For the OS drive, a PCIe 4.0 NVMe with around 5000 to 7000 MB per second read speed feels fast and responsive, a 1 TB size gives you enough room for Windows and apps. For the data drive, a mid range PCIe 3.0 or 4.0 model with around 3000 MB per second is already fine and a 2 TB size gives you comfortable space for games and files.

 

What's the difference between putting the VST's on the OS drive or Data drive? Also which drive is optimal for the recording project files? (Reaper DAW records direct to disk). Small details, but curiosity prevails

 

Last edited: Nov 24, 2025 at 3:54 PM

Anything you use regularly should be on the C:/ drive, including Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3 and Kontakt libraries, for example.
Loading times are simply shorter, and your system doesn't have to search for anything for long.
Everything flows smoothly and harmoniously thanks to SSD storage technology.

The second hard drive is more for personal data, movies, music, pictures, etc.

Ideally, you should make a complete backup of your C:/ drive to a second hard drive. Backup software and a recovery disk for emergencies!

Since these libraries have grown larger over time, you need to adjust your hard drives accordingly.
Where 256 GB used to be sufficient for the operating system, you should now buy 500 GB or, even better, 1 TB or more.

 

Last edited: Nov 24, 2025 at 5:06 PM

NO the STEAM and Kontakt libs, and any other large data sets should NEVER be kept on the system drive (C). Your VSTS and executables, etc, can live there but not the large byte libraries. Your system drive will fill up quickly and you'll be forced to clean it eventually anyway. You shouldn't need much more than a 2TB NVMe for a system drive for the life of the system. Plenty of room for the OS and any other exec's & essentials that need to be there while keeping the drive size small enough to not be a PITA for maintenance. Keep the big data sets on big data storage SSD drives. Load times will NOT be affected if your data drives are SSD.

 

Last edited: Nov 24, 2025 at 10:56 PM

If you're asking on a forum like this (and not something like the Level1 Techs forum), then it is extremely unlikely you're doing anything that requires the speeds of an m.2 nvme pcie gen 4 ssd.

Save your money and buy a gen 3 nvme ssd. As a simple boot drive a 2.5in sata ssd is also fine, but the uplift going from a sata ssd to a pcie gen 3 m.2 drive is more meaningful than going from a gen 3 to gen 4 pcie m.2 drive.

Now is not a great time to buy SSDs or RAM, as the prices have doubled to tripled since even last year.

I was buying 2TB Sata SSDs from TeamGroup for $62 on Newegg a couple years ago! That same drive is currently $138.99 on Newegg!

Team Group T-FORCE VULCAN Z 2.5" 2TB SATA III 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

I'm not paying for it

 

He wants to buy a 2 TB hard drive for C:/, what's the point if he's going to store Kontakt, for example, somewhere else? It depends on how many storage-intensive libraries you have. Omnisphere 3 needs 64 GB. On C:/, you'll get the fastest loading times and lowest latency.

 

It's okay to install plugins to the OS drive at the default locations. It is good practice to put virtual instrument libraries on a different drive/disk. Less chances of libraries becoming corrupted or loss due to the Windows OS drive or install becoming corrupted.

A normal setup for me looks something like this:

C:\Program Files for DAW, Plugins, etc...
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3
C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST2
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins
C:\ProgramData\Spectrasonics (Symlink to internal NVMe H:\Plugin Libraries\Spectrasonics)
C:\ProgramData\XLN Audio (Symlink to internal NVMe h:\Plugin Libraries\Toontrack)
H:\Projects\Reaper
H:\Projects\Pro Tools

To help direct properly coded installers, the system VST folder can be pointed to using registry entries using the as an example:

Under [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software - create a Key named VST
Inside the Key on the right, create a new String Value named VSTPluginsPath & hit enter
Dbl-Click VSTPluginsPath & enter C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\VST2 & hit enter

I have found it helpful to repeat this step under both
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
and
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node

Hope this helps...

 

If damage occurs, all your files can be affected. Therefore, use CrystalDiskInfo (https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/) to detect errors early and, if necessary, install a new hard drive to back up your data. You should also create a backup of your entire C:/ drive using backup software and a recovery disk. This way, you can completely restore your system in case of virus infection, ransomware, etc.

If you want maximum performance, which is the whole point of what you're buying (fast CPU, fast RAM, fast hard drives or NVMe), install everything possible on C:/, don't fill the hard drive too much – 20-25% is a good value, otherwise you'll waste performance, speed and also have higher latencies.

 

I have a Samsung 980 pro for my O/S. While there are newer and faster nvme's now, it works great with no issues.
If I did default installations I'd be in trouble, but I never have, I have always put the applications where feasible (non-O/S dependent) on other drives.
I have a 4TB nvme data drive for applications that are huge and need faster loading times. The rest on standard 7500RPM Sata drives.

The most important thing? Back up your important stuff, without it, your drive types are irrelevant. cheers

 

That's great, thanks, and it's kind of what I was thinking. The computer will be offline, so I may store some stuff on the H:\ drive that could be useful later.

 

Keeping libraries on a different drive saves having to reinstall everything. Windows corruption 99% of the time, only affects the system drive.

After a recent Windows 10 meltdown caused by hidden Windows feature updates, I was forced to do a fresh Windows install. Decided to install Windows 11 & only had to direct software to where folders were located along with a symlink for Omnishperes STEAM folder.

 

I appreciate that you're showing and explaining alternatives.

I've now installed a general "Update Stop" because I'm finally fed up with letting Microsoft's faulty updates destabilize my system. Windows 11 is running very stably, and I want to keep it that way. However, I have a lean system with few libraries, so everything fits on C:/, and I also have a backup of the entire C:/ drive to a larger second hard drive using Ashamppo Backup Plus 27, so I can completely restore my system in an emergency.

StopUpdates10 --> https://greatis.com/stopupdates10
- Take your Control over Windows 11/10/8/7 updates with StopUpdates10 Free!
- Version: 4.7.2025.0424 (Date: 04/24/2025 - April 24 2025)
- Windows 11 24H2 is supported!

 

I have a Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB for OS Drive... bought it start of 2019 I believe, works great.
Most, if not all my actual VSTs, are installed on the OS drive.
My STEAM folder for Omnisphere is on a different SSD (2TB Crucial SSD)
And a 2TB Sata drive, where I keep all my install files on, or stuff that I use once a blue moon.

 

My OS nVME is a 1 TB Samsung 990 Pro PCIe 4.0 M.2
My "studio" nVME drive is a 2TB Western Digital Black sn850X

My main old Daw Library drive is an 8TB Toshiba N300,
Some library drives are SSD (2x 4TB Samsung 870 Pro, 1x 500G Crucial CT525)

My "J" drive is also 8TB Toshiba N300: "working drive" where I download and archive things (mirrored to external Seagate 8T)

I keep most libraries OFF my OS drive, as those are independent from what is installed, and any personalized preset folders, or those which take up significant room.
I even have a folder (on my 2nd nVME) I use for large folders from Program Files, Program Files (x86), ProgramData, etc.
Those can just be relinked if I need to wipe my OS drive.

I keep all my VSTs on my OS drive as I consider them part of the setup.
I mirror my drives to backup drives & some folders individually (my personal folder, my Projects folders, my Windows User folders..
I do not mirror my library drives, as they can be repopulated, but my OWN Presets are saved on my "Studio" drive and symlinked into the libraries. That way, no matter what happens to the library drive, things that are personal are always mirrored.
It might take some time to reinstall a bunch of libraries, but personal presets might never be recreated.

Plus I of course do regular OS drive backups using Todo backup and RescueZilla.
I've got about 57 TB in drives going.

Symlinks are my best friend.
When I move a library folder to SSD for speed, I just symlink it.
Actually all my SSD libraries are symlinked into my main DAW Lib folder so it is easy to see them all.
Using Link Shell Extension makes it easy to link dozens of folders in a few seconds.

 

Actually for Omni you can just move the whole STEAM folder then fire up Omni - Omni will prompt for the location of the STEAM folder and you can just point it to the new location.

 

Pretty much no one does this and for good reasons listed by other members above. I learned this way early on starting back with the P3 and P4 systems even when the most disk real estate that "big libraries" would use was around maybe 500Kb-5GB+ at the most. depends on what you were doing and what you had installed, just like today. I still remember my first 1TB drive - Hitatchi FULL height 5.25" SCSI - cost around 1K$. This is where I stored all the data sets connected to every "VST" and other large data sets that I had installed. The system drive was usually (at that time since the OS's were much smaller) around 4GB or so and that stored all OS and vst .dlls, executables and sundry stuff that made the system go. It's just sound system design, nothing more.

 

Last edited: Nov 25, 2025 at 8:29 PM

You sometimes make claims here that have no substance.
So what do you want with a 2 TB SSD if you're not installing anything large on it? Then you might as well buy a SSD 256 GB one!

 

Dude go play with your AI plz... Dont even try that b.s. with me since 90% of the stuff you spew on here is just blurbs back from internet gargoyles...

 

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