SSD's - Worth the investment?

[DazzleHP]

Hi all,

For the first time in years i have the opportunity of building myself a moderate gaming rig, to house that nice GPU i purchased recently. I've picked out most of my bits and even a shiny new case but the one thing i have no experience with is SSD's .

What i would like to know from my fellow Gexers is are they really worth it? I've read how boot times are faster, and apps load faster (kind of obvious really) but are they really worth the price?? Per GB of storage they are still expensive. I have a fast HDD and W7 boots in less than 30 seconds with apps loading in 1-2 seconds. I'm a patient guy so i have no issues waiting for 1 bleeding second for something to load lol.

I guess what i really want to know is how much of an impact they have on gaming, and if it's actually safe to use one for gaming?! Do they not become unstable with heavy use, much like SD cards etc?

Also, if i use one solely as a boot drive, how easy is it to get Steam running from a separate HDD? I don't think i have ever seen an option to choose where to install my Steam library it always installs to C: drive.

Cheers for any pointers you have on this guys. I want as much info as i can before i part with my once-every-5-years-if-the-planets-align-correctly cash

[nullPointer]

I really like using an SSD as my boot drive. I use a 120GB OCZ Vertex as the boot drive in my gaming rig. I feel like it's cut my boot time way down. So basically I have Windows on the SSD as well as most installed applications, with the exception of Steam. It's possible to move your Steam directory, it's just not especially intuitive to do. I believe I followed this guide when I did so:

Moving a Steam Installation and Games

I pretty much have all data stored on data drives rather than on the SSD (music library, video library, emulation assets, games, etc.). So in some ways that can have an impact on the speed of the SSD. so for instance, GameEx loads up really fast, but there's still some seek times involved with retrieving artwork and games, although I feel like it's pretty negligible. If I'm going to sweat that additional fraction of a second, I've got bigger issues to worry about!

Interestingly enough, I have a buddy running Windows 8 from an SSD (I use 7), and his load times trump mine handily. I think Windows 8 might have some additional SSD optimizations.

There are some special step you'll want to take in BIOS and in Windows if you're going the SSD route. The OCZ forums have a pretty good guide on that topic. Some of the information therein is specifically related to OCZ SSDs, but much of it is information that applies to all SSDs.

SSD ABC Guide

Good luck man! I think ultimately it's a pretty good move.

[celly]

Good link null, thanks. Im in the market for an ssd but im waiting for the after xmas sale. Fry's always has a massive sale after xmas, better than black friday deals.

[KRC]

I run a Samsung 830 SSD (250gb) as my primary boot drive, It boot's to a fully responsive desktop in 7/8 seconds and I also have Steam on there along with Adobe CS6 Suite and Gimp along with PC titles like Resident Evil 5 and Arkham Asylum and it runs as sweet as a nut. (Not to mention GameEx)

I also have an Agility 3 60gb SSD installed but this is empty at the moment.

SSD is definitely worth the investment

[DazzleHP]

Thanks for the links null, i had no idea it was that easy So i think you outlined basically what most people say in that SSD's are worth it for the response/load times etc and i get that. If i were to go ahead i would run it the same as you - with the programs themselves on the SSD and everything else on the HDD. The thing i'm most concerned with though is the durability of SSD's. They are new and i can't shake this feeling that in a few months of hard use it will be useless. Unjustified i'm sure but as i said it's not often i get this kind of opportunity.

How long have you had yours null? And how would it compare to this one that i'm considering as a boot drive? Would you recommend something else or say "take the cow by its udders" and just go for it?

-EDIT- yes, but KRC you have a monster of a rig if i recall! Correct?

[KRC]

-EDIT- yes, but KRC you have a monster of a rig if i recall?! Correct?

Yes sort of, I call it Zeus!

[DazzleHP]

Yes sort of, I call it Zeus!

Well, if we are going there then i shall name mine (once completed) Cronos. GRRRRRRRR in actual fact though it will probably more like a Percy Jackson but meh

[nullPointer]

My gaming rig is named Arthur; an amalgamation of Arthur C. Clarke and Arthur Dent. The name stems from the fact that my case reminds me a bit of this. There's actually a bit of a pattern here. Our 2001 Ford Taurus is named HAL since ... 2001. Any hoo, I'm digressing a lot.

I'm trying to remember, but I'm thinking my SSD has been in fairly regular operation for at least a year or more. So it's not super long duty yet, but bear in mind that this PC is in operation 24-7 for the most part. To be honest, I'm inclined to say that the hysteria over the limited lifespans of SSDs is a bit overblown. I mean yes, there is a hard limit to the amount of R/W operations an SSD has over the course of its lifetime. But really, you could say that about a mechanical hard drive as well. After all an SSD will never fail as a result of mechanical failure. It's all pros and cons really. I found this to be an interesting article on the topic. OTOH I try to take a full image of my boot drive every so often (Clonezilla FTW!) in order to reduce the impact of a full drive failure should the worst case scenario come to pass.

I think your choice of SSD seems relatively solid. I usually base many of my computer part purchases on newegg reviews (as seen here), and any information I can find on Tom's Hardware (as seen here). I'm thinking that if you have the extra cabbage sitting around it's one of the best ways to improve tangible system performance.

[jackhammersalm]

currently use a SSD for my laptop well worth it

[davidj1987]

I have two computers with SSD's in RAID 1. I have two 60GB Intel SSD's (forgot model names, they were brand new models in 2012 though) in my main computer no problems. My HTPC has 2x Kingston 240GB (non HyperX) SSD's and I like them quite well. I have a 60GB Kingston SSD (non HyperX) and used that in my old HTPC and no problems).

Overall I'm damn glad that I made the investment. I did have an OCZ 60GB back in 2011... what a piece of garbage that was! Never lost data but for the best benefit make sure your BIOS is UEFI. Even though my BIOS on the computer I used in 2011 wasn't, it still was garbage.

[DazzleHP]

Thanks for the tips guys much appreciated! And especially thanks to null for the SorageSearch link - wow what an informative read! So i guess the basic rule is to set it up correctly at the start and i should get years of service from it. I couldn't shake that uneasy feeling before because of the reputation SSD's had a few years ago but you guys have changed my mind

Thanks again all!

[Itchigo]

If it's only windows that's speeded up, is it really worth it? I mean hit the button and get your coffee. My computer (Norad) boots in about 90 seconds or so with a sata. This computer is not only my gaming rig/cab/mame, but my normal computer as well. I extend screens to play, and duplicate to work (via windows/p hotkey).

One thing I did to speed my rig up was to separate windows from everything else.

C: Windows only

W: Work area (My documents, etc).

V: Visual Pinball Drive (Pincab).

I: Program files (all programs are installed to this drive).

How it works:

Windows is fast because there is nothing else on that drive. If I have to reinstall windows I should be able to restore the registry from a backup, after re imaging C:

[Draco1962]

Since I built a new rig running Win 8.1 Pro x64 and began using an 120 GB OCZ Agility SATA III I can honestly say I notice a difference. Of course, I have my apps installed on a WD 2GB Velociraptor (10k RPMs) which adds to the speed.

My average time boot to logon is about 10 seconds, add another 5-10 post logon.

Sure there are things you can do such as your setup, add as much RAM as your mobo and OS will take, properly partition large capacity hard drives, etc.

[nullPointer]

If it's only windows that's speeded up, is it really worth it?

I would say that if your boot partition is only dedicated to Windows and nothing else, it could still warrant some consideration. Although boot time is the most noticeable effect in terms of the OS, also remember that every OS operation requiring hard drive interaction will benefit from the same sort of boost.

The other area where the SSD gives a nice kick in the pants is for any application installed to it, particularly any sort of application that either caches data or loads data from some sort of cache. One of my favorite programs in this category is GameEx.

[DazzleHP]

The other area where the SSD gives a nice kick in the pants is for any application installed to it, particularly any sort of application that either caches data or loads data from some sort of cache. One of my favorite programs in this category is GameEx.

Noted! my plan is (finances pending) to use my current 1tb barracuda as my steam drive, the new SSD as boot+major apps and a future 2tb to house all my emulation stuff. Does that sound ok to you guys? Any tips/warnings/things i might have overlooked?

[Draco1962]

Here is my current setup (PC Name = Mr. Beefy):

C:\ SSD for OS and major apps

E:\ 1st Partition on my Velociraptor for PC Games (Steam, GoG purchases, etc.)

F:\ 2nd Partition on my Velociraptor for Emulators, ROMs, Snaps, etc.

Total 1GB for E:\ and F:\ combined

G:\ 1st Partition on my WD Enterprise for OS Libraries (Documents, Pictures, Videos, etc.)

H:\ 2nd Partition on my WD Enterprise for image backups of OS drive, ROMs and related snaps, docs

Total 2GB for G:\ and H:\ combined

Seems that your setup ideas are somewhat similar. You will definitely want to partition your larger drives as that will help with some of your seek times and allocate your space a little better.

[DazzleHP]

Yeah that certainly is what i had in my head! Do you have any advice on how to partition my drives? I'll be honest and admit i've never had more than 2 at once in my case as there used to be a hard limit on how many partitions you could have. I gather such limits by now have been eliminated?

-EDIT- i should probably give some insight to my experience - the most ive had at once was this 1tb split in 2, and a 500GB WD (now dead) used as a linux drive with last 4GB allocated as swap

[Draco1962]

With the management tools that come with Win 7 and Win 8, it is a breeze. No hard recommendations I can think of. The setup I have is just something I did to try to keep it balanced.

[DazzleHP]

With the management tools that come with Win 7 and Win 8, it is a breeze. No hard recommendations I can think of. The setup I have is just something I did to try to keep it balanced.

I've only just (in the last 5-6 weeks) upgraded from XP! I know that is way too slow off the mark but i'm not kidding when i mention how broke i am hehe. Also, i've been a linux user for a few years now and you can do many fantastical things with it - if you are willing to learn so i naturally got way behind on windows. TBH the only reason i kept a windows partition was for gaming, but as the 2014 deadline is nearing, and the fact that over 50% of game developers now require DX10 or above i thought i better get my act together heheh (until SteamOS gets released of course and rules you all muahahahahaaaa)

[Itchigo]

As far as partitions go I use Partition Wizard free. I've had 4 or 5, but really 3 or 4 at most is all I need.

And my rig's specs are as follows:
I-5 (2400k) overclocked to 3.9ghz on air cooling (I rarely see over 110f)

16gb ddr3 1600 Patriot ram (1/2 capacity)

650 watt p/s

1.5 tb WD Hdd.

500 GB WD Hdd

Vid Card: Nvidia GTX 280

[davidj1987]

What I personally use is is an external RAID tower (Sans Digitial TR4UTBPN) with four Seagate 2TB drives that is USB 3.0 and eSATA with my HTPC and 2x Kingston 240GB SSD KC300 in RAID 1 and other than the external RAID taking forever and a day for windows to recognize it via USB 3 when I boot the computer up, it works great.

I bought a eSATA bracket because it's more reliable, as I have the same setup with my main computer (four Samsung 2TB drives though) and I use eSATA there and my HTPC doesn't have eSATA on the mobo so I have to use a bracket.

[Tempest]

As Draco said, for partitioning a new drive, Win7 has all the tools you need.

Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Administrative Tools\Storage\Disk Management

[Krakerman]

Tell you what I have an SSD on my main computer with Win 7 Home x64 and it boots up pretty fast but I just installed Win 8.1 Pro x64 on my other computer without an SSD just a 1.5 HDD and it boots up faster than my SSD believe it or not!

Win 8.1 Pro is really nice.

[Draco1962]

A lot of that may depend on your HDD speed, SATA interface, CPU and mobo, how you have it partitioned for your OS installed, and a few other tweeks.

Win 8.x does a better job of managing how things load in memory, but it is still based upon a lot of the same code as Win 7. Boot times on equal systems running Win 7 and Win 8 are faster due to a "hybrid" mode that essentially hibernates the kernel during shutdown to facilitate faster, subsequent boots.