Every Storage Capacity Explained in 10 minutes

Imagine your entire laptop or computer storage was 16 gigs, a 16 gigabyte SSD. Do you think it's doable? I say yes it is, but it's definitely not going to be a normal system that you can do everything with. Since 16 gigs of space today isn't even enough for a system's RAM or even a USB flash drive, by putting a 16 gig SSD in your system you're basically turning it into a machine that can only turn on or off, open a basic text file, and of course show you the date and time. The reason for these limitations is that modern versions of Windows need at least 40 to 50 gigs of space to work properly, but when your system storage is only 16 gigs, many of the Windows features don't run properly or can't run at all. Also, since Windows almost completely fills this space, there's no space left for installing updates and drivers for other devices. Practically the operating system can neither update nor recognize devices like printers and graphics cards, and as a result you cannot connect any of them to your system. If you already have a 16 gig SSD and are looking for a Windows version that can be installed on it, I suggest Windows 10, which supports all of today's programs and games, even though you no longer have space to install them. And on the other hand, it's the newest Windows that can be installed on a 16 gigabyte space, but if you're planning to buy a 16 gigabyte SSD for your PC, honestly don't even think about that, because with it you can't do anything except stare at your desktop. By doubling the SSD space and bringing it to 32 gigabytes, things get a bit better for the operating system, but nothing to get excited about. With 32 gigabytes of space, Windows 10 can run almost all of its services and features. Of course you can also go for Windows 11, but since Windows 11 takes up more space than Windows 10, once you install updates and drivers, you're pretty much out of space for apps. This choice between Windows 10 or 11 is completely a matter of taste and up to you, but I would definitely choose Windows 10 so I can install at least a few useful tools on it. But even with Windows 10, after installing updates, drivers, and some essential tools, almost all of your 32 gig SSD will be filled, so you won't really have space for much else. Of course, this very filling up of the disk causes problems that we'll talk about in more detail later. So overall, 32 gigs of space is suitable for having a modern Windows and a system where almost everything works properly, but it's still not enough for simple daily use by a normal user. 64 gigabytes is an ideal space for any operating system. With a 64 gig SSD, you can comfortably go with Windows 11. You can also easily connect it to the internet and let it download and install all the drivers, feature updates, and security updates. But after installing all of them, you shouldn't expect there to be any space left. You can only install some essential programs like a media player, a browser, a file extractor, and a simple text editor. But unfortunately, there won't be any space left for office programs, design programs, IDEs, and code editors, and other programs that any user would want. With a 128 gigabyte SSD, we've finally reached a point where we can slowly start thinking about gaming too. A 128 gig SSD lets you install any edition of Windows 11 you want, fully update it, install most essential programs on it, install some of the programs you need as well, and for your free time, maybe add a game to your collection too, but not any game. With only 128 gigabytes of storage, you should go for light games that take up less of your disk space. The best approach, in my opinion, is to install Steam on your system and search for the game you want in it. And once you've finished the game, just uninstall it and move on to the next one. 256 gigs is still a pretty common size for laptops in 2026. We can say that a 256 gigabyte SSD is considered a suitable choice for average users with light system usage. With it, you can have more programs on your system, try games with a bit higher sizes, and also archive your personal files on your system. Another good thing that happens as your SSD capacity goes up is that because more space is available, all the background services of the operating system, as well as other programs, can run and work well. Imagine you have a 128 gigabyte SSD that's almost completely full. If you upgrade your SSD to 256 gigs, obviously half of it will be filled. Now, even if your entire data is the same amount, even if we assume you never add any new files ever again, a half full 256 gig SSD is still better than a completely full 128 gig one. In a completely full SSD, as I said, due to the lack of space, many operating system services like Windows Update can't work properly. Plus, a lot of programs create temporary files while they're running, which are necessary for them to work right and to save your progress as you go. If your disk space is pretty full, there's a chance that programs won't be able to create temp files, which can cause software to slow down or even corrupt your project files. Also, apart from the issue of the operating system and programs slowing down, due to the internal structure of the SSD filling it more than 90%, causes a decrease in its lifespan and a reduction in its speed, which I might cover in more detail in another video later on. So for all these reasons I've told you, always try to keep at least 20% of your total SSD space empty. And if you want to make this easier for yourself, just get an SSD with a larger capacity. 512 gigabytes is considered an ideal space for most users, who can have several games installed on it in addition to their programs and personal files. Also, from this point on, you can choose between SSD and HDD. Which one you choose between SSD and HDD completely depends on the money in your pocket. But in my opinion, with 512 gigs of space still go for an SSD. In a hard disk drive, data is stored randomly on a metal disk, and a mechanical head by moving over it reads or writes data from it. This very spinning and movement causes more time to be spent. But in an SSD, there's no such structure, and nothing actually moves inside it. Data is stored inside very small sections that we call cells, and when they're needed, the SSD controller reads or writes information from the cells all at once. That's exactly why it's called a solid state drive. For this reason, the read and write speed on an SSD is dramatically higher, it produces no sound during operation, and also if it moves while working, no problem occurs for it. With an HDD on the other hand, a small collision between the disk and the head might happen in a moment due to movement, and the disk gets scratched, and as a result the HDD becomes unusable. But SSDs aren't perfect either. They have a shorter lifespan compared to HDDs, more difficulty in recovering deleted files, and of course the higher price. Now since we want to choose one of these for the C drive of our computer, I'll definitely and without a doubt put the SSD in front of you. It's true that HDDs are much cheaper than SSDs, but their low speed isn't very suitable for the operating system, running games, or even running heavy programs, and they're more suitable for archiving data. But if speed isn't a big deal, and you just do basic stuff on your computer, an HDD can get the job done for you. One terabyte of storage space is a great option for any task and any user, from content creation to programming, archiving files, and everything else. Nowadays, many gaming laptops are also sold with one terabyte SSDs, which itself shows that this amount of space can be suitable even for gamers. With one terabyte of space, it's easy to keep at least 20 percent of it empty, and for that the SSD lasts longer, its speed doesn't drop much, and Windows and programs also work without lag. However, the price of a one terabyte SSD can be a bit annoying. You could instead go for a one terabyte hard disk, which costs less than half the price of an SSD, but then the speed of your system will probably annoy you. Storage spaces larger than one terabyte are usually for professional users, especially editors, animators, and very hardcore gamers, whose Steam library has no end. Of course, with spaces larger than one terabyte, you don't have to choose between SSD and HDD, you can use them in combination. For example, a 500 gig SSD for Windows, programs, and games, and a one terabyte HDD for personal files and projects. But note that combining HDD and SSD is only possible with PCs and some older laptops, because many of modern laptops only have one slot for M.2 or NVMe SSDs, or sometimes no slot at all, and the SSD is just soldered right onto the motherboard. Of course, if you have a desktop computer, you can make your entire storage all SSD, but as I told you, SSDs aren't built for long-term storage, and because of their structure, if data gets deleted from them for any reason, recovering it is much harder than with an HDD. For this reason, I recommend you get an HDD for archiving your data, even if it's not about money anymore.