[2024 Update] How Much Storage Should a Gaming PC Have to Balance Performance and Needs?

User case: How much storage should a gaming PC have?

How much storage should a gaming PC have? Considering factors like budget, performance, and daily use, it's common for users to feel uncertain about whether to go with 500GB or 1TB. Deciding on the right storage depends on 2 important aspects: your gaming preferences, and, how many games you intend to have. If you're not sure, don't worry. This article is here to offer you a comprehensive guide that will help you strike a balance between performance and needs.

Is 500GB enough for gaming?

What is the best storage for a gaming PC? 500GB is a budget-friendly choice for many gamers. But actually, you won't have the full 500GB to yourself. This is because pre-installed apps and the operating system use a part of the hard drive's space.

If you are a casual gamers, 500GB can be the best choice. Casual games are usually small, ranging from 100MB to 2GB. These games are created to be easy to download and won't slow down your computer, even if you have a bunch of them.

On the other hand, if you enjoy AAA titles – games with amazing graphics and complex gameplay – how many games you can keep becomes crucial. These games often require a lot of space, typically between 50GB and 150GB each. This means that with 500GB, you might only be able to fit 1 or 2 of these games without affecting your computer's performance. What’s more, as games get updates, expansions, or new content, the space they need can grow. In this situation, having a 1TB storage might be the best storage for a gaming PC.

When it comes to PC storage for gaming, gamers who love to experience diverse games without worrying about space could consider a 2TB storage for both affordability and room. For enthusiastic gamers aiming to keep a diverse collection of games, 3TB or 4TB might be the best fit for your needs.

How to easily upgrade to a larger hard disk without data loss?

When you are ready to upgrade to a bigger hard disk for better performance and to accommodate your growing collection of games, transferring all your original data might seem like a hassle. But there's no need to worry, if you choose AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, a versatile computer management tool, things will be remarkably easy and effective.

Its “Disk Clone” wizard can clone the entire disk, including all the data and partitions on it. Whether it's games, programs, media files, or documents, you can replicate everything from your old disk to the new one. And if needed, you can even choose to copy only specific parts of the data. With its user-friendly interface, no matter whether you are a computer novice or tech-savvy, you can effortlessly complete the process.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional Edition.

Step 2. Click the "Clone" main tab and select "Clone Disk". (You can also right-click the Disk you want to clone and select the "Clone Disk" tool to run disk clone.)

Step 3. Choose the hard disk that you need to clone as the source disk and click "Next".

Step 4. Select the destination disk to put the data of the source disk on, and then click "Next".

Step 5. Then, you will enter the Confirm interface where you can check the source and destination disk. After all is set, you can click the "Confirm" button to continue.

In lower left corner of the window, you can click the "Settings" button to adjust the partition size on the destination disk. There are three options for you:

• Clone without resizing partitions: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk as the original partition size. It is available when the target disk is larger than the source disk. If it is smaller, this option will be grayed out.
• Fit partitions to entire disk: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk and take up its full capacity according to the original partition size proportion.
• Edit partitions on this disk: you can change every partition size on the target disk as you need.

After finishing the adjustment, please click "Save".

Notes:

• You can tick "4k alignment" to improve the reading and writing speed of SSD if the selected destination disk is an SSD storage.
• All data on this selected destination disk will be wiped out after you save the operation to physical disk. If there is important data on the destination drive, please make a backup in advance.
• If you clone to a smaller SSD, the first option is grayed out. If you select Sector-by-Sector Clone, it is unable to adjust the size on the destination disk.

Step 6. You can preview the disk cloning operating by viewing the "Pending Operations". To commit the "Pending Operations", please click "Apply" and "Proceed".

Step 7. The cloning process will start and you can check the cloning process.

Step 8. Once the cloning process is finished, you can install the larger hard drive into your gaming PC to replace the smaller one.

Bonus reading: How to extend C drive space with ease?

In the above part, we talked about “How much storage for gaming PC” with introducing an effective way to clone disk. As we can see from the main interface of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, there are many other practical features. How to use it to extend C drive space? It can share various solutions for you:

Various ways to extend drive space with AOMEI Partition Assistant:
✍ Merge Partitions:  You can merge 2 partitions to add free space for one drive.
✍ App Mover: Users can move installed programs to another drive that has sufficient space.
✍ Allocate Free Space: Users can allocate free space from one partition to another to increase the destination drive space.
✍ Delete Large Files: By deleting Large Files that are hidden or stubborn, you can free up room for your drive space.
✍ ...

The "App Mover" function can be really handy for gamers. If your computer starts slowing down because of numerous games and programs, you can employ this feature to safely relocate parts of apps to a different drive with sufficient space. By doing so, you can enhance your computer's speed and extend drive space without uninstalling any game or program.

To sum up

How much storage should a gaming PC have? If you're a casual gamer, a budget-friendly option like 500GB works well. For those seeking long-term use and good performance, 1TB can be a perfect fit. But if you're a dedicated gamer, going for 2TB or even 3-4TB might be the better choice.

If you are planning to upgrade to a larger hard disk, using AOMEI Partition Assistant can help you easily transfer all the original data. In addition, if you want to migrate OS to SSD, convert system disk between MBR/GPT, or create a bootable USB to bypass Windows 11 system requirements, this multifunctional software can assist you as well. If you are Windows Server user, kindly please the Server Edition for compatibility.