External SSD

User Support Hub Hardware & Peripherals
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Hello all, I am sure this has been discussed previously, so I apologize in advance. I am just looking for a couple recommendations for my setup. Currently I have MSFS installed on my 256gb boot SSD. After this last update, I’m pretty much full. I was just wondering if I were to purchase something like this: SAMSUNG T7 Touch Portable SSD 1TB, would I see a significant performance decrease compared to installing a bigger internal SSD? I do have a USB Type C port that I can use.

Thanks in advance for you help and advice!

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Connecting via USB? I’d think it would be horrible. USB3 can be fast but there is no way I’d use an external drive as anything other than a portable unit. Maybe someone can comment that has actually tried it though. My thoughts are just a gut feeling so take it with a medium sized grain of salt. Real experience is better :slight_smile:

You could look up tranfser specs but those are usually theoretical so don’t put too much stock in them.

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Got it, thanks for the response!

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I use an M.2 in an external case running off a USB 3 connexion and I don’t have any issues at all. It’s very speedy and the whole program is loaded without any problems.

Edit: I have 50 separate sceneries in the Community folder and from clicking the icon on my desktop to the Press any Key screen it took precisely 1 minute and 54 seconds.

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Thanks for the response! Do you mind sharing what drive you use? I’m looking at the Samsung T7 right now as well as the Western Digital options.

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I’m running mine from a Samsung T7 via USB C and it works great. I bought a 2TB version and use it for additional storage as well.

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I use the WD Blue M.2 500GB. Available on Amazon for around £55 or equivalent dollars.

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Awesome, thanks for the response. Good to hear!

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If you have a free PCIE slot, you can buy a small board with an M.2 slot and have a wicked fast internal SSD. I have this setup and it is wicked fast.

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10

I would recommend doing what @mitchcweathers said. Even the latest generations of USB are nowhere near the speeds of M.2 SSDs and you’d notice a pretty bad loading speed hit.

If you get a PCIe card and put another M.2 in it, you can get the 1+ gigabyte per second speeds that M.2 SSDs offer which I think MSFS will appreciate.

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11

I’m building a new rig, and was wondering about non-M2 SSD"s. (Connected via the SATA internal connector).

Will that be as fast or will an M2 connected SSD still be even faster ?

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M.2 NVME is fastest by a lot.

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For comparison purposes…I have one 2TB hybrid spinner that gets 150mbs read, I have two 1 TB SATA SSD’s that get about 450mbs on their own, but I’m running them as a 2TB drive in Raid 0 and they get about 900-1000mbs. My C drive is a 512GB Nvme drive on the motherboard and it gets about 2000mbs. Finally, I have a 2TB Nvme SSD in a PCIE slot that gets around 3000mbs. Your mileage will vary, but that might give you some idea how the various options might vary.

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Others have already mentioned but I’ll provide some links. The adapter that is being mentioned is nvme pcie adapter https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Controller-Expansion-Profile-Bracket/dp/B07VYWR91T/ref=sr_1_8?crid=8QMPXSBXZEEL&dchild=1&keywords=nvme+pcie+adapter&qid=1601097043&s=electronics&sprefix=nvme+PCI%2Celectronics%2C150&sr=1-8

You can get an NVME drive such as https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Controller-Expansion-Profile-Bracket/dp/B07VYWR91T/ref=sr_1_8?crid=8QMPXSBXZEEL&dchild=1&keywords=nvme+pcie+adapter&qid=1601097043&s=electronics&sprefix=nvme+PCI%2Celectronics%2C150&sr=1-8

For about $70, you just got yourself a VERY fast 512GB storage that you can move your entire MSFS install to and stil have room for more.

Just verify you have an available PCI-E slot on your motherboard.

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15

So i built up my new right, core i9-10850. ROG Helios case, Rog MAximus Formula MB, 64 gb ram
Still have my old 1080-ti though! ( waiting for the 3080 to be available still)

I am glad i put the OS on an M2 SSD ( samsung Evo), and also MFS2020 on a separate M2 SSD. much faster load times. Quite happy with these drives. Thanks for all your help and advice!

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