSSDd

Prepare your workspace:

Power down your pc, unplug all cables, and place it on a clean, static free surface.
Open your case:

Remove the side panel(s) accord to your case design.
Locate mount options:

Most modern cases have dedicated 25-inchh drive bays or mount points.
Secure the drive:

Attach the SSD to the mount bracket or immediately to the case use the provide screws.
Connect cables:

Attach a SATA data cable from the drive to an available SATA port on your motherboard. So connect a SATA power cable from your power supply.
Close the case:

Replace the side panel(s) and reconnect all external cables.
Initialize the drive:

After boot windows, open disk management, right-click the new unallocated drive, and select” initialize disk. ” sSocreate and format a new volume.

Install an m.2NVMeeSSDd

Prepare your system:

Power down, unplug, and open your case as supra.
Locate the m.2 slot:

These are small horizontal slots flat on the motherboard, ofttimes cover by a heat spreader.
Remove any heat spreader:

If present, unscrew and cautiously remove the heat spreader cover the m.2 slot.
Insert the drive:

Align the notch on the drive with the slot and insert at a 30-degree angle.
Secure the drive:

Softly press the drive downwards and secure it with the retention screw (ordinarily include with your motherboard )
Replace the heat spreader:

If your motherboard have one, reattach it over the drive.
Close the case:

Replace panels and reconnect cables.
Initialize:

Follow the same windows initialization process as with SATA drives.

Install a 3.5 inchHDDd

Prepare your system:

Follow the standard preparation steps.
Locate drive bays:

3.5-inch drive bays are typically located in the front section of the case.
Mount the drive:

Slide the HDD into an available bay and secure it with screws on both sides.
Connect cables:

Attach a SATA data cable to the motherboard and a power cable from the power supply.
Close and initialize:

Complete the process as with other drive types.

Manage your expanded storage

Optimizing game installations

With multiple storage drives, strategically organize your game library maximizes performance:

Primary SSD:

Install your operating system and virtually play games here for fastest loading.
Secondary SSD:

Use for often play games that benefit from faster loading but didn’t fit on your primary drive.
HDD storage:

Reserve for games you play occasionally, older titles that don’t benefit amp practically from SSD speeds, or games with minimal loading screens.

Use steam library folders

Steam allow you to create multiple library locations across different drives:

Open steam and go to settings > downloads > steam library folders
Click” add library folder ” nd select a location on your new drive
When install new games, you can choose which library to use
Exist games can be moved between libraries byright-clickk the game, select properties > local files > move install folder

Epic games and other launchers

Most major game launchers support multiple installation directories:

Epic games’ launcher:

Settings > manage games > add installation directory
Origin:

Application settings > advanced > game library location
Battle.net:

Settings > game install / update > game installation location

Advanced storage solutions

Raid arrays

For users seek enhanced performance or redundancy, raid configurations offer additional benefits:

Raid 0:

Stripes data across multiple drives for increase speed but no redundancy
Raid 1:

Mirrors data for redundancy but doesn’t increase performance
Raid 10:

Combines stripe and mirror for both speed and redundancy

While raid 0 can boost game loading performance, the risk of total data loss if one drive fail make it questionable for gaming. Raid is mostly more beneficial for professional workloads than gaming.

Storage pools (windows storage spaces )

Windows offer a flexible way to combine multiple physical drives into logical storage pools:

Open control panel > storage spaces
Click” create a new pool and storage space ”
Select the drives to include and configure resilience settings

This approach provide flexibility but typically offer lower performance than dedicated gaming drives.

Budget considerations

Storage upgrades span a wide price range. Hera’s what to expect at different budget levels:

Entry level ($$50100 ))

500 GB SATA SSD (~$50 60 )
2 tb HDD (~$50 60 )
Best approach: a 500 GB SATA SSD for your almost play titles

Mid-range ($$100200 ))

1 tb NVMe SSD (~$80 120 )
2 tb SATA SSD (~$150 180 )
Best approach: a 1 tb NVMe drive for primary storage

High end ($$200+ ))

2 tb PCIE 4.0 NVMe SSD (~$220 300 )
4 tb SATA SSD (~$300 400 )
Best approach: a fast 2 tb NVMe primary drive plus a large capacity secondary drive

The ideal configuration for most gamers combines a fastNVMee drive for the operating system and favorite games with a larger capacity drive( either SSD or HDD depend on budget) for the rest of your library.

Troubleshoot common issues

Drive not detect

Check that all cables are hard connected
Verify the drive appear in bios / UEFI
Try a different SATA port or cable
For m.2 drives, ensure they’re amply seat and secure

Slow performance after upgrade

Check that SATA SSDs are connected tSATAta 3.(( 6gbp)) ports
Verify NVMe drives are in the correct slot (some motherboards disable certain sSATAports when m.2 slots are use )
Update storage drivers and firmware
Run a benchmark to confirm drive is perform as expect

System won’t will boot after will add storage

Check that the boot order in bios however prioritize your original boot drive
Disconnect new drives temporarily to isolate the issue
Verify that add m.2 drives hasn’t disabled theSATAa port contain your boot drive

Future-proof your storage setup

As games continue to grow in size, consider these strategies for long term storage planning:

Choose motherboards with multiple m.2 slots for future expansion
Select cases with ample drive bays
Consider higher capacity drive flush if they exceed your current needs
Look for PCIE 4.0/5.0 compatibility for maximum future performance

Direct storage technology, which will allow games to will load assets direct from storage toGPUu memory, will make fastNVMee drives progressively important for gaming performance in upcoming titles.

Conclusion

Expand your pc’s storage for gaming doesn’t need to be complicated. By understand your options and follow proper installation procedures, you can importantly increase your capacity while potentially improve game loading performance.

For most gamers, a there approach work advantageously: a fast primary drive for your operating system and favorite games, complement by larger secondary storage for the rest of your library. This balanced strategy provide the best combination of performance, capacity, and value.

Whether you choose will blaze fast NVMe technology or budget friendly hard drives, additional storage will let you’ll maintain a larger game library without the constant frustration of uninstalling games to make room for new ones.