SSD and Steam

nheather

nheather

nheather

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Horsham, West Sussex
I've almost jumped to the SSD age but something has made me hesitate - Steam.

The only reason I can see for SSD is speed - I want my computer to boot faster and I want the games and applications that I use to load faster.

So read speed is important.

Write speed less so because I don't do that so often.


So what would I want to include

Windows, Microsoft Office, Browser, Paint\Photo tools and games.

So which games - well maybe just the ones I'm playing at the moment.


And now the problem - Steam. A good proportion of the games I play are on Steam. When I look at my Steam library there is loads of stuff on there, some that I dabble with now and then, some that I'm playing a lot and lots that I haven't touched in a while.

Now I could unload the ones I don't play much any more but I don't at the moment.

Which means that my Steam folder is currently 236GB.

SO I either need a 512GB SSD (which is more money than I am prepared to spend) or I need to change the way I use Steam and unload all the stuff I don't think I am going to play anytime soon.

Not sure I want to go through that hassle just to save from seconds on loading times.

Just wondering how you guys deal with Steam?

Cheers,

Nigel
 
I have my main games on the SSD (BO2, BF3 etc) and then my other games on a 2TB hard drive.
Have you thought about this option?
With steam, with quite a few games you can now choose a destination folder to install your games. If not, you can download a third party program called "Steam Mover" I believe which will move your game to a different drive and create a shortcut so that Steam thinks the game is currently on the C drive.
 
I've got 3 drives in my pc.
1.60gb ssd for windows and nothing else.
2.750gb 2.5" momentus h/d for steam and world of warcraft (lovely little drive,runs cool and quickly)
3.2tb for everything else.

That combination works well for me and cant see the point in changing anything.
 
WuMyster said:
I have my main games on the SSD (BO2, BF3 etc) and then my other games on a 2TB hard drive.
Have you thought about this option?
Click to expand...

^^Problem solved!

Steam these days provides options for which drive to install newly downloaded games to. But even the games you've already installed can be quickly swapped across to SSD, without the need to muck around in Steam.

All you need is the mklink command in Windows.

1. Copy the game folder to SSD
2. Rename the game folder on your storage drive
3. Use mklink to create a link from your storage drive to your SSD. Steam loads the game from the storage drive, but the link seamlessly diverts all IO to the SSD instead.

It's simpler than I made it sound, honest ;)
 
You could get a 250 gb ssd and just stick ya OS and the steam games on that have lots of loading screens, then keep the rest on a normal HDD.

When it comes to changing steam files between ya drives theres several ways ive used, ya can download a free program to handle moving them for ya, or ya can simply go into you steam folder and drag the game out onto your other drive, then next time you try and start the game if will try to reinstall then ya just point the reinstall to that folder ya dragged it too and it installs instantly.
 
Well if you can afford it, go RAID 0 with say two 1TB drives for faster load up. Itll be much faster than your standard HDD.
I have a 256GB SSD with my OS, AE, PS, C4D, BO2 and BF3 (which is a whopping 35GB) and I still have about 150GBs left.
Id suggest a 256GB drive which will be more than enough for your mostly played games and then like I and some others have mentioned, go for HDD(s) for more storage and your other steam games. You could always go get a 480GB OCZ Bigfoot SATA II off here. Here Its SATA II but the read and writes are definitely faster than your conventional HDD. 480GB would be plenty for your games and also for some snappy storage!
 
Yeah i use one of them for my games, great little drive if ya already have a fast SSD for ya OS. I don't think you'll be wanting to buy 2 drives though.
 
Disagree with poster above. Not a hassle at all and you get fast load up times.
Unless you are talking about the actual program then yes, i would agree
 
WuMyster said:
Disagree with poster above. Not a hassle at all and you get fast load up times.
Unless you are talking about the actual program then yes, i would agree
Click to expand...

We'll agree to disagree. It's a hassle to me, and the gains aren't worth it or the cost.

Much rather have a big HDD for STEAM. Tried both, much prefer HDD.

SSD is great for programs and OS though.
 
Thanks for he responses.

So I'm a little confused. If I keep my games on a mechanical drive, then what are the benefits of the SSD.

Fast boot - without doubt

Explorer, Office etc will open quicker but they don't take that long anyway.

So I'm struggling to visualise what the overall effect will be.

Also what size I would need - if it is OS and apps then 128GB sounds plenty.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
Well the benefits would be faster reponses for opening programs on the SSD and boot up times. Also a snappy windows environment.

If you just want OS and apps then 120GB would do. I had W7 Ultimate, Adobe Master collection and other essentials on with space to spare.
 
You can get away with 60GB for OS only, 120GB is the best bet, it allows for the OS a few select programs and no fear of having to clean it up often to free space.

Page file on SSD will help with overall system performance, the OS on the SSD will provide the biggest overall performance increase, everything will need to access parts of the OS so technically everything gets a benefit even if it's loading fonts in.

I personally have my Steam on a 256GB SSD, which is literally for nothing but games. Wonderful for games I find. Certain games that I don't play often or don't require fast loads for things get moved/installed onto a harddrive.
 
Win 7 is typically 20+GB so id personally stay away from 60GB.
Setting your page file would really depend on how much RAM youre running.
Like i said, your windows environment will become a lot more responsive.

One thing you should do though is set say your User, Photo, Video, and Music folder to a HDD to maximise the space on your SSD. I also keep downloads on a HDD.

Theres a very good guide on a different forum that I can send to you. I dont think im allowed to post other forums here.

It guides you on how to fully setup a SSD to maximise its potential and use.

With a 120GB, you can fit a couple games on there, obviously not large ones but id go with a 256GB like I said before and stick in say a 1TB drive for additional storage and games.
 
nheather said:
Thanks for he responses.

So I'm a little confused. If I keep my games on a mechanical drive, then what are the benefits of the SSD.

Fast boot - without doubt

Explorer, Office etc will open quicker but they don't take that long anyway.

So I'm struggling to visualise what the overall effect will be.

Also what size I would need - if it is OS and apps then 128GB sounds plenty.

Cheers,

Nigel
Click to expand...

On my system, the mechanical hdd is alowed to spin down when not in use.

This saves power and reduces noise.

The benefit to having Windows on an SSD is a large improvement in responsiveness. If you have your web browser and other apps on the SSD, loading them up becomes (nearly) instant. You click an app and it's there, ready for you.

Faster boot times never bothered me because I S3 sleep my machine instead of shutting down.

So basically:
1. silence
2. low power
3. snappy Windows experience

TBH I load most of my games from the mechanical drive. It's a WD Green 1TB, and I've never felt load times were "slow".
 
Well we're all different. I had my games in RAID 0 and felt loading up BF3 was slow.
Also, all hard drives should really be silent. At least from 30cm away without the side panel on! I have I think 7 drives running and they're all silent!
 
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