Question / Help Best SSD/HDD Setup for OBS?

[KlassicKent]

Hey everyone,

I'm having issues getting my recording to look as nice as I want it, and rather than making a huge post about all the potential problems, I want to eliminate anything that could potentially be causing the issue.

I have Windows 10 running on an internal SSD (C drive), with my games (and other programs) installed on an internal HDD (D drive) (WD Black WD10JPLX - Hard drive - 1 TB - internal - 2.5-inch - SATA 6Gb/s - 7200 rpm - buffer: 32 MB, can't find more details, might be this one).

I also have an external HDD (E drive) hooked up for long term storage of files.

Right now OBS is installed on the D drive, and either saves recordings to D or E. I am wondering if I should have OBS installed on the C drive, but also if I should have another SSD that I save the recordings too.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

Full PC part list

 

[koala]

It's recommended to install OBS into the default C:\Program Files, because in this location it gets permissions required for capturing selected games. If you don't capture these kind of games, the install location of OBS is not relevant. It makes no difference if it is on a HDD or on a SDD. On a SSD, the OBS startup is a split second faster, but that's all.
Personally, I install every app to C: except big apps that bring huge volumes of data such as games. Putting one big game to D: makes space for 100 small apps on C: for faster startup. From a system managing point of view, every app should be installed to the default C:\Program files or C:\Program Files (x86) by all means. Only huge apps should be an exception.

It's also recommended to record to a locally attached disk, as well as keeping any media sources on a locally attached disk. Often external drives don't have write cache enabled, so recording to these might lead to frame drops or choppy recording. Media sources from external drives might lead to rendering lag, if the external drive isn't able to provide data fast enough or while the drive is disconnected.

Directly recording to an external drive or a network drive is not recommended. If it works for you, you can use it of course. But if you encounter dropped frames, change the destination to local HDD or SSD and try again.

SDD is not really needed as write destination, except when the HDD isn't able to sustain the data rate. With reasonably modern HDD's, this is usually only the case if you record lossless, but usually you don't record lossless.

 

[KlassicKent]

It's recommended to install OBS into the default C:\Program Files, because in this location it gets permissions required for capturing selected games. If you don't capture these kind of games, the install location of OBS is not relevant. It makes no difference if it is on a HDD or on a SDD. On a SSD, the OBS startup is a split second faster, but that's all.
Personally, I install every app to C: except big apps that bring huge volumes of data such as games. Putting one big game to D: makes space for 100 small apps on C: for faster startup. From a system managing point of view, every app should be installed to the default C:\Program files or C:\Program Files (x86) by all means. Only huge apps should be an exception.

It's also recommended to record to a locally attached disk, as well as keeping any media sources on a locally attached disk. Often external drives don't have write cache enabled, so recording to these might lead to frame drops or choppy recording. Media sources from external drives might lead to rendering lag, if the external drive isn't able to provide data fast enough or while the drive is disconnected.

Directly recording to an external drive or a network drive is not recommended. If it works for you, you can use it of course. But if you encounter dropped frames, change the destination to local HDD or SSD and try again.

SDD is not really needed as write destination, except when the HDD isn't able to sustain the data rate. With reasonably modern HDD's, this is usually only the case if you record lossless, but usually you don't record lossless.

Wow, thanks for the thorough response! When I have time I will reinstall OBS to the C drive. I’m hesitant to do it now since I’ve got AMD H265 plugin installed and would rather not mess with stuff until I know I’ve got a few days to work on it.

That being said I will record to the D drive (which is also where OBS is installed). Would this potential lead to any problems? If so I might just reinstall OBS to C right away.

Thanks again!

 

[koala]

No problems. But the sooner you rearrange your apps, the sooner you can forget about this task.

 

[KlassicKent]

No problems. But the sooner you rearrange your apps, the sooner you can forget about this task.

Yup, I hear you! I'd want to make sure I have 2 videos already lined up and uploaded to YouTube so I don't have to worry about my weekly upload while I'm working on this. Just gotta balance family life and play life is all!