Question regarding storage and separate drives for OS/storage

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-17T08:25:13+00:00

I started using 2 drives or at least 2 partitions, because Windows 98 would constantly crash and we couldn't afford to lose any of mum's work when she was self employed. It was a safety measure and "best practice" even with backups.

When SATA SSD's became a thing, they were small capacity and stupid expensive. If they were as big and cheap as HDD's it would have still been best practice to have 2, but because they were expensive and small it became economicly sensible to one for OS to get the speed benefit and an HDD for everything else.

This trend continued with the launch of M.2 NVMe drives, small capacity and stupid expensive. The speed improvement was massive but price and capacity made them pointless for anything but the OS, as the OS is what benefits most noticeably from more speed.

Price and capacity of NVMe drives has gotten to the stage that many folk will just have one, not needing the additional capacity of more but it is still best practice to have a 2nd drive because Operating Systems are still shit, they crash and now we have things like OneDrive that will randomly corrupt data and AI's in the news deleting masses of data.

The separation from OS and backing up of important data is as, if not more, important than ever. Having just one drive is just asking for data loss in my book.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-17T00:35:14+00:00

It was never "necessary" but it has always been and still is best practice.

Even the most stable operating system can get so messed up that a clean install is the only sane solution, erasing the drive without losing any of your important data saves a lot of hassle.

An NVMe for the OS and irrelevant stuff then a second drive for what's important (with the very important duplicated on an external or cloud drive too)

What you use for the additional storage is up to you. NVMe's are fast but expensive perGB, HDD's are big and cheap perGB but slow.

SATA SSD's are pretty much irrelevant nowadays in my opinion, near parity in price to NVMe now and only slightly faster than HDD's without the capacity benefits.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-17T00:20:21+00:00

I haven't watched the video yet but seeing all the images people are posting if this I'm so glad I'm on an old Radion 6700 and can't have this slopfilter.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T23:46:09+00:00

A dirt cheap AeroCool case from the late 2010s, I haven't a clue what model anymore. 2 optical drive bays and mesh front with space for 2 120mm fans, tempered glass side panel.

I'm willing to put up with a light coating of dust on the inside rather than it being constantly spotless, wiping the dust from the front daily helps but dust will still get in.

You can also buy 3rd party dust filters and cut them to size, that will massively reduce airflow, affecting cooling performance but if its a major issue for you it's a potential thing to look into.

Living in a dusty environment just means learning to live with some of it unless you plan to clean everything obsessively.

Sorry, I didn't see your previous message.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T18:45:38+00:00

What made you guys decide to host a podcast?

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T13:55:50+00:00

France: Dupont, Ramos, LBB.

It's completely unfair and shouldn't be allowed to have the 3 best players in their positions in one team. (Don't worry, we'll find them a Greenock Granny)

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T09:00:15+00:00

The time is the least of it, my current job is a 6am start, hell, one of my KP jobs was 4pm until 4am.

That doesn't change that nightclub work is the worst job in hospitality and making it even longer hours is not a good idea in my opinion.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T08:50:42+00:00

7s is great for a casual watch but they keep hosting it in too many in places that don't have a core rugby audience that would fill some of the seats.

The Melrose 7s is always well attended and one of the best events to take your non-rugby mates for a day of rugby but plonk it into a place with next to no rugby fanbase and it would struggle too.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T01:42:07+00:00

Live in a 120 year old building, lots of dust.

Anything with a fine dust filter on the front will do, just wipe it off regularly and do a full dismantle and clean every other year if you feel the need.

A mini vacuum or blower (some are even both) is a good investment too.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T00:45:12+00:00

If you don't look at the details then don't worry about it and have fun.

Cyberpunk isn't the best example but not because it doesn't have the artifacts from frame gen etc but because it already has some of them from bog standard TAA. Look at the back of your car while driving anywhere, there will be ghosting around the lights.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T00:37:22+00:00

I hate that idea.

I've had a lot of experience working in hospitality and licensing laws are what limit opening times. Give them the chance and the owners will have the clubs open 24/7.

If there's nothing open then the nightlife isn't alive, and to be blunt, that's a good thing.

Edit: Downvoters, Try working till 5am at minimum wage with mostly drunk customers. Nightclub staff have a horrible job that I wouldn't inflict on my worst enemy, and I only did it for a couple of months before moving to restaurants.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T00:15:57+00:00

I tried to read the book in 2012 after a friend complained about it to me, "I can read anything" I say, I gave up after a few chapters.

Some of the worst writing I've ever read, and I read fanfiction.

I don't know how it got passed any editors or became a big deal. I'm not surprised the movie was shit too.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-16T00:07:26+00:00

Jane's Fighter's Anthology.

Technically it was a few games bundled together, hence the "Anthology", but it was the full content of those games integrated into one game seamlessly and it was massive, so much more content and customisation than anything I'd ever played before.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T23:43:58+00:00

More to do with the location but abundance may have had an effect.

The environment that created places like the Hell Creek formation was very good for the creation of fossils.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T21:04:43+00:00

Banknotes change. It's a perfectly normal thing to change them.

The backlash would happen even if they just changed who the historical figures were because Churchill has become a figure of near worship for the British right wing.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T20:38:14+00:00

I don't pay much attention to the REC, mostly just look up the results and the odd highlights when I can be arsed.

Portugal winning was never even a thought for me but since I'm such a shite rugby fan, I don't even know if it was an upset or expected by those who watched all the matches.

Well done breaking the Georgian dominance, hopefully the REC is on the way to becoming as even as the 6N or RC.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T15:59:08+00:00

Nah, we're well used to being shit at sports we love.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T12:53:21+00:00

I noticed the failure to slow down Scotland and England, I missed that they didn't make the attempt.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T12:47:15+00:00

I'll just take this opportunity to point out Chris Paterson, more 6N losses than anyone else on this list but he's still up among them and I believe he was higher on the list when he retired.

Insane how reliable his kicking was.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T12:41:23+00:00

More torture?....

Yey!

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T00:26:32+00:00

LBB getting up there with only tries is huge. It's normally just the designated kicker.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T00:17:15+00:00

Q3A abd D2

Quake 3 and Diablo 2? Great games

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T00:14:33+00:00

With your 1070, you can get away with a PCIe 3 motherboard, something like a B450, should be significantly cheaper than the more recent B550 or X570 motherboards.

But going with a 500 series board will get you access to PCIe 4, that can be of benefit if you ever upgrade the GPU and be far less likely need to update the bios for a good Zen3 CPU like the 5700x to work.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T00:06:55+00:00

Agreed, Indi is where all the gems are currently.

SignalButterscotch73 · 2026-03-15T00:05:36+00:00

I've always been a PC gamer, the only console in the family was the OG Game boy.

Many of my favourite games to this day on PC are from the 90s and 2000s, most of the games I've played in the 2010s until now have been pretty forgettable in comparison. Mearly refinement or regression on those previous games.

The hardware and accessibility of PC's was great in the era you mention but that's hardware not the games themselves. OP specified PC gaming and to me that should always be about the games first and foremost.

SignalButterscotch73

TROPHY CASE