SSD and Steam

Download Steam Mover - allows you to move individual steam games to different locations and even drives - I've used it and it works perfectly. Once you have finished with a game you can move it back to a mechanical HDD and then move another game onto the SSD...
 
Steam though now allows you to install (most) games on different partitions/drives by selecting at game install time. Just install the ones that need quick loading times to a SSD and the rest to a mechanical drive.

I though just use an SSD and only install the games I am playing. Other games are backed up using the Steam backup facility and can quickly been restored if I fancied playing them again, without any redownloading.
 
Thanks for all the help.

So given I'm now looking at OS some apps and a current game or two, a 128GB would be enough.

So let's say I'm considering Samsung 840s what would you recommend

128GB Pro

Or

250GB Standard

Price is about the same.
Read speed is the same.
Pro faster on write 390 vs 250
Pro has extra 2 yers warranty.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
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definately get something over 200GB, You will eventually regret only getting a 128. As for steam; Games that share source material and databases cannot be installed in a user specified location, only the same place that steam itself is installed. For example, HL2, TF2, CSS etc. Best thing to do is install steam on your secondary drive and then just chose the games you want to install to your SSD.

You ask what is the benefit of having an SSD if you cant install steam on it. Having the OS alone installed on an SSD gives you a huge performance boost, probable the most noticeable upgrade you could ever install without going too much beyond original spec. Anything you want to install to it after that is a bonus. Just stick to install the main programs you use on a daily basis and think about how resource hungry they are as well as how much space they take up.
 
I have to agree. I owned a 128GB SSD and I felt it wasn't cutting it. I had to spend time and actually think what things I wanted to save onto the SSD! Now I have a Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD and its wonderful!
To answer your question though, I'd probably take the non-pro if I was in your situation. The slower write speeds won't be too daunting as you'll only install your games and programs etc once and then read off it like everyday which is where the SSD really shines for most people.
I'd really would suggest saving for a 256GB Samsung Pro.
Just my 2 cents.
 
Larry365 said:
definately get something over 200GB, You will eventually regret only getting a 128.
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YMMV needed here, really :p

I've got a 120GB drive (which only cost £50 at the time), and it's been more than enough. I've still got 47GB free, even with a couple games installed.
 
Yeah, everyone's views on the size will vary. You may think 47GB of free space left is a lot for you but for me, that's already a size I'd be concerned about. That's a BF3 install and a HD movie or two.
 
seriously,dont bother about a ssd for games,the load times are not that much better.

You will soon fill up a ssd with games and regret getting a 1tb hard drive.

Load times are very slim,i cant understand people when they say my pc is sooooo quick,is your life that hectic that you cant wait a extra second for something to load ?

I've got a i7 920 at stock,24gb ram at stock,670 at stock and my pc flies along and never seen the point in overclocking anything.

A ssd is only good for a boot drive period !
 
WuMyster said:
That's strange. Many comparisons show Bf3 loading in 1+ minute and with a SSD it goes to to 10 seconds.
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Thats one game,are you in such a rush to get into a game that 10 seconds is as much time you allow yourself to wait for a game to load.

Seriously people,slow down,loading times are not the beginning and end of games.
 
I'm using a 60gb Intel SSD as a O/S Drive and regular programs, such as office and Sony vegas (to name a few) and i've still got 20gb left, So 60gb is still an option, depending on what normal programs you'll be chucking on it.

Also sorry to jack the thread but i'm in the same boat and i'll take everyones advice and go with a 1TB HDD, But what are the best Manuf's to go for these days at a reasonable price?

Cheers.
 
That's one game. I can name many more if you want.
Like I said, it all depends on who you are. I want to get into games fast and not miss out on anything.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say. 10 seconds is easily waitable but minutes just takes too long.
 
If your running an intel system you could always try their cacheing - get a smaller drive (say 60gb) and use it to cache your HDD for increased preformance.
 
WuMyster said:
That's one game. I can name many more if you want.
Like I said, it all depends on who you are. I want to get into games fast and not miss out on anything.
I don't really understand what you're trying to say. 10 seconds is easily waitable but minutes just takes too long.
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Seriously,what the hell are you going to miss out on ?

I bet my system will boot into bf3 (if i had the game) a lot quicker than 1 min.

You dont really understand what im trying to say ?

Sit back and have a think,is your life in such a rush that you must/have/want to get into a game in 10 seconds ?
 
schizo said:
Seriously,what the hell are you going to miss out on ?

I bet my system will boot into bf3 (if i had the game) a lot quicker than 1 min.

You dont really understand what im trying to say ?

Sit back and have a think,is your life in such a rush that you must/have/want to get into a game in 10 seconds ?
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I-Phone generation I will wager...anything longer 10 seconds away from screen is an ice age to them. No patience whatsoever.
 
I won't bother to argue if I'm honest. Stat whores actually want to get into games before MCOMs are gone for example. If you can marginally faster, why would you not? I don't see the point in this argument. OP and many others want to boot games faster so they do what they want. Just because you may not want to load things faster, doesn't mean other people shouldn't and be named impatient. I only got an SSD for faster OS boot times and never saw anyone not recommend putting games on. Did so and it was blazing Quick.
Now OP wants it just for programs etc. so I made a recommendation on par to yours.
Just deal with it. People want games on their SSD.
 
See your point but not many people have just a few games.

I've 130+ games on steam,590gb is the amount ive got installed,why would i want 2 to 3 games on a ssd so they can boot faster ?...surely i would want all 130+ games on the ssd so they all boot faster but with ssd's being quite small still there is not a lot of chance to have all my games on a ssd unless i spend silly amounts of money to get 2x512gb ssd's.

I play loads of games at the same time and never stick to one game,im not going to install one game onto a ssd so that i can play quicker when it took me 30mins to install the game in the first place.

If you want to get into a game faster....start it a bit earlier.
 
I get your point. But surely you have your most played games? Or games that take longest to load? Me and many others only really load our favourite multiplayer games on there as single player games can't affect you at all while waiting.
Anyway, either way, no one is wrong, just personal preference. OP, a 120GB SSD will do fine for programs. It can even do a couple games. It all depends what you want. If you're on a tight budget, a Samsung 840 would do great. Write speeds are still faster than HDDs and can read at the pro speeds.

EDIT: I have just under 70 games at just over 300GB and manage fine with a SSD. and HDD Then again, I don't mind waiting for single player....
 
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I used to have games on my ssd but then moved them to my 2TB drive as they were taking up too much space - didn't notice the difference really!

It's more important to have Windows on there, that's where you'll actually see the benefits of an ssd.

Moving the Steam folder is simple, don't bother with an app to do it, just follow the instructions in Steams help files.
 
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