These days, when someone builds a new PC, the norm is to get a single large SSD to handle all of their storage needs — OS, games, documents, media collection, backups, and more. SSD prices aren't prohibitive anymore, so it makes sense to just buy a single fast drive and call it a day. However, I'd like to propose four alternatives to this layout. Even if you don't care about saving money, you might be interested in improving drive longevity, performance, and efficiency. Each of these options needs to be considered in addition to your primary SSD, which doesn't have to be larger than a 1TB or 2TB drive.

A dedicated SSD for your game library

Improving performance and longevity

The simplest alternative to a single big SSD is to get a second SSD dedicated to your game library. While storing all your games on the same drive as your OS is just fine, offloading them to a separate SSD has a few benefits. Firstly, by distributing the load across two SSDs, you're effectively increasing the lifespan for both of them. SSD wear might feel overhyped sometimes, but making your drives last longer is always a plus. Secondly, your OS drive is likely to perform better if it stays unencumbered by tons of game files — SSDs get slower as they fill up.

Lastly, this kind of organization adds some redundancy to your system. SSDs aren't immune to data corruption, and separating your data improves your chances of protecting it in case one of the SSDs fails. Backing up your data is the only foolproof way of protecting it, but using a separate SSD for everything other than your OS and critical software gets you closer to the goal.

Relocating your user folders to another drive

Free up some more space

Your user folders, like "Downloads" and "Documents," are often home to countless files that you never bother sorting through. They keep occupying precious space on your main SSD, which could have been used for better purposes. Most of the time, people don't even need the dozens of GBs of old downloads hogging disk space in their Downloads folder. If you think you'll need those files someday, it's better to change the location of these folders to a secondary drive.

All you need to do is right-click the respective folder, select "Properties", go to the "Location" tab, and select a new location on a separate drive. Windows will start using the new location for that specific folder without breaking any dependencies. Doing this will not only free up precious space on your main SSD, but also make you more mindful of all the old junk you need to get rid of from your Downloads or Documents folder.

A spacious hard drive for non-critical data

Make use of affordable yet reliable storage

A common storage layout is adding a relatively cheap but spacious hard drive to your PC in addition to your primary SSD. It might not come close to your NVMe SSD in terms of performance, but not every kind of data on your PC needs blazing-fast speeds. Besides your OS files, games, and a handful of other programs, you can realistically offload everything else to, say, a 4TB HDD. This can include your old photos and videos collection, movies and music, backups, OS images, and other non-essential data that you access occasionally.

A 4TB hard drive can be yours for just $75 on most days, far cheaper than a 4TB or even a 2TB NVMe SSD. Hard drives are excellent for long-term storage, offering a reliable way to park your non-critical data while you use your fast NVMe drive for daily use. Just like other storage layouts on this list, this will help you fully utilize your pricier SSD. What it'll also do is allow you to buy a 1TB or 2TB SSD instead of a larger drive that will cost prohibitively more.

A NAS for backups, media, and archival data

You'll finally have that NAS you always dreamed of

A great addition to your primary SSD is a NAS to manage all your backups, streaming media, and archival data. None of this stuff needs to reside on your fast NVMe SSD, hogging premium storage space. An SSD-only PC with all your OS files, games, and software complemented by an affordable all-HDD NAS is a perfect setup to benefit from the best of both worlds. Transferring your Plex library, automated backups, and photo collection to your NAS will free up tons of space on your PC, and will be better managed on an always-on, power-efficient NAS.

You can even build your own NAS instead of buying one. Repurposing an old PC, buying some NAS drives, and setting up a NAS operating system and file system are pretty much all you need to do. Meanwhile, your SSD on your PC will be free from the write-heavy backups and photo syncing that can hit its lifespan hard. Instead of a massive SSD storing everything, separating different data types on your SSD and NAS is the smarter way to do it.

A single big SSD is a simple, but not always the best choice

You might be tempted to use a single spacious SSD on your next PC, but consider alternate storage layouts for more performance and drive longevity. Using a dedicated game drive, a secondary HDD, or a NAS in addition to your primary SSD can not only optimize your premium SSD space, but also introduce some redundancy and better serve different kinds of data.