Windows 10 on SSD Partition or External Drive?

[PharmD]

I haven't used Bootcamp since I put XP on one of my long-gone macs years ago and so am way out of date on using it. I have a 5K iMac arriving tomorrow and would like to put Windows 10 on it but my main drive is a 512 GB SSD. My main reason for Bootcamp is gaming. I have 2 options here:

A) Partition about 50 GB of the SSD to install Windows 10 and a few games and ~1 TB on external for more games.
B) Partition ~1TB on external for Win 10 and games

Will I notice any drastic graphics performance hits by going with option B vs. A? I'm aware that games won't load as fast from a spinner as a SSD. I'm mainly concerned about FPS*.

*And yes, I'm aware that if FPS is really that big a concern I should have a dedicated gaming PC. I'm just trying to maximize it with the hardware I got alright!

 

[MuckSavage70]

FPS won't be an issue - but I don't think you'll get Windows to install on an external drive. The only way I've seen forcing windows to install onto an external is to use something like-

http://www.easyuefi.com/wintousb/

 

[Gjwilly]

Windows can be installed onto an external drive but Bootcamp Assistant won't do it for you.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/efi-install-of-windows-10-on-external-usb3-drive.1909911/

 

[PharmD]

Good to know. I want to do this as easily as possible so I guess I'll go with option A then. Will ~50 GB be enough for the OS and associated programs?

 

[Whalensdad]

Good to know. I want to do this as easily as possible so I guess I'll go with option A then. Will ~50 GB be enough for the OS and associated programs?

I did something similar. Instead of an external SSD, I am using a Transcend 250GB Jet Drive in the SD slot. I partioned my 128gb SSD so 64gb was reserved for the bootcamp partition. So far I've only used about half of that installing windows and the various programs I use. The key is to install your apps, if possible, to your external drive. At a minimum you should save all non-program files to the SSD.