Just bought an SSD

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

Intel and Samsung design and manufacture their own controllers, unlike most of the other brands that get them from a third party. This means they have more quality control over the whole product compared to those that don't make all the components themselves.

---

This is no longer true with Intel, they now use a modified Sand-force controller.

I am using a Samsung 840 Pro 128GB, and I am quite happy with it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dhalmel

They seem to be doing alot better with their Octane and Vertex 4 model drives, but I would be VERY weary of their budget SSDs.

---

I had a budget SSD from them... the Onyx. Sent it back after a day because it was SLOWER than my HDD.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wilksha

I'm not really complaining about the shorter life span, I was merely pointing it out as a con. I personally don't like the the SSD lifespan being based on writes, but Looking at HDDs, they both have a similar life cycle. I think for HDD after so many years, each following year has Double the chance of the drive failing. Overall if you're not constantly writing data to a SSD, it should last just as long as a HDD. Remember all technology has an expiry, even if it's not mentioned.

---

I actually like SSDs for having a relatively set expiration date. I'd rather know I'm getting closer to the edge and will have to replace it soon than having to fear that it can fail at any time (I'm looking at you, HDDs).

And from what I remember, you'd have to constantly write to the SSD for 5 years to wear it out. Nobody writes that much to an SSD. And with recent controllers, the amount of writes per sector is minimized, so even if you use your SSD for everything, it will last much longer than those 5 years. And looking at space requirements rising all the time, you will have to replace it sooner or later anyway.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

A few small tips: Your SSD may come with software that can reconfigure key Windows settings for you, but if not-

---

Win7 and newer will automatically detect an SSD on install and disable defrag and prefetch. Cloning a HDD partition to SSD is not advisable, as special alignment of sectors are needed when partitioning to different types of drives.

Quote:

---

Set your swap file (aka virtual memory) to a fixed size so that it isn't constantly being resized by Windows, again increasing strain on the drive.

---

That doesn't change anything actually. The only direction windows will resize the pagefile is up (not down), setting it to a fixed size will just waste space. With 4+GB of RAM, you will only need the pagefile for some weird programs who need the pagefile to work anyway.

Quote:

---

Disable the indexing service (which speeds up file searches). With the speed of an SSD it's not really necessary and again increases strain on the drive.

---

Indexing doesn't increase the strain on the drive as it is read only (not counting the database creation). And if you have a HDD in addition to the SSD, you will need the indexing service. If you're really paranoid about drive wear, then you can move the indexing database to your HDD in Indexing options -> advanced.

Another thing you can do is move the tmp folders in advanced system properties -> advanced -> einvironment variables.

Acually my SSD was automatically detected when I was installing Windows 7, installed right to it. I guess i made the right choice.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

...Avoid OCZ like the plague...

---

Why? They have decent reviews on Newegg.com. I have an OCZ SSD and it's been working great.

I've had:

3 x OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
1 x OCZ Agility 3 120GB
1 x OCZ Vertex 4 240GB

They have all been extremely fast. I put an SSD in every system/laptop I own by default now. My latest upgrade, the Vertex 4, is amazing. I didn't think it could be faster but it is extremely quick.

THe write times I SSD's have increased. THe chip reliability has increased. Some will still out last your regular spinning drives. Just don't go too cheap.

even having a 64gig as a cache drive for most used programs helps a lot. IF you will primarily play XIV, windows is going to store textures and game data on the SSD speeding loads. The only time it will over write is when patches change data completely.

One thing I will say is, the new engine, is vastly improved. Even without a solid state drive on a laptop, that old stutter is gone. Load times are not long at all, and they are pre timed anyway between zones to balance it between systems.

Trust in them. Most players will be just fine and very happy.

A SSD won't hurt even with a fast engine. Especially in a laptop. It is less strain on the laptop. IF you USe Windows 7 or 8, you don't have to move the os to it. The newer cache setup is going to utilize it well (be sure to set it if you are adding the drive after initial setup).

THe more people use SSD, the more popular it becomes, the sooner prices will plumet. Eventually they will replace regular drives. THey have new chip designs coming out that are much more efficient then older SSD's.

Using my Crucial M4 500GB drive, and haven't had any problems with it. Runs like a champ.

As for a speed boost in-game, it will probably be minimal. Possibly unnoticible, because your speed will be limited by your network connection in many cases.

I noticed no difference in 1.X or in FFXI between my mechanical HDD and SSD as far as in-game performance, but the programs load quicker when I launch them.

Even so, buy one. Fewer mechanical parts in your computer means less opportunities for things to break.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Soukyuu

shortened

---

someone knowing what they're talking about

http://i.imgur.com/xozPw.gif

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Eekiki

Using my Crucial M4 500GB drive, and haven't had any problems with it. Runs like a champ.

As for a speed boost in-game, it will probably be minimal. Possibly unnoticible, because your speed will be limited by your network connection in many cases.

I noticed no difference in 1.X or in FFXI between my mechanical HDD and SSD as far as in-game performance, but the programs load quicker when I launch them.

Even so, buy one. Fewer mechanical parts in your computer means less opportunities for things to break.

---

The difference people noticed in 1.X on an SSD was due to the Client having almost 200,000 files vs a game over double the size having only ~6,000 files. The SSD handles the many many small files far better than a traditional drive. For many it removed micro stutters in game due to loading data.

ok if i was going to get a 100ishGB SSD which one should i get? seeing how everyone here saying not to get a OCZ one.

I got a Corsair force and personally have been happy with it.

Is your MoBo SATAIII capable?

Samsung 840 Pro or Intel 520*

I have OCZ Agility III SSD, it does make a difference as people have mentioned with regards to stuttering, but when you zone and that loading black screen comes up, its also fetching server data, so FFXIV isn't going to make full use of a SSD. Battlefield 3 for example can take a minute on a standard hard drive to load a map, on a SSD it takes around 5 seconds. Some games the optimisation of a SSD drive will notice considerably more than on XIV. But i would never personally go back to a normal HDD.
Seagate do a line of solid state hybrid drives, which are part SSD part HDD, and adapt to which apps you use the most so they get stored on the Solid State part of the drive etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ispano

The difference people noticed in 1.X on an SSD was due to the Client having almost 200,000 files vs a game over double the size having only ~6,000 files. The SSD handles the many many small files far better than a traditional drive. For many it removed micro stutters in game due to loading data.

---

Oh, and another thing I noticed is patches get applied waaay faster. ^_^

I had 1.0 on a Samsung 830 SSD SATA III , 250GB drive I use for games. It loaded significantly faster than a standard drive, and I saw the largest difference with zone loading and cutscene loading. It helped out with character blinking during equip swaps as well to a lesser degree. It's a decent upgrade, but way more noticable in other games. Several games with normally long loading times have little tutorial tip messages during the loading screens that I can't even read now since the games load so much faster.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dhalmel

Samsung 840 Pro or Intel 520*

---

yes this is the one the samsung. The original i had was ocz

I received and installed my ssd today! Much faster than before but still feels a bit slow. Looking at my performance information I see that I have a 4.9 score for processor, ram is 6.2 graphics is 6.7 and gaming graphics is 6.7 and harddrive is 7.3. is the processor a bad choice? Oh I'm using an intel core 2 duo CPU E8600 @3.33GHz

Yeah the CPU is getting there.

Upgrade to a i5 3750/3570k or AMD FX-8320.


Another problem is that your motherboard is still using SATAII. You will want to be on SATAIII for today's SSDs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kirito

I received and installed my ssd today! Much faster than before but still feels a bit slow. Looking at my performance information I see that I have a 4.9 score for processor, ram is 6.2 graphics is 6.7 and gaming graphics is 6.7 and harddrive is 7.3. is the processor a bad choice? Oh I'm using an intel core 2 duo CPU E8600 @3.33GHz

---

The Core2 was king of it's generation, but it's a good 2-3 generations behind now.

Also the Windows Experience Index is a very poor choice to use for benchmarking your hardware.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ispano

The Core2 was king of it's generation, but it's a good 2-3 generations behind now.

Also the Windows Experience Index is a very poor choice to use for benchmarking your hardware.

---

It's 4 generations behind, 5 if you want to count Haswell.

Every single change isn't a generation. Core2 > i7 > Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge/Haswell

Yes, those last 3 are considered the same generation.

EDIT: To be clear, I'm going by something like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86

Where generations are defined by large jumps in capabilities and such. Although many see the 3 Generations of i7, they're far more similar to each other than Core2 > i7 was.

my mistake then, still quite old in comparison.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dhalmel

my mistake then, still quite old in comparison.

---

No doubt, even a 1st Gen i7 would beat the pants off a Core2.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ispano

No doubt, even a 1st Gen i7 would beat the pants off a Core2.

---

So I should invest for a new CPU? Is the installation as easy as installing the hard drive was?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kirito

So I should invest for a new CPU? Is the installation as easy as installing the hard drive was?

---

You would pretty much need a new system.

A new CPU, DDR3 memory, a 1155/AM3+ motherboard, a newer PSU.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dhalmel

You would pretty much need a new system.

A new CPU, DDR3 memory, a 1155/AM3+ motherboard, a newer PSU.

---

So buy a new motherboard...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kirito

So buy a new motherboard...

---

Yes, you would need a New Motherboard/RAM/CPU. PSU depends on what your current one is.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ispano

Yes, you would need a New Motherboard/RAM/CPU. PSU depends on what your current one is.

---

If his PSU is as old as the core2 it would probably be a good idea to replace it just so everything would be under a warranty and meet today's power efficiencies.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Vilhem

How can you live with only 128GB @.@ I feel cramped as it is with my 180GB.

---

You don't use an SSD for document/music/media storage- just your most-used programs, the ones that benefit most from the faster data access. You typically keep your old hard drive and use it to store your document/media folders, and perhaps backups.

Quote:

---

Win7 and newer will automatically detect an SSD on install and disable defrag and prefetch.

---

Win7 does not do this unless my win7 disc is defective or something. The included Samsung SSD Magician software did these things for me.

Then it's probably you because both my Win7 & Win8 installation keys does it own it's own also.

A bit late to the SSD party but I have two in my gaming comp, one for the windows image, one for my Users folder. I transferred my XI install off the Windows drive and onto the Users drive, didn't take long at all :)

http://i.imgur.com/KnkPv.png

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

You don't use an SSD for document/music/media storage- just your most-used programs, the ones that benefit most from the faster data access. You typically keep your old hard drive and use it to store your document/media folders, and perhaps backups.

Win7 does not do this unless my win7 disc is defective or something. The included Samsung SSD Magician software did these things for me.

---

Windows 7 does indeed do those, if it can tell the device is an SSD of course.

Windows 7 & SSD: defragmentation, SuperFetch, prefetch

As far as SSD drives to buy, many have come a logn way from early problematic ones. Stability weise, Intel seems strong, as well as Samsung drives.

Most people agree that SSDs aren't helpful with games. The primary usage is to decrease Windows boot time. Windows does have an efficient disk cache. Once something is loaded it's cached in RAM for much quicker retrieval time. So you don't really see much long term benefit from using an SSD.

I moved over to windows 8 recently (yeah I know, but it's actually not that bad!) and I just can't believe how fast it is with my new SSD, it's actually a bit depressing because I used to turn my pc on then doing something else while it's booting like go to the toilet or something, but now it just boots so quick I have no time to do so. :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Colino

I moved over to windows 8 recently (yeah I know, but it's actually not that bad!) and I just can't believe how fast it is with my new SSD, it's actually a bit depressing because I used to turn my pc on then doing something else while it's booting like go to the toilet or something, but now it just boots so quick I have no time to do so. :(

---

You'll just have to find yourself one of these bad boys:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...ilet_chair.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kirito

I received and installed my ssd today! Much faster than before but still feels a bit slow. Looking at my performance information I see that I have a 4.9 score for processor, ram is 6.2 graphics is 6.7 and gaming graphics is 6.7 and harddrive is 7.3. is the processor a bad choice? Oh I'm using an intel core 2 duo CPU E8600 @3.33GHz

---

CPU and the fact you probably don't have SATAIII as other have mentioned. Did you do a clean install?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alhanelem

Win7 does not do this unless my win7 disc is defective or something. The included Samsung SSD Magician software did these things for me.

---

Unless you are using a budget SSD or did not do a clean install, it should have. I admit the way it decides if it's a SSD or not is a bit retarded, basically you have to get a high enough score on the initial WEI test. Not sure about the threshold though, mine is 7.9 anyway.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ispano

Also the Windows Experience Index is a very poor choice to use for benchmarking your hardware.

---

Agree, but it provides a basic test if everything is working as it should. An SSD with a score below 7.9 is usually either a budget one or is being limited by something. Note that 7.9 is the max score in win7, I don't know about win8

I was thinking about getting an Intel® Desktop Board DZ77SL-50K and an Intel Core i7-3770S Quad-Core Processor 3.1 GHz 8 MB Cache LGA 1155 BX80637I73770S. What do you think? Seems pretty good for about $400. Any cheaper intel processors that can also run well?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Laraul

Most people agree that SSDs aren't helpful with games. The primary usage is to decrease Windows boot time. Windows does have an efficient disk cache. Once something is loaded it's cached in RAM for much quicker retrieval time. So you don't really see much long term benefit from using an SSD.

---

No, most people don't agree SSDs aren't helpful with games- But it depends a lot on the games you're playing. Particularly in games where things are dynamically loaded on the fly an SSD basically eliminates any possibility of "hitching" when data is being loaded (Common in some multiplayer games when a player joins the game and their model/other data isn't already loaded). It also helps a lot for games that simply have a lot of data to load and take a noticeable amount of time on a HDD.