I would still suggest "small SSD for boot-up and large spinning disc for data storage" - although putting the big spinning disc inside still works out fine.
SSD is so much faster for booting up that it's a no-brainer... unless you really never reboot your computer.
VERY large SSDs are still quite expensive... while spinning discs are much more economical in very large sizes.
And, depending on the time frame you're looking at, SSDs actually still wear out, and may well not last nearly as long as a spinning disc.
There are also several very good reasons for wanting the data and the operating system on separate discs... or, at least, different partitions.
First, the idea that "the operating system will end up running from the cache" is an oversimplification.
While that will often be the case, the situation is actually rather more complicated, and you cannot count on that being the case.
(The cache will enable the machine to boot more quickly, and most of the read/write activity will take place from the cache, but the distinction is far from absolute.)
Second, you're ignoring a HUGE housekeeping issue... and the biggest reason to use separate discs for the operating system and the data.
The operating system experiences the most churn... the most read/write cycles... the most updates... and the most opportunity for things to go wrong.
Because of this, the operating system is by far the most likely area to become corrupted, and need to be re-formatted, or re-installed.
In contrast, the data is relatively simple, and most of it is never re-written...
In the case of Roon there is even a further distinction...
The operating system is by far the most active area...
The drive where you store music you own, like ripped CDs, almost never changes (once files are placed there they virtually never move - they are merely read from time to time)...
There is a third category for dynamic data used by Roon... stuff that is data but still changes and gets updated (like articles and concert schedules).
There is a major benefit to keeping these all in separate compartments....
Either in separate partitions on the same disc or on separate discs....
That way, for example, if your boot drive gets corrupted during an update...
Or you simply decide to reinstall Windows (or whatever)...
Of even if the drive just plain dies...
You can re-format that drive, or even physically replace it, WITHOUT HAVING IT AFFECT YOUR DATA.
(If you have "a music drive" and "an operating system drive" you can replace or repair them separately if you have to.)
And, when it's time to back up your data, you can simply back up that entire drive.
(Backing up a running operating system drive is problematic... backing up a data drive FROM a running operating system drive is simple.)
This also addresses avoiding fragmentation.
Operating systems these days contain a huge number of files (many tens of thousands).
These files get written, erased, and rewritten quite often.
The same holds true for the files used for caching web data and storing temporary data.
As these files get written, deleted, and rewritten, the data storage area on your hard drive eventually starts to look like a Swiss cheese of files and empty space.
Then, as new files get written, they are split up into pieces.
This is called "fragmentation"...
The computer "handles" all this transparently... but it does eventually slow things down.
That's why, for example, it is a very poor idea to store music and video files on the same storage disc as your operating system...
Because the disc ends up having to "jump around" to collect the pieces that make up the file... which slows things down... and increased the odds of something going wrong.
SSDs are so fast that you don't notice the slowdown but the basic issue is still there...
(Modern operating systems do a few things to minimize this but, for the most part, it's still happening underneath, and you just don't notice it.)
However, if you reserve a separate drive JUST for storing music and video files...
Then each of those files "gets laid down in one piece" (the technical term would be "stored in sequential contiguous sectors")...
This not only may speed up access, even with an SSD, but reduces the odds of the file becoming corrupted...
(It also greatly improves the odds of being able to recover the file later if you erase it by mistake.)
Most serious computer folks separate their machine into multiple separate discs or partitions (a partition acts like a separate disc and has its own drive letter).
That way, each one can be used, backed up, or even reformatted or erased, separately.
Hi
klinemj -
I can understand your "internal high speed SSD for programs + external HDD for storage" theory, but I still favor a big internal for the following reasons:
1. Big drives now come with enough SSD buffer that the OS & programs would probably be in that section anyway
2. When placing this on the living room shelving, the internal drive requires one less AC plug, one less USB port, and less messy wiring
