Games on ext. HD

**Beirut** · 05-09-2007, 22:51

Howdy,

I just bought a lovely Comstar 7200rpm 250GB external HD (on sale!) and I'm dee-lighted about it. My tiny 75GB internal HD was bursting at the seams and I'd have to uninstall one game to install another. Gah! (This is mostly because my Flight Simulator 2004 file is 20GB+ Add FSX, and the IL2 series, and it's 40GB+. Ouch.)

So, I'm wondering what kind of performance loss I'll get from running games off the ext. HD.

Thanks.

**Husar** · 05-10-2007, 00:14

I can't really say, I'm using my external HDD to install games on my dad's computer(so they don't use his precious HDD space). With most games, I didn't recognize any problems, but since his PC is old, I didn't try any demanding games. I'd think the performance problems, if any at all, should be during loading times, once the data is in your RAM and/or temporary folder, there shouldn't be any big problems anymore. Just if the games reload a lot of data very often, there may be drawbacks, but I'd just try it.

**professorspatula** · 05-10-2007, 16:30

I wish I could play games on my external hard drive as my main drive is always full and thus slowed down. However for some reason my PC struggles with external hard drives and USB flash drives. It is prone to locking up temporarily or just going slow making an external hard drive good only for backup and additional storage uses.

**Mikeus Caesar** · 05-10-2007, 18:14

I've also been wondering about this for quite a while, as my 3 year old 80GB hard-drive is quite obviously packed with stuff, and i want to leave at least 10GB free so that my computer doesn't cack up, but all the while i have a gorgeous 500GB external HD. The only thing putting me off is that my house has a wireless network - would that make any difference? Our wireless network can sometimes be...sluggish.

**BlackAxe3001** · 05-11-2007, 04:32

I've been using an external hdd for years now. I run vanguard, BF2, oblivion, supreme commander and a bunch of other demanding games off of it no problem. Make sure you are using a usb 2.0 or firewire port, or if you are lucky, an esata port. I am using usb 2.0 no problems. I will say that it is substantially slower, but I don't mind really, as I have no other options untill I get some $$$ saved up to build my new rig.

-BA

**KukriKhan** · 05-11-2007, 16:46

I've been using a Western Digital 120GB external (w/USB 2.0) about 18 months now. Single-player games = no problem. Multiplayer = a bit laggier than on my native HD.

MS Flightsim 2000 plays fine; no experience with any newer flightsim products, so no advice given there.

I think you'll be fine using extHD; the fellas above give good advice about how it connects to your rig - USB 2.0 is a heckuva lot quicker than 1.1. Good luck!

**Beirut** · 05-11-2007, 20:35

Originally Posted by KukriKhan

I've been using a Western Digital 120GB external (w/USB 2.0) about 18 months now. Single-player games = no problem. Multiplayer = a bit laggier than on my native HD.

Western Digital, you say. That's what I should have bought. Being a shmoo, I bought my 250GB Comstar then read the reviews, which were less than glowing. Seems more than one person had the thing die on them within three months. At least It comes with a one year guarantee.

Originally Posted by KukriKhan

MS Flightsim 2000 plays fine; no experience with any newer flightsim products, so no advice given there.

You're not flying FS2004 yet?