Can SSD Enclosures Handle Gaming Without Lag?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the suitability of SSD enclosures for gaming purposes, specifically whether they can handle games without lag. Participants explore the types of SSDs and enclosures available, their performance capabilities, and considerations for using them in a gaming context.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about SSD enclosures that can run games without lag, mentioning specific games and the need to avoid cluttering the internal SSD.
  • Another participant provides a general overview of external SSD varieties, questioning the desired capacity.
  • A participant specifies a preference for M.2 SSD enclosures that support 2280 NVMe drives, expressing uncertainty about read/write speeds and game requirements.
  • One participant shares their positive experience with an Icy Box enclosure, noting its performance with virtual machines and gaming.
  • A participant emphasizes that internal drives are generally faster than external ones, suggesting that the laptop may have internal M.2 slots that could be utilized.
  • Another participant advocates for using a removable external drive for business work to ensure safety and suggests a dual-drive setup for gaming and work purposes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying opinions on the performance of external SSDs compared to internal drives, with some emphasizing the superiority of internal drives while others discuss the viability of external options. There is no consensus on the best approach for balancing gaming and work needs.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention different specifications and performance expectations for SSDs, but there are unresolved questions about the minimum requirements for gaming and the specific capabilities of various enclosures.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for individuals looking to understand the performance of SSD enclosures for gaming, particularly those balancing gaming and professional use on the same device.

MidgetDwarf
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Hi, was wondering if anyone here at physicsforumns was familiar with ssd enclosures?

Long story short, I have an Alienware M17 r5, use it for work . I have a son that plays games on it, but I do not want him to clutter my ssd with games. He filled up 2tb of games alone!!!!

Anyhow, I was wondering if there is an ssd + ssd enclosure that will allow him to run games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto 4, etc, without experiencing lag or any other issues gamers hate.

ports on computer:
USB 4.0 40 Gbps (Type-C) port with DisplayPort
USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C) 10Gbps
USB 3.2 Gen 1 port 5GbpsPlease do not laugh at my choice of laptop. It was cheaper buying this computer, then a laptop for me and a ps5 for him.
 
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I'm not totally clear on what you are asking for. Generally: yes, there are many varieties of SSDs available externally, from SSD cards, to thumb drives to things that look sorta like hard drives, to actual hard drive form factor devices. These days the form factor is entirely aesthetic as the actual storage is something like the size of your pinkie fingernail.

How much capacity do you want? 4TB enough?
 
Thanks for the quick response. I'll try to be a bit more clear, I am a novice when it comes to computers (had the same MacBook for 13 years).

What I am looking for is M.2 SSDs enclosure that holds 2280 NVMe SSD drives . 1 to 2 tb should suffice. That is fast enough for playing current games on it (if it is possible with these devices). I am unfamiliar with read/write speeds of these devices, and what the average game at the minimum requires
 
I use Icy Box that can accommodate any NVMe of up to 2 TB and size up to 80 mm. They come with both USB-C and USB 3.0 cords. They are pretty fast, I use them to run virtual machines on Macs. Recently, I installed X-Plane with good performance.
 
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Nothing will be as (potentially) fast as an internal drive. According to the Dell website some models of m17 R5 have 2 internal M.2 slots, have you checked yours?

M.2 ("m dot 2") is a specification for internal hardware, an external drive must use USB or a similar interface. External drives that use M.2 hardware internally and convert to USB do exist, but if you are designing an external drive it is easier, faster and cheaper to drive the NVMe chip directly. The drive @russ_watters linked is about as good as you are going to get and should be fine for your purpose.
 
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M.2 can't be beat for speed. But If you are going to have the same computer used for both your child's games and your business, IMO it would be much safer to have your business work on a removable external drive and remove it when your child is using the computer. Most business work does not need the same speed that video games do, so you might want a fast internal drive on M.2 for the games and a separate external SSD for your work.
If you use that arrangement, make sure that your external drive is adequately backed up.

PS. There is no need to apologize for your laptop choice. That is a smoking-hot computer with very fast USB ports. (Smoking-hot in a good way, not temperature)
 
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