Installing an MMO on SSD

Greetings! :cool:

I'm going to be getting an SSD for ARR launch.That being said, I'm in need of some clarification on how to install an MMO on an SSD. I know you install the OS, games, and other applications on the SSD and then install everything else on an HDD as to prolong the life of the SSD.

Most applications/programs/games usually don't delete unnecessary files, move them into different folders, etc. once they are installed. But with an MMO, the developer is always adding/changing/deleting things with the game, and I know with an SSD there are only so many read/write cycles before it poops out on you. Is this something I need to worry about?

Any clarification would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I recently installed my first SSD in anticipation for ARR as well. The OS, programs, and games go on it, and everything else (downloads, etc) goes onto a normal HDD. Having an MMO installed on the SSD won't help kill it any more than if you install an offline game. It will get updated every once in a while of course, but so do other games like Skyrim.

Now, I wouldn't fill up the SSD with 100 GB of data, move it to a HDD, and repeat the process over and over and over. But I would hope that goes without saying.

I don't remember the actual numbers, but so long as there isn't any other issues with the drive, it's usually like this. Somewhere in the ballpark of 50GB written every day, should give you 10 years, in theory of course. Larger drives tend to have more spare area so they tend to last longer with the same write usage.

It's pretty much write cycles that are the issue. If you wrote something to it and only read from then on, it can last much longer.

There's no real advantage to installing an MMO on a SSD drive vs a HDD. Single player games are best for SSD while MMOs are best left to HDDs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cedri

There's no real advantage to installing an MMO on a SSD drive vs a HDD. Single player games are best for SSD while MMOs are best left to HDDs.

---

That's debatable. For 1.0 it was a significant benefit. However, if there's load lag anywhere it will help.

SSD = Super Shiny Drive! \o.o/

I think SSD is a must for games (and OSs) nowadays, It changes everything and it's not so expensive anymore.
I have a 256GB SSD (C://) and 2TB HDD (D://).. and my OS + all my programs/games are installed in C, when it's full, I just move the heavy stuff to D:// Drive.

And you will see a huge difference in games, not just single player games, but MMOs too, of course not a FPS difference, but a load time, you'll load maps/textures instantly while on HDD it might lag for a few seconds every time you move to a new area.

On my first test with SSDs, I tested the difference in speed when starting up windows, my old HDD took 1:20 seconds to fully start windows, while the SSD took like 7 seconds (and those 7 seconds were there for the welcome animation)

( when buying one, make sure it's 6GB/s and not 3GB/s )

I don't worry about the limited read/write cycles. Most SSD nowadays will last a very long time regardless. And it's not like there's a patch to install every time you log in to the game. It also depends on the type of memory cells the SSD uses. I put the OS, utility programs, XIV and 1 or 2 other games that I want to load fast on the SSD. Other games and data go on regular HDDs (thank god Steam finally allowed libraries on different drives).

Make sure you check if your mobo has SATA II or SATA III ports, no need to get an SSD faster than your mobo will handle anyway. I'd also highly suggest getting one that supports TRIM. And make sure that when you install it, you set it to AHCI in the BIOS instead of IDE. Finally, if you're really worried about the read/write cycle thing then just get one which uses SLC instead of MLC (but it will be more expensive).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Riv

I don't worry about the limited read/write cycles. Most SSD nowadays will last a very long time regardless. And it's not like there's a patch to install every time you log in to the game. It also depends on the type of memory cells the SSD uses. I put the OS, utility programs, XIV and 1 or 2 other games that I want to load fast on the SSD. Other games and data go on regular HDDs (thank god Steam finally allowed libraries on different drives).

Make sure you check if your mobo has SATA II or SATA III ports, no need to get an SSD faster than your mobo will handle anyway. I'd also highly suggest getting one that supports TRIM. And make sure that when you install it, you set it to AHCI in the BIOS instead of IDE. Finally, if you're really worried about the read/write cycle thing then just get one which uses SLC instead of MLC (but it will be more expensive).

---

yeah the read/write cycle life for a ssd with 128 gb is almost ten years dont worry about that op as long as you dont reformate your pc every day also dont defrag ssd they dont need be and it cuts down on read/write life

p.s all i use is ssd in all my pcs

SDDs are at a price point to space ratio where if you can afford a mid-high to high tier graphics card, there's almost no reason to not be able afford a SSD. They're also frequently on sale so it's not hard to find a deal to be had.

Game performance wise you will get better level and model loading speeds. FPS isn't really effected unless the models/map textures being used are high res but generally games have these things cached in the memory before seeking to the storage location.

Personally there's only one thing keeping me away from SSD's and that's the limit to writes before it becomes a costly brick.

I know it'd probably last a long time anyway, but that's a factor out of my control, and I hate factors out of my control.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Abriael

Personally there's only one thing keeping me away from SSD's and that's the limit to writes before it becomes a costly brick.

I know it'd probably last a long time anyway, but that's a factor out of my control, and I hate factors out of my control.

---

No one likes Entropy man, but honestly, this way you can at least gauge the life. where with a standard spinning disc, who knows when that will give out.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Abriael

Personally there's only one thing keeping me away from SSD's and that's the limit to writes before it becomes a costly brick.

I know it'd probably last a long time anyway, but that's a factor out of my control, and I hate factors out of my control.

---

You're more likely to have a HDD fail on you than run out of write cycles.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dhalmel

You're more likely to have a HDD fail on you than run out of write cycles.

---

Funnily enough, in about 20 years of using HDD's none ever failed on me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Abriael

Funnily enough, in about 20 years of using HDD's none ever failed on me.

---

I've had a few, but the amount has been small. However, they were all out of left field.

Now, granted, OTHER things can go wrong with an SSD besides the finite write cycles.

I'm also looking at possibly getting a SSD, but my motherboard is old enough that it only has SATA II (so 3Gb/s). I know SATA III drives would still work just at the lower speed, but would I still get a noticeable different over a HDD?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Abriael

Personally there's only one thing keeping me away from SSD's and that's the limit to writes before it becomes a costly brick.

I know it'd probably last a long time anyway, but that's a factor out of my control, and I hate factors out of my control.

---

You think the lifespan of an HDD is within your control?
Just to let you know, it isnt.
Everything, let it be an HDD, your TV or your whole PC can turn to be nonfunctional the next day.

Go SSD, You won't look back once u do..
I didn't.

I actually have 2 SSD in my system. The first one I got was just for games, MMOs. I haven't touched many of the newer Single player games but I can tell you this. all MMOs out there have hundreds of thousands of files, even if you can't see them, and a SSD will make a difference.

If you make it your primary drive, you want to make sure you have a secondary HDD as well, more your user directory to that drive, so your downloads and cache will be saved there. It will help save your SSD life.

Also, you want to always make sure you have like 30% or more of the drive empty. It has to do with it the speed you get from the drive.

Barring any other physical failures, you are unlikely see the end of your SSD due to the end of a write cycle before you decide to buy the next one for higher speeds or capacity.

The beauty of SSDs is that they actually tell you when its life is ending, and you won't lose the data on it when it runs out of write cycles either. All the data just becomes read-only at that point...

So do it....MMOs won't be the same when you place them on SSDs...

No thanks. I'm fine with putting mine on my HDD. Call me old fashioned, but it works for me. lol

I have a SB drive that I use to put single player games on, but that's as far as I really want to go with that. My HDD is there for a reason, so I shall use it.

my os is installed on a HDD, & FFXIV on a SSD,

when zoning maps in XIV,SSD is 5 times faster than HDD (2-3secs vs 12-15 sec)

OS writes more often than FFXIV & you will only notice the difference when you boot up PC.

XIV configuration is saved in OS drive, because my OS is installed on a HDD,
the game won't write anything to SSD except game version updates

When playing 1.X on a HDD, I had terrible lag stutter when moving around Ul'hah when new characters would load onscreen which usually lasted for 2 to 3 minutes. Copying the files to my SSD drive and relaunching completely removed all said lag.

Check if the drive has TRIM capabilities. Many these days do.

Although TRIM and the old style Disk Defrag are drastically different in design due to the differing technology of SSD, the TRIM is designed to effectively restore the original speed of the drive, much like Defrag could on a standard hard disk.

SSD's have become much more reliable now a days. They were fail city at first but things have gotten infinitely better.
The load times for games and start up time for the OS, are night and day.
Really it's gotten so good imo, that it sincerely warrants upgrading.
I keep 2 backup HD's
1 tb each for data, but my games and stuff go on the SSD for sure..
256gb, Crucial vertex 4 ftw. :P

Night and day on load times, totally worth every penny for people like me, who live online..lol..

PS: From what I was told, never let an OS defrag your SSD. It kinda helps kill it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Solace

PS: From what I was told, never let an OS defrag your SSD. It kinda helps kill it.

---

Defrag = HDD
TRIM = SSD

Mutually exclusive. Similar results when used properly.