Installing an MMO on SSD

[MizoreShirayuki]

Greetings!

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!

[Boohiss]

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.

[ispano]

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.

[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.

[ispano]

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.

[HiirNoivl]

SSD = Super Shiny Drive! \o.o/

[ShellQ8]

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 )

[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).

[Captaindownsyndrome]

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

[Dhalmel]

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.