Is there such a thing as a PC with a removable hard drive?
Posted by MidwayNerd@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 184 comments
Hey reddit, I was wondering consult title. My parents are divorced and it would be very useful to be able to take my games from house to house. So, is there such a thing as a large hard drive, not just a USB stick, that can be easily removed and transferred from place to place?
With that said, is there a good sub-$1k PC that could include that? Doesn't need to be top-of-the-line, just good enough to handle like War Thunder or smth. Rn, my laptop crashes all the time when I play that and it sucks.
IGunClover@reddit
Just get a sata / usb hard drive dock.
mnewberg@reddit
I've used these: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Drive-Trayless-Mobile-Backplane/dp/B001CYZC38/ref=sr_1_11?crid=3Q57CNQYV46TL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.oeI4j94oow4msxIa-7EReXc6X-G6xCzxZjhGT_53NCH-Y4YGjKJpfx69M3FEJLeioH0jRamwMVD4tzfzPqcjeq13lvnMMnGrzaFwuZLxNxapP0ByVZOq4h6X0zG9m1kkxIIE_gnbxVpwY8U6pB350h78dJGCF5yW02jA7D6uEprtPC8l-BDylow5QyW0l4myr1C0DLHC8qYxYu0KUlESZRKpoAibGrbNxLUrrNafDYw.v6wAJkwQO13byeQO2qOY5TXnM1fCDmDCttUz9wt-_Go&dib_tag=se&keywords=SATA+drive+swap&qid=1729038277&sprefix=sata+drive+swap%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-11
Just turn off computer before you remove, can use any SATA drive you want.
AE74Fj73@reddit
If you're going to have a computer at each house why is there a need for an removable hdd?
Ok_Confection_10@reddit
This is a good question lol. He would just need to sign in every time and refresh his cloud saved
theo69lel@reddit
Pictures. Games. Large projects. Homework. I have a bootable m.2 nvme SSD as my daily work & study system while I use my actual internal ssd for things that I can sync without giving billion dollar companies even more of my money when I don't have to.
ImSoCul@reddit
I mean you do you but this is silly. OneDrive has a 5GB free tier, Google Drive has a 15GB free tier ($2/month for 100 GB). You're going to spend $100ish and haul an SSD around which if you break it, you're fucked because "bah hum billion dollar company". That'll show them I guess?
BriefFreedom2932@reddit
You trusting those services is crazy. Especially google. BTW they have rights to your stuff if you use their tools.
Also these services tend to make their stuff proprietary and it's a pita to transfer things when needed.
OofItsKyle@reddit
I wouldn't worry about Google accessing OPs homework and Steam folder
BriefFreedom2932@reddit
wrong... It's weird that you replied to this one with that. Also there's other issues which I listed. Which is why you commented on this one. Now I see why more people keep off of reddit
OofItsKyle@reddit
I commented on one part, because that was a choice I made?
I also stated an opinion, that if I was OP, I wouldn't care much about Google accessing my steam data and homework, which is what was stated the purpose was, I was maintaining the context of the OP's request, as opposed to ranting about companies having access to data
I didn't say they wouldn't access it
BriefFreedom2932@reddit
And wrong again. Even if you did state that, you need to state it better.
Stop having arguments in your head and sticking my tag on it, like I said the other side.
You were trying to troll and got outed.
Not even going to argue with you cause it's pointless.
zip510@reddit
Clearly you have never used Google storage or OneDrive. They could not be more simple to take files out of.
BriefFreedom2932@reddit
Fucking boomers... clearly blah blah.
I've used used both and other services on corporate and other "professional" usage. But thanks for trying to discredit me.
Off of desktop is okayish but doing it on a mobile IOT device you're screwed, google isn't going to let you. Notice how I didn't say OneDrive but yet you clearly put it in for some reason.
I've been in multiple corporations where they've had issues with Microsoft. Personally I don't like the amount of data that microsofts collects.
That's not even including the storages I've "accessed" and ones I've "owned (lol)" that were hacked... accessed and other issues. FYI they go through you shit.
I also used to have a 100GB storage because of a deal way back till google wanted money.
THE DIFFERENCE IS:
YOU OWN THAT STORAGE.
INTERNET, SIGNAL IS A HUGE FACTOR.
When they have issues, you're fucked.
Also hauling is laughable. Some of my older hacking and other set ups have a older SSD in an external adapter. For $100 I can do an external ssd enclosure and a 1tb ssd with gaming specs. It is literally one third the size of my phone width wise and smaller length wise.
Maybe next time know wtf you're talking about.
ImSoCul@reddit
?
BriefFreedom2932@reddit
Wow boomers... lame
theo69lel@reddit
It's principal. The google drive's 2TB option is €9,00. That's still €108 a year. My drive cost me around that and it will pay for itself within a year. If it breaks, it's my problem. I need terabytes of storage data. I did my math. For me it's economically beneficial to do it this way.
Clanstantine@reddit
That's a lot of porn
11_Seb_11@reddit
But not failure proof without any backup...
theo69lel@reddit
I make a backup weekly on my NAS. Never had a problem in 5 years.
PiotrekDG@reddit
Why not use some NAS and VPN to sync stuff between the PCs?
heliosfa@reddit
You have a NAS already, so why not use something like SyncThing to keep things synced between everything?
11_Seb_11@reddit
To be honest, it took me probably more than 10 years before falling in a situation where I needed my backup. Lessons learned:
- it was only 3 days old, but it was already a pain to rework and recreate the recent files
- it was missing a few things
After that, I decided to subscribe to Tresorit (and now Proton Drive) to have automatic backup every second without thinking about it.
But to be fair, you should be able to schedule a more regular backup on your NAS, like daily at least.
kaleperq@reddit
He could make an independent server that van be remotely accesed to store those kinds of things. A bit overkill for a kid, but hey, he can build a 1k pc and doesn't know mutch about pcs and I've been saving my whole life from the little money my parents give me and once forced me to use to buy myself switch games because they bought the switch for me. And I'm 16 and still don't have the money, I have like 350 bucks, but now they give me more money for birthdays and other festivities so it'll be doable as a birthday and Christmas present next year since I'll pay for 70% of the stuff.
Well I went a bit off topic. Have a nice rest of your day.
Redacted_Reason@reddit
OneDrive. Steam. OneDrive. OneDrive.
Or what I do, get a NAS and make it reachable anywhere with internet, then put all my files on there. And then back it up to OneDrive.
theo69lel@reddit
OneDrive 3 times? I have a NAS. Steam only saves game progress. Once I'm at work I need to be able to get right back to where i left off. I need to open Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Visual studio. Access to all the applications I've worked from on a different system. What's more confident and reliable than a removable bootable SSD drive that you can just take with you instead of a laptop all the time.
Redacted_Reason@reddit
…for each of the problems you gave, in order. Come on man.
Yes, obviously Steam saves the game progress. He just needs to refresh the cloud save when he moves places. He can keep whatever games downloaded locally. Steam really doesn’t play nice with constantly moving the drives, because not all files get saved in the steam folders. Causes all kinds of weird issues when you move them.
Glad you’ve found a solution that works for your specific tasks. That’s not at all relevant to OP’s tasks.
RekoULt@reddit
Ex SSD/HDD
RLIwannaquit@reddit
you could build yourself a little lunchbox pc with like a 1660 ti for under 1000 bucks easy in a micro itx box
maewemeetagain@reddit
Well, all drives are "removable", but some are easier to remove than others.. I assume what you're basically asking for is a portable drive that's quick and easy to remove and take with you. Luckily, external drives like this do exist and are quite easy to find. However, they are not included with computers, you will need to buy the drive separately.
Just look up "external hard drive", you'll find a bunch of tech stores selling them.
Niiphox@reddit
How do these differ from usbs, both are storage devices but how do their functions differ?
Material-Painting235@reddit
SSDs are more reliable while USB drives tend to be the bottom of the barrel nand so they are not as reliable and they much slower.
slamnm@reddit
You do know external SSDs use usb?
Material-Painting235@reddit
That tuey do, the NAND flash on them is still more reliable then the NAND theu use in flash drives and SD cards.
slamnm@reddit
Ok but be clear when wording for people, a usb drive isn't always what everyone calls a flash drive or thumb drive or memory stuck or whatever, many people understand it as any drive that hooks to usb. And SSD drives may or may not have usb connectors and are often called usb hard drives (and yes I know tech people differentiate between HHDs and SSDs, but that is often just the tech people, non tech people say things like SSD hard drives). So when you are talking about external SSD drives and usb flash drives on a post by someone new who clearly isn't used to this just maybe think about what you are saying and try to make it universally understandable, this isn't the time to show off your tech talk expertise.
maewemeetagain@reddit
Ultimately it's the same as an internal SSD, they just tend to have an enclosure with an adapter that allows you to connect them over USB. They're better than a USB flash drive for all the same reasons that an internal SSD would be; higher capacity, faster.
M4jkelson@reddit
But then again they are limited by the same factors a flash drive is, which is USB interface being slow as fuck
LOSTandCONFUSEDinMAY@reddit
Not really at least not anymore. Most computers have 5 gbps USB ports which are almost as fast as SATA and faster than most hard drives are capable of. And now 10 or 20 gbps ports aren't that uncommon on newer computer.
USB flash drives are usually slow because they are made to be cheap and small so use cheaper controllers and flash storage that can't fully utilize the USB port.
Latency is a little worse but still far from horrible with an SSD.
slamnm@reddit
I was going to say this, I have a 512GB usb3 with both usb 3.2 and usb c connectors I have VMs on and it works great
stormdelta@reddit
Depends a lot on what the capabilities of the enclosure, PC, and cable are. It's possible to get 5-10Gb/s over USB-C on a lot of modern systems if they support 3.1/3.2, and technically there's even faster possibilities especially if using thunderbolt.
maewemeetagain@reddit
True, and it's especially unremarkable compared to NVMe, but it's still way faster than flash drives and generally the best option for portable storage.
It can also be faster than SATA SSDs, but of course, that highly depends.
Beastly-one@reddit
I personally use an nvme as my external drive. A nice external enclosure and a TB4 port, it's actually extremely fast for external storage. Bonus, I got a little case that holds 4 drives and the external case is tooless, so I get tons of storage in a very portable package.
MrFrisB@reddit
USB thumb drives can vary wildly in quality and reliability so ymmv. A super high end thumb drive would probably be fine but a small usb enclosure for a decent ssd will be more reliable in the long run imo. The biggest difference in performance you will see is based on controller and the presence of DRAM (you want it), thumb drive vs removable ssd is just form factor at the end of the day but there are tendencies between the products.
Atheist-Gods@reddit
USB is the connection rather than the device itself. USB/flash drives are basically just smaller SSDs with the differences relative to external drives just being capacity and quality.
Atheist-Gods@reddit
USB is the connection, not really the device itself. USB/flash drives are basically just smaller SSD drives. The difference is primarily just the storage capacity.
Just_Maintenance@reddit
SSDs have a controller that does a bunch of fancy things like wear leveling, trimming, caching, etc.
USB drives and SD cards normally are dumb as bricks. They just write where they are told to.
Pistacca@reddit
They serve the same purpose, data storage
a portable SSD is faster and cheaper and is the best option to store files 100GB and upwards
while USB is slower and more portable, and it is the best option to store stuff 32GB and under
thrownawayzsss@reddit
same function usually, different capacity, speeds, lifespans, and interface usually. It's just a data holder.
Zuokula@reddit
All it takes to remove normal HDD is remove side panel and unplug 2 cables. HDD can jest rest in it's tray without screws unless you're transporting the PC.
Techy-Stiggy@reddit
Id like to remind you guys that Sata isn’t meant to be plugged and unplugged more than 100ish times before its likely to fail.
tea-man@reddit
Really? I didn't know that, and I've a hot-swap sata bay on the top of my machine I've been using for backups for ~10 years now, with a couple of my older backup drives in that ballpark :/
What's the typical failure mode, the control board or the storage medium?
Techy-Stiggy@reddit
The connector snaps
tea-man@reddit
Oh, fair enough. That alleviates my worry, as the design of my bay minimises any mechanical stress, and if the worst happens I can always put a new connector on the drive!
slamnm@reddit
I liked your response until you said you could put a new connector on the drive which left me thinking wtf? The drive connectors are built in and are not replaceable to the best of my knowledge can you elaborate on what you meant?
tea-man@reddit
To be fair, it'd probably end up as a spare magnet and motor similar to my older IDE drives and used in some random project further down the line. But, if some unlikely series of unfortunate events were to require the data on a single specific drive with a broken connector, then I'm comfortable enough with pcb soldering to know that there'd be no data loss!
slamnm@reddit
Hot swap connectors tend to be almost perfect aligned to hot swapping the drive isn't as stressful on the connectors IMHO
le_sac@reddit
I think OP's use case would support powered-down removal as opposed to hot-swapping. I do this to switch between os's regularly.
How the installation and running of the games would be handled is another big question mark in my mind, though.
slamnm@reddit
Don't know why you are getting downvoted, the game needs to be installed on both computers and registered with the OS. This doesn't happen by just moving the drive it was installed on. I am not familwith Steam game data storage, but doing this might require remapping or linking data directories which are usually installed in the user directories.
_maple_panda@reddit
Stiggy is talking about the mechanical durability of the connectors.
1soooo@reddit
I had a 5.25 hdd caddy that allowed you to hotswap your hdd by sliding it in and out of it back when I had a case with a 5.25 slot.
RedDeadGecko@reddit
Same here, like 3x 3,5 swappable in a 2x5,25 mount
cyri-96@reddit
Actuall hotswappable or just quick swappable while the pc is off?
1soooo@reddit
Actual hotswappable. U just have to enable it in bios, surprised not many people know you can hotswap sata.
cyri-96@reddit
I mean it's quite common for a NAS to have the feature (though even then it's not all of them) so yeah it's always better to ask first because hotswapping sata is sometimes supported and sometimes not (it depends on the sata controller on the board after all)
1soooo@reddit
I mean since you know it existed and I mentioned I had one of these caddies. It doesn't make sense for these caddies to exist without the hotswap capabilities right?
Any controller made by asmedia in the past 10 years supports hotswap. Aka 80% of cheapo boards
cyri-96@reddit
It doesn't make much sense for them to exist, but well, they do exist and it's really stupid.
1soooo@reddit
You literally listed nas as one use case. So do you think having a Nas is stupid?
I personally use it to hotswap and test hdd refurbs and it's extremely convenient for that use case. And you know you essentially created a 10tb thumb drive for yourself between your systems.
cyri-96@reddit
No, i'm saying that the existence of quick swap bays that can't be hotswapped are stupid since it's basically half their purpose, ofc a NAS isn't stupid, but that there are NAS out there that have non hotswappable bays, that in particular is stupid.
1soooo@reddit
I get what you mean now. That is definitely stupid and just plain greedy from the manufacturers, the controllers that support hotswap ain't even that expensive.
rxbin2@reddit
Except that it's clear OP is tech illiterate to a fair extent, which would make this a much more daunting task then necessary, also requiring an in-depth explanation of all types of hard drives and why what OP's suggesting of "buying a PC with a removable hard drive" doesn't really make sense.
That's all said without even considering that internal HDD's are not designed to be transported regularly. The ports and enclosure are designed to be mounted inside a PC and remain there until transferred to another PC to remain once again.
There are so many better options then transporting an internal HDD in this situation regardless of if it's possible.
Megatoasty@reddit
A normal Sata SSD will do this as well and is far more portable than an HDD with brittle spinning disks in it.
Proper_Front_1435@reddit
Have you tried using Parsec to remote play?
https://parsec.app/
If both locations have decent internet, you can leave your gaming PC at home and travel with your laptop or something else.
I use it to game at work.
CautiousHashtag@reddit
Where do you work that allows you to game?
_Cromwell_@reddit
PIO_PretendIOriginal@reddit
I would just use a usb hdd or ssd.
Ive used nvidia moonlight in home with direct ethernet and still find the latency way too high. And you can forget features like freesync if you’re streaming.
I would always recommend playing natively (unless you’re playing a turn based game like baldurs gate 3)
Proper_Front_1435@reddit
My situation isn't even ideal (My home internet is only 40mb/10 and the PC is on wifi in a closet 60ft+4 walls from the router) and I find moderate action games perfectly fine (Diablo 4 as an example). I prob wouldn't play a shooter.
PIO_PretendIOriginal@reddit
for me using gigabit ethernet directly plugged into my laptop from desktop (sitting right next to each other) and I still find the latency too high, but it is personal preference to a degree
BeckySayss@reddit
How does this compare to steam link or sunshine/moonlight? First time hearing about this, but I use remote play only a few times a year and sunshine has worked pretty well for non-competitive games at least
Zephyrv@reddit
With good internet the latency is far better on parsec than steam link. I've only ever used moonlight within my house, never from two different houses so not sure how that side compares.
PhoebeRosePower@reddit
Could always look into hotswap docks. A great example would be the Icy Dock Hot-swap mobile racks.
They even have a pcie one available that utilises m.2 in one of their caddies. It’s not new tech either. As far as I’m aware as long as steam isn’t running before you plug the hdd or ssd in then steam shouldn’t need to scan the files again. Don’t hold me to that as it’s been a. While since I’ve played around with this kind of thing but I have done it. Kinda shocked nobody has commented more on this as of yet!
AtlQuon@reddit
External drive with USB cable, and don't get a hard drive, get an SSD. 2.5" HDDs are terrible, slow and unreliable. You also don't want to plug in a 3.5" with SATA cables every few days.
cyri-96@reddit
Even more so if you expect to move them around a lot, because, well moving parts can be much more easiliy damaged in transit
ecco311@reddit
Eh... Even an HDD is somewhat hard to damage when moving it around a lot as long as it's not running while moving. People still use external HDDs and laptop HDDs every day.
Even the iPod had a small HDD in the past.
That being said: there's just no good reason to still buy an external HDD with how cheap SSDs are nowadays. (Especially when someone wants to launch games from them)
kaleperq@reddit
Hdds are very sensitive to vibrations, walking and driving cause lots of those vibrations that they don't like. And ipods and laptops still use them because of saving costs basically, using what you have because it's sufficient for those not demanding tasks.
AtlQuon@reddit
All current 2.5" HDDs are SMR drives, that alone makes them much more prone to failure and slowdowns. I have one and that was the last 2.5" I ever got. It is terrible. CMR ones were good and fast enough, I still have those ones spinning. But sadly CMR is 3.5" exclusive now where more and more (even WD Red) are offered with SMR only sadly.
Bradalax@reddit
depends on the games and expectations. I ran all my games from an external 5TB HDD for years with no issues, but I'm not a competative player and very few FPS type games.
AtlQuon@reddit
There are a lot of different types of drives, the ones that I do buy, I buy because they are CMR drives. Which makes a ton of difference and I have tried gaming on those and that went surprisingly well, but SMR drive gaming is not fun.
reedog24@reddit
My parents are divorced and my solution was to get a small form factor pc and a monitor at each house. It’s expensive and still a bit of a pain, but a lot easier than lugging a giant pc back and forth. If you don’t want to do that you can definitely get an external SSD.
Ninjassassin54@reddit
I have a case with drive bay slots that are accessible without opening the case up. I set it to hot swappable in the bios and can just pop them in and out like I would a USB and get full SATA connection. So yes it is possible just most cases currently don't make it very easy to do quickly. Also I should mention they are not my c drive but separate drives I use for different media like games and music.
DedlyObsession@reddit
You are making this way more complicated than it needs to be, don’t listen to the haters here. Just get an external hard drive - SSD or 3.5, or 2.5, anything would be fine. SSD will load the fastest, obviously - but any of them will work. Larger capacity drives (desktop external) will likely need to be plugged into AC power, whereas the smaller ones will run off of USB power just fine. It really is quite simple - just plug and play. When connecting the drive to a PC, best to use a blue USB port on the computer, as this is a USB 3.0 or better port, and will give you fastest speeds. Good luck.
xiaolin99@reddit
if you want games on a portable SSD without compromising speed, you need a PC case with "hot-swappable drive bays". Unfortunately, that has become very rare now (mostly only available for NAS/servers) and you are unlikely to find a pre-build with this feature.
StrongTxWoman@reddit
There are many portable storage drives available. I got two myself
Hungry_Reception_724@reddit
All drives are removable. What i think you are looking for is a hot swappable, but easily hot swappable. For this you can buy an external. I would absolutely get a USB C 3.2 external drive. One that can actually run at full speed because if you are wanting to move games around transferring dozens of GB to RAM when booting over USB 3 is going to take hours.
You would probably be much better off just installing the games on each machine and then moving the save files to a USB key and loading from that instead of keeping entire games and moving them around.
Parking_Cress_5105@reddit
Just Route the sata cable and power cable outside the pc so you can easily connect.
pendejadas@reddit
If they will both let you tinker with the pc, just get a swappable pcie nvme cage on both computers. Something like https://a.co/d/7W1W09h this way you don't have to keep installing/uninstalling or dealing with a slow connection.
cultist_cuttlefish@reddit
why not just buy a laptop and take it between houses
GreatKangaroo@reddit
M.2 SSD in a USB C enclosure.
BanditSixActual@reddit
I have a 6 drive hot swap 5.25" bay. It takes 2.5 SATA SSDs. I pulled it out of my last build, and my new case doesn't have a place for it without giving up 2 fans. There's a way to tell windows that a drive is hot swappable, so you can safely pull them.
FranklynTheTanklyn@reddit
Would this work?
1_Yui@reddit
I had the exact same issue a couple of years ago when my parents got divorced. My solution at first was an external SSD that I just took with me and plugged in via USB. Later on I would often leave it and just use cloud saves. Nowadays I still use the harddrive as a backup drive for important data, so I think getting one is a good idea either way.
Cultural-Afternoon72@reddit
You have a few options here… The cheapest and easiest way would be to just use an external, as others have mentioned. Having said that, another way would be to use a pc case that allows you to use removable sleds in the bays where you’d typically find media drives like a DVD-ROM. If you google Removable Hard Drive Bay, you’ll see a variety of options. These allow you to rapidly install or remove internal hard drives and SSDs as needed, in a “plug and play” manner
countsachot@reddit
Yeah sure, just get a few servers with hot swappable bays. Or some dell precision workstations have them. They used to make aftermarket drive bays, but I haven't seen one since school 20+years ago.
SwordsAndElectrons@reddit
An external SSD could work. I would not attempt to move an OS drive between computers.
That said, if you have a computer in both locations then I'd probably prefer to use cloud storage for this.
Specific_Frame8537@reddit
Most games today save in cloud don't they
MidwayNerd@reddit (OP)
Not all of them
chris2k2@reddit
To sum up your question. It depends, on the use case and how easily it can be swapped
You want to boot from that pc? Then you want an hot swap adapter for your preferred technology. State of the article for every new PC would be nvme, such adapters exist. You can compromise by choosing an SSD. The adapter are cheaper but less fast
You just want to play anywhere and have fast Internet? Try remote play
You just want your games with you? Consider an extern SSD. They come in all sizes and if your PCs support a good connection technology (USB 4? USB 3.1.?) it might be playable. This is googleable. Might wanna verify what transfer speed you need
You just want to switch every few months? Every internal disk can be removed and easily plugged in again. Might wanna look for an accessible case and nvme slot.
You have a lot of options, but there will be compromises.
lawrencekhoo@reddit
If you're going to spend 1k on it, just build a small and light PC that you can carry from house to house. Check out r/sffpc/ for ideas.
Here's a PC partlist for a sff pc under 1k.
PCPartPicker Part List
Even_Routine1981@reddit
You can use an external ssd
PIO_PretendIOriginal@reddit
Thats what im thinking, cheap samsung t7 or equivalent will work fine.
just remember to mount it on windows using the same drive letter before opening steam. Otherwise some steam games dont know where to look.
One-Project7347@reddit
In linux you can install a steam game on an external hdd or usb or whatever. And on the second pc you should be able to let steam detect this installed game if you point it to the correct folder. I assume windows can do this to.
But steam can sync save games for alot of the games tho. So you just install the game on both pc's and let it sync and you can play. Thats what i do between laptop and steam deck.
liaminwales@reddit
ID look at small form factor options, moving the OS drive is not ideal.
MasterGameBen@reddit
Heya, I’ve been in the same situation as you a bit ago, what I used to do is I had a backpack for a laptop and bought that instead, but harder to move around, but at least it didn’t cost 2 computers
Material-Painting235@reddit
You can use an external SSD or carry a SATA SSD from place to place with you, just gotta tell windows and steam where to look.
WarzonePacketLoss@reddit
My old Silverstone Fortress had hotswappable drive bays. I never used it but I always thought it was cool. That's what you're looking for, ideally.
But like others have said, if you have a PC at both houses, why do you care about moving a drive? Just DL to both PCs
Ephemeral-Echo@reddit
This might surprise you but most internal hard drives are removable. One way to do a quick (if janky) installation of games is just to put everything on a game SSD, pull it out, stuff it into another computer and run file verification from steam or a similar game client.
dankspud@reddit
Yea u can buy an external drive, whatever you can afford. Tho ssd's with usb3.0 will obv be a better option that hdd's for stuttering and loading and all
sa547ph@reddit
Yes, it's either using a (1) hot-swap drive bay (2) a portable hard disk or SSD. But only a few games allow to be made portable.
That afaik there's a service allowing you to play games without installing them, such as Geforce Now.
You mentioned a laptop (and seems it's overheating), and want something that doesn't crash. You'll have to get an ITX small form factor PC built, just small enough to be put in a car with your monitor, keyboard and mouse. The caveat is that being compacted, you have to take the PC apart just to clean it periodically.
DudeBro8888@reddit
Try a driver toaster:
https://www.startech.com/en-us/hdd/sdock2u313r
DudeBro8888@reddit
Or this removable drive bay. More similar items by StarTech or Akasa…
https://www.startech.com/en-us/hdd/drw150satbk
keyboardkeyboard771@reddit
I saw some people suggesting steam's cloud save on both sides, that's a good solution.
I don't really see people answering your 2nd question about a sub-$1k PC, so here is my attempt for $1006 (assuming you are in the US).
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mP7pxH)
Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3ZKscf/amd-ryzen-7-5700x3d-3-ghz-8-core-processor-100-100001503wof) | $195.99 @ Amazon
**CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Assassin Spirit 120 EVO DARK 70.4 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/khJp99/thermalright-assassin-spirit-120-evo-dark-704-cfm-cpu-cooler-as120-evo-dark-d6-de) | $20.90 @ Newegg Sellers
**Motherboard** | [ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming 4/ac ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Ytdrxr/asrock-b550-phantom-gaming-4ac-atx-am4-motherboard-b550-phantom-gaming-4ac) | $84.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** | [Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/B8QcCJ/silicon-power-gaming-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr4-3200-cl16-memory-sp032gxlzu320bdaj7) | $45.97 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Silicon Power A60 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7tCFf7/silicon-power-a60-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-sp001tbp34a60m28) | $50.97 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/mHpQzy/gigabyte-gaming-oc-radeon-rx-7800-xt-16-gb-video-card-gv-r78xtgaming-oc-16gd) | $469.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [NZXT H5 Flow (2022) ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/92pzK8/nzxt-h5-flow-atx-mid-tower-case-cc-h51fw-01) | $59.99 @ Amazon
**Power Supply** | [Thermaltake Toughpower 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MVrG3C/thermaltake-power-supply-pstpd0750mpcgus1) | $77.81 @ Amazon
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$1006.61**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-10-15 04:04 EDT-0400 |
If you'd want something sub $1k, you could get a cheaper CPU or GPU.
For CPU: the 5600x for $70 less and that also includes a cooler, so total of $90 less.
For GPU: the XFX 7600xt for $160 less or XFX 6750XT for $135 less.
BriefFreedom2932@reddit
There were some cases that had removable hard drives. This was a while back. But mostly only seen them in corporate IT and other structures that had high security.
You'd honestly be good with either a external ssd or a good ssd and good adapter combo
GodOfUtopiaPlenitia@reddit
There are External Drive Bays that are fairly inexpensive for basic ones. I have a 10TB (nearly full) 3.5in drive for data storage in a removable bay. For me, it's a "grab it and go" thing in case of a natural disaster.
The problem with that though is the need for a case with 3.5in/5.25in external bays available, and those are becoming increasingly rare.
ryo4ever@reddit
Am I wrong thinking that an external bootable ssd only works if the hardware is nearly identical on each system. Otherwise there could be longer boot time. If it’s just data then a thunderbolt drive could be fine. You just run the chance of forgetting, losing or breaking it.
Blue2501@reddit
There are external SSDs that are basically as fast as the USB port that you plug them into.
internetcosmic@reddit
I would honestly just suggest a gaming laptop
DatJas0n@reddit
Use a Good extrrnal drive with usb C and high transfer speeds or your load times will suffer.
Also if you use an external drive always use "safe eject", i have corrupted way to many files
FunBuilding2707@reddit
It's called an external SSD.
riisen@reddit
Hot swap.
domlemmons@reddit
External ssd with your games on it. And point steam etc at its location on both pcs.
Dizzy-South9352@reddit
there used to be. back in the day. now no one is really using hard drives for mobility anymore, because you can lose your data super easily with those, so they aren't making these anymore really. usually people either use some sort of cloud servers or just portable SSDs.
thebeansoldier@reddit
Just buy a Legion Go and have a monitor at each location. All you’d need is a small hub with HDMI out, and you’re set!
$1k should be enough for the Go, and 2 decent monitors.
Digital-Dinosaur@reddit
Lots of recommendations for a USB SSD, however I'd recommend making sure they are FAST. I'd look for something with Thunderbolt 4 or USB 3.2 and compare the read/write speeds. This assumes that your PC has a port that supports either of those.
Something like this Lacie Drive would be a good pick
ChannelEMex_YT@reddit
There are plenty of external hard drives on the market, go with a good size and depending on budget maybe even an SSD
qqby6482@reddit
hypothetically, you could get a usb ssd, install an os in it and boot from it in each house computer
I used to have ubuntu in an old usb 2.0 thumb drive, a ssd enclousure with linux inside, and another ssd enclosure with windows 10 (just for quick testing)
FrozenReaper@reddit
buy an External SSD, save your games on the external drive, but use each computer's internal drive to boot into your Operating System. That way, you dont have to worry about things like TPM or drivers, which could cause issues if you use the same drive to boot an Operating System from two different computers
Tsushima_122@reddit
Better go for External HDD or SSD with capacity of 4TB + for future game / movie / pics upgrade
Suggested Brand
WD Samsung ( if you have bucks ) Seagate
Joskrilla@reddit
Also if youre just playing games you can just get a steamdeck or similar that will be even more portable. You can hook it up to a bigger monitor or tv if you want more screen size
Western-Reference197@reddit
https://www.amazon.com/Kingwin-Universal-Tray-Less-Backplane-Enclosure/dp/B00M3WNWB2/ref=sr_1_6?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.n5kVWsYgqW4wXw5id-mJAQcXBm5J_hLBUdqA3nvTITnN59iNwBHQvh9cbEmM5OZHKhXGUGpsA9-SgHXydWW3I5qitWoLqi4yVmalbzxV0Llrp3a6gCeMomLbaCpfz5XCo6Klx-3PF1oim3h3ZFWQNgPinxYcwshK45s1PVLvPdvzvfPVS5ibYtcpRlZqBdShdEw0Wgn8os4Ib6GSVAiBWD5HQ4QTcgJP6ZJWJjyYRa8.a2TRxUh0fsQ7pjlm5D6W9RJg7aZAGMWFnu8U9rxqRKc&dib_tag=se&keywords=hot%2Bswap%2Bhard%2Bdrive&qid=1728959761&sr=8-6&th=1
Are you asking about hotswap hard drive bays?
Xeely@reddit
I have literally this and I love it. Too bad your average modern PC case lacks any 5.25” slot (but there are externals solutions for that: docks).
Genzo99@reddit
Yes there has been external HDD and now SSD for a long time. They are practically HDD or SSD with a external casing so they can be easily access outside the PC via usb.
If you want to save money go for HDD. If you dun mind spending more a SSD as modern games will need SSD to run smoothly.
Joskrilla@reddit
Usb drive, external hard drive, sd card....why do these sound like ancient technology?
letsplayer27@reddit
Any drive is removable. That’s just how Drives are supposed to work. The problem starts at the fact that you have to reopen your case and screw in your new drive each time. An external drive is probably what you’re looking for.
TheBitMan775@reddit
An external SSD would do you wonders. In steam on both machines you can just have them point to library folders on the drive
Whycantitypeanything@reddit
Nvme enclosures, you can just plug an nvme into a USB slot and it will work decently
Rafael3110@reddit
U search something like this? https://www.medion.com/at/shop/p/multimedia-pc-medion-akoya-e62009-intel-core-i5-9400-windows-10-home-512-gb-ssd-16-gb-ram-hot-swap-festplattenwechselrahmen-multimedia-pc--b-ware-10023752B i had one of these few weeks ago for maintenance.
Alien_Cha1r@reddit
Get a pcie ssd. It's just plug and play, it should be steady enough without screwing it in, and even that's quick
Carnildo@reddit
You're looking for a hotswap bay. I'm not aware of anything other than servers that comes with one standard, but it's easy enough to add one to any case with a spare external drive bay.
Hotswap bays are invariably SATA, which makes them faster than USB 3, but slower than any of the newer USB standards. If the computers you'll be using support one of the faster USB standards, you're better off putting an NVMe drive in an external adapter.
(Another advantage of hotswap bays is that you can always boot from one. Booting from USB is pretty reliable these days, but still not up to the "always works" level.)
donkey_loves_dragons@reddit
Every SSD or hard drive with S-ATA is hotplug capable. Meaning, you can unplug them while the PC is running. Of course that isn't valid for the drive Windows is installed on. Just put the cables through one of the PCIe slot metals. That way, the drive doesn't have to be inside.
Don't use external drives! Too slow!
grantking2256@reddit
My old ass inwin case had a hot swap built in on top for sata 2.5 drives. Look for cases with built in hot swaps i guess.
DarkflowNZ@reddit
Is there any reason you actually need to do this? If both houses have a pc, can you not install the games you want to play on each computer?
RXavier91@reddit
A removable hard drive is possible but can get overcomplicated sometimes and cloud save doesn't work with all those games. If you've got decent internet at both houses, it sounds like you'd be better off with a Legion Go, Rog Ally, SteamDeck etc to stream from your main pc with parsec.
Anomalous_Traveller@reddit
You can get an external Sata SSD that’s made strictly for that purpose.
Old_ManWithAComputer@reddit
I had an HP years ago that had the removable hard drives. They did not last long. I think they died within a year.
fistfulloframen@reddit
Steam deck?
Palidxn@reddit
Back in the day we had these. Was brilliant. It was a bracket that slotted into a DVD drive slot and you’d put your 3.5 inch HDD in a bracket. Just pop it out and then head over to your mates and slide it into his pc. Was brilliant.
Now? No clue what you could do other than USB as the DVD drive and 3.5 inch HDD are museum parts now.
Buy yourself a NVMe 2230 M.2 and mini bracket like the Sharge Disk M.2 enclosure. You’ll be able to get a 2 TB hard drive that is the size that you can have it on your key ring.
Much-Performer1190@reddit
Swap bays still exist, and for 2.5" drives. Granted, you lose the nvme boot options, but not insurmountable. Use a 2.5 SATA SSD.
s3sebastian@reddit
What kind of drive? eSATA was a thing for SATA drives. "Normal" USB 3.0 has some disadvantages but would likely also work, if you have an expensive drive enclosure that supports newer USB protocols and a PC that supports it (USB 4 with 40GBit/s aka Thunderbolt 3) you won't notice much of a difference compared to a built in NVMe SSD.
BrokenSmokeDKS@reddit
If you want to carry just your games maybe a kingston external drive like the xs1000 or xs2000 good speed and good capacity
Much-Performer1190@reddit
Build 2 identical systems. Get 2 identical swappable drive bays. One drive.
Infamous-Food1936@reddit
You could look into getting an external SSD or a hot-swappable drive bay. That way, you can easily take your games with you without worrying about transferring data between houses. As for a sub-$1k PC, there are some decent gaming builds you can put together that would handle War Thunder and other similar games. You might want to look at prebuilt options from brands like CyberPower or even build your own with a budget Ryzen or Intel i5 setup.
Absinthicator@reddit
yah it's called a hot swap drive bay, like this one: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/External-Stainless-Steel-Mobile-Compatible-Default/dp/B0B63XXL1L
Reddit_killed_RIF@reddit
My tech school had computers that had removable drives. You had a key to lock or unlock it in the pc, and we stored it in the classroom.
Ret19Deg@reddit
Gaming laptop + 2 docking stations & monitors.
WiggilyReturns@reddit
You're not explaining what you need. You don't understand what the hard drive is. You want to bring the PC from place to place? Or you want two PC's with the same games on them?
jolness1@reddit
An external SSD would work as would an SkHynix "Tube" T31 which is basically a fat USB stick with a 2230 NVMe drive in it. 1Tb storage, maxes out the USB 3.2 (10Gbps) port at 1000Mbps.
I'd probably look at building a tiny PC to move back and forth or maybe one of the off the shelf mini-pc that has a GPU in it or at least one of the high end AMD APUs. Can easily build or buy one that fits in a bag and then just have a monitor/tv to hook it up to.
The_Crass-Beagle_Act@reddit
If you have/need two different PCs that are capable of running the games you want to play, you could also just set up Steam on both and use Steam cloud to sync saves between PCs. As long as you aren’t running games on both PCs at the same time, you can access anything in your account on either PC
OliLombi@reddit
Just a USB SSD would work fine.
I have one of these and it works perfetly.
ne999@reddit
Get a USB external drive or backup the data online. Ideally both.
Wonderbird-5367@reddit
It is called Removeable SSD
OvechkinCrosby@reddit
Removable drive and play KSP 1 + mods 😀
InternetExploder87@reddit
You mean hot swap drives? Yes
BongSwank@reddit
Yes, my parents had a lockable/removable hard drive tray.
KaelosFenrir@reddit
So did mine and my mum tried to use taking the hard drive as a punishment, but then left the laptop? Ps1, n64 and gameboy o.0
Kregerm@reddit
Gods those were the jam before widespread high speed internet. Guys at the restaurant I worked shared a 30 gig IBM hard drive we passed around. We had the same dock. I was at college and had access to shared files, fast connection and it was before DMCA was a thing. I remember the night someone had all of Babylon 5....
Ok_Confection_10@reddit
Can you consider cloud saves with a handheld gaming pc?
BusinessBear53@reddit
Hot swap hard drive bays are not really a thing anymore but may still be around. It's more to do with the case itself rather than anything else. I used to have a Cooler Master case for my old PC that had 2 hot swap drive bays on the front. It had a high end motherboard for the time and specific sata ports could be set to hot swap also.
Realistically, an external HDD or even SSD would be your best bet now.
laffer1@reddit
You can get an external ssd or hard drive that is usb based.
Another option if the computers are both desktops is to get a drive enclosure for both that is the same. You could take out the hot swap bay and take it with you to the other location. Then you would put an internal ssd in it (sata)
ScreenwritingJourney@reddit
USB hard drives and SSDs exist. But the load times would be trash.
Jbarney3699@reddit
I would recommend buying a high capacity drive with an external case, and you plug it into your computer via USB-C or Thunderbolt port.
I would recommend getting a 2TB NVME and buying an external NVME protector and plugging that in. If you want a more durable and safe option pick an external 2.5inch SSD.
SlowFatHusky@reddit
Yes, but they fell out of favor about 20 years ago. Just get an external SSD.
mrtoomba@reddit
Had one. Def not tearing up your specs. They exist.
littledogbro@reddit
look up trayless drives usually dual ones for each computer, i use several myself for my rigs , that way any one can use my rig with their own ssd drives , 1 os and 1 work or game equals 2 drives, and i also image my drives so if anything goes wrong ? i just put the good image on a new drive and go.but for you ? just a guess, look into a single trayless one that way if the mobo is not yours you can change out their drive with their permission and use yours , then after you are finished just put theirs back in. good luck..
ImSoCul@reddit
as someone said, external SSDs can be pretty dang fast and would work. I don't really understand the limitation here though. Do you have 1 computer at each parent's house?
You don't really need to bring a full OS on a drive, you just need to be able to sync certain files, e.g. save files which are usually tiny. Documents etc can also be on cloud like OneDrive and automatically synced. You could even consider something like GeForce Now to let you game on a cheap machine.
I'm struggling to understand what the problem is that would be solved by removable hard drive.
maewemeetagain@reddit
They're not something PCs include. What you want is a USB-powered external hard drive, which you will need to buy separately from the PC.
ltecruz@reddit
So you want to move your drive from your desktop to your laptop and so on? Yes, it's possible! And depending on the laptop, it can go from "very easy" to "please don't do that".
Nowadays desktops and laptops use pretty much the same drives, and they are removable of course. It's usually as simple as removing a screw and popping it right off.