How does installing a SSD affect the games performance?

Obviously i know the pluses of having a SSD for just whatever reason but how does it improve the game, if at all?

My system is

AMD FX6300
8GB Ram
500gb 7200RPM HD
HD 7970 3gb GPU
600W PSU

I ended up purchasing an entirely new pc, with a ssd. My previous rig wasn't anything to sneeze at either, but I was suddenly able to do things like dodge when I absolutely couldn't do before due to latency. It basically saved the game for me because it was unplayable without the ability to dodge. Loading times were also reduced. I can't say if it was due to moving from a HDD to a SSD or the overall performance upgrade or both.

Putting 2x SSD in raid 0 improved loading times between areas by around 5-10 seconds give or take for me (upgraded from 7.2k drives). Other than that there was no noticeable performance increase. The biggest increase will come from upgrading your CPU/GPU. Helps for things like hunts but I wouldn't purchase SSDs just for FFXIV.

Additionally it improves OS boot time quite a bit and allows you to access and copy files more quickly between multiple SSDs. Installing software/games also gets a lot faster in comparison to 7.2k drives.

To take full advantage of SSD Drive, first you must install Windows 8.1. I have a Samsung 840 Pro and it dramatically improve game loading time when zoning, especially loading NPC and when in Moh Donah and Gold Saucer. It also a must have if you are doing Hunt and any Raid Contents.

There is also benefits of having SSD as main Operating System. Boot time for me on Windows 8.1 to the Desktop is 20 seconds. Your system may varies depend on Ram and CPU.

I say it is worth it. Other then that, more Ram also help since if you don't have a lot of Ram, it will slow down once it doesn't have enough Ram to load more textures in the game.

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Originally Posted by Marisela

To take full advantage of SSD Drive, first you must install Windows 8.1. I have a Samsung 840 Pro and it dramatically improve game loading time when zoning, especially loading NPC and when in Moh Donah and Gold Saucer. It also a must have if you are doing Hunt and any Raid Contents.

There is also benefits of having SSD as main Operating System. Boot time for me on Windows 8.1 to the Desktop is 20 seconds. Your system may varies depend on Ram and CPU.

I say it is worth it. Other then that, more Ram also help since if you don't have a lot of Ram, it will slow down once it doesn't have enough Ram to load more textures in the game.

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There is no need for 8.1 with an SSD. That reduction in time for turning on the computer is from 8.1 as you basically just go into a standby mode. That has nothing to do with game performance though... That said, a SSD will improve startup times of all OS's.

A SSD will make things load faster. It won't improve things like FPS or lag.

If you're looking for game performance (once you're already loaded into a zone), an SSD wont cause too big of an effect unless you were already relying on virtual memory because of low ram.

An SSD will improve any and all reading/writing to your main memory storage (so quicker load and save times if that's what you're looking for). But most of the heavylifting your game requires is done by the processor, ram, and GPU.

Super fast loading screens. I upgraded to one a while ago and now my loading screens are non existent.

Your internet speed is also a factor in loading times.

When I got my SSD, load times decreased a bit, but not as much as I had expected. I know internet speed affects loading because I load noticeably slower if I'm streaming a video or downloading something.

Your load times will improve, sure, but for any instance you'll still wait around for everyone else without an SSD to load in as usual. So if you get one, make sure you're getting it for the right reasons.

It will not help you dodge red circles in game. Because at that point everything is loaded into the ram weather you dodge or not is more dependent on your connection. You will have to wait for dungeons and trials for everyone else to load. But if you want to change zones when teleporting faster it would help with that.

I played the Beta on a 7200rpm HDD and now play with the whole system on SSD. The load times for crossing zones definitely improved, but I don't feel any difference in actual gameplay. And in case you didn't know, during beta the game had a slower tick so many many people were having trouble dodging AoE because they'd be outside of the red zone for half to a full second and still get hit. I never had that problem.

I would recommend an SSD for any of these reasons:

• You have a liquid-cooled or otherwise super quiet system and the sound of your HDD motor spinning and the head moving around is driving you nuts.
• Your system (doesn't include peripherals like display, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc.) is costing you more than USD$1000. Then why not. Might as well go the extra mile.
• You spend a lot of time on your computer, not necessarily just playing FFXIV:ARR. You will feel the SSD improvement the most in non-gaming related usage scenarios.
• You are at least putting the whole operating system on the SSD, and you will buy a big enough SSD that will hold all of your most frequently used stuff. My 120GB ended up not enough for my broad interests and now I run a 500GB SSD.
• You have already decided to buy a new disk, just trying to decide between HDD and SSD, and you don't mind the price difference.

Honestly, you'd get just as much of a performance boost from a hybrid as you would an SSD, and at a better $=G ratio to boot. Upgrading your OS should always be one of the last things you upgrade, especially if it's Windows. Especially if it's TO Windows...

For how much loading you do with scenes and zones. Its worth it. I put ffxiv and windows on the SSD and everything else on the HDD

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Originally Posted by DoctorPepper

Putting 2x SSD in raid 0 improved loading times between areas by around 5-10 seconds give or take for me (upgraded from 7.2k drives). Other than that there was no noticeable performance increase. The biggest increase will come from upgrading your CPU/GPU. Helps for things like hunts but I wouldn't purchase SSDs just for FFXIV.

Additionally it improves OS boot time quite a bit and allows you to access and copy files more quickly between multiple SSDs. Installing software/games also gets a lot faster in comparison to 7.2k drives.

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Its pointless to do Raid 0 with SSD atm. Just by putting in one SSD you get faster load times in the game. So instead of taking 10 seconds for transitions from zone to zone you take 3-4 seconds.

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Originally Posted by Destinova

Its pointless to do Raid 0 with SSD atm. Just by putting in one SSD you get faster load times in the game. So instead of taking 10 seconds for transitions from zone to zone you take 3-4 seconds.

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Its not even that much faster. Its more like 2-3 seconds at most. SSD is so overrated the hardcore try to say its that much faster in loading when its not. I have multiple friends with SSD Drives and I only take 2-3 seconds MAX to load an instance behind them.

Your better off taking that extra $100 bucks and putting it toward hardware that actually improves gameplay