0.5-1sec freeze in any game. Nitro 5, i7 7700HQ, 8GB RAM, 256GB m.2 SSD + 500GB HDD, nVidia 1050ti

razvansemail

I'm experiencing short freezes in any game I'm playing. My steam library is on my 500GB HDD 5400rpm. I tried changing the HDD with a 1tb one but Windows will not show it no matter what. Both HDD work, I've tested them both on my other Acer Aspire 5349 laptop. I'm usually playing older games like Age of Empires or Age of Mythology so I cannot consider any component to be a bottleneck for any of these games. I don't have the budget at the moment for a new SSD to replace my HDD.. but do you guys think this will solve my problem with the freezing? 
The BIOS is up to date and I tried everything to mount the 1tb HDD into it. 

Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks

MaClane

Good Morning razvansemail !

First, tell the exact model of your laptop.
Example: AN515-51-50U2

Use this software to verify the integrity of your hard drive: https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/

Now, is your system in High Performance on power options?
Does it play directly connected to the power outlet?
Are all drivers properly updated?