SSD in gaming machine. worth the money?

Caporegime
Joined
8 Sep 2005
Posts
29,982
Location
Norrbotten, Sweden.
200% worth it

I cant even use any pc without an OS on SSD anymore - Im first loading on nearly any games server. Whilst that is awesome it means you just have to wait longer :O

On SP games it practically removes loading times... Skyrim for example. 2 seconds between load/fast travel compared to 10 on spinny HDD
 
Associate
Joined
2 Feb 2012
Posts
1,992
depends how much your game is client based and server based also but when loading from ssd with tons of addons running and stuff ssd kicks butt so much quicker than any of my plater drives you can so notice maps and zone changes
 
Soldato
Joined
2 Dec 2006
Posts
8,204
Got a 240GB corsair force 3 SSD arriving tomorrow and I think I would say that I wouldn't actually bother with an ssd under 240gb. I bought it mainly because I want to reinstall my pc and it would just be easier on an SSD. They seem to be something that you could live without and not care but once you have one you'll get annoyed at those extra seconds a mechanical hd pc picks up here and there when you do stuff. I'd rather go dual gpu first and get a higher screen resolution. I would have bought a 27" hazro instead but my other 480gtx died and can't see my self having the power to run games on a 27" with only one card. (obviously not talking about 1080p).

Also I believe the OS is about 30gb, maybe 27gb, and you'll only have about 115gb to play with after the formatting so take that off and you're looking at 80gb abouts. What really can you do with that? Install your browser, music player etc and maybe a game or two that you'll have to keep circulating or just give up trying, games can go over 20gb now so you won't get many of them. So much hassle for not a lot of gain. Go big or save your money is just how I look at it.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
2 Feb 2012
Posts
1,992
as above you want higher than 1080p for games at least and at least get cards capable of that . and yes 250 gb is cheap as chips nowdays so no point going below that imo.
 
Soldato
Joined
2 Dec 2006
Posts
8,204
The alternative is to just get a 30/60gb ssd and just use it for the OS/regular programs. I see no reason to get a 120gb one and put a game or two on it really. Doesn't seem worth the hassle.
 
Associate
Joined
19 Aug 2011
Posts
871
If you play a lot of single player games, particularly RPGs (Skyrim, The Witcher 2, that kind of thing) then yes, an SSD is worth it. Those kinds of games often have fairly substantial loads, sometimes fairly regularly too depending on game and what you're doing.

If you mostly play multiplayer games, then I wouldn't bother. You have to wait for other people to load anyway and your experience will benefit more from a better GPU (especially for future proofing). Waiting an extra 15 seconds for your computer booting up isn't worth downgrading on your graphics.

If you play things like MMOs, then it's up to you. Often they don't need high end machines and you spend a fair bit of time loading anyway (in and out of dungeons for example). At the same time though, load times are fairly short generally anyway.

When I got my machine I was mostly playing MMOs and FPS games, I went for the better GPU. I have an SSD too now, if I had to choose between a better GPU or an SSD again, I'd probably make the same choice of a GPU. Most HDDs load fast enough anyway.

The fact is that games are designed with HDDs in mind, on an entheusiast forum like this it's no surprise that so many people have SSDs, but they're not that common with most people (a lot of people have never even heard of them) so there's not going to be any games for a long time that are designed with them in mind, that means that you'll always get the intended experience from a game with a normal HDD.
 
Soldato
Joined
2 Dec 2006
Posts
8,204
In BF3 you don't have to wait 30s any more. As I'm first in all the time I get pick of vehicles etc. worth it :)

I always load into the game before almost everyone with my HDD and BF3 has a delay on vehicle spawn so that it's not the person with the fastest pc that gets them.

When I put bf3 on my ssd tomorrow it will probably just mean I have to wait longer sitting on my own in bf3 waiting for everyone else to catch up.
 
Soldato
Joined
2 Sep 2006
Posts
13,483
Location
Portland, OR
I currently run a seagate 5900rpm 2tb drive for everything. I'm still one of the first people to show up in a map. I'm not convinced SSDs are worth the money for gamers IMO. I have used SSDs for years but when it comes to map load times I don't want to pay 150 dollars for 10 sec faster load times.
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Feb 2012
Posts
14,431
Location
Peterborough
I always load into the game before almost everyone with my HDD and BF3 has a delay on vehicle spawn so that it's not the person with the fastest pc that gets them.

When I put bf3 on my ssd tomorrow it will probably just mean I have to wait longer sitting on my own in bf3 waiting for everyone else to catch up.

I don't know - on most servers I play the vehicle pop is pretty much instant and before HDD loaders for definite.
 
Soldato
Joined
3 Feb 2012
Posts
14,431
Location
Peterborough
I'd hate to go back to a mechanical drive now. Every PC without an ssd seems so sluggish compared to mine now.

Same - my only regret is not buying 256GB instead of 128GB. When I started upgrading I was on a tight self imposed budget. Then I threw it out the window and upgraded everything. If I had bought the SSD when I had the second phase of mindset, 256GB would have been bought without blinking :(
 
Associate
Joined
10 Apr 2012
Posts
333
I would even consider running a PC without a SSD now I have one. It's now essential to any future spec I go for, right now the OCZ Agility 3 120GB is just under £100 and at that price you'd be silly not to get one.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
20,960
I agree,I can't notice much improvement when I tested cod waw on my ssd,seemed just a quick on my 2tb,you can tell with the OS installed on an ssd though,everything is snappier

On a Vertex 3 I am the first into a Battlefield 3 map and halfway across the map before other team members get moving if the server has a small "Waiting for players" countdown timer.

SSDs are also excellent for MMOs.

Whether you like the idea of SSDs for games or not is a moot point. They are a MUST have for your OS and you will have space left for your most played games.

You do not lose anything by using that free space for a few games. Some games I do not even see a loading bar for more than half a second.
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
29 Aug 2004
Posts
2,381
Location
Alpha centauri
Just a quick question, when i was playing obivion a few year`s back i had a problem with the graphic`s being slow to load of hard drive so i raided 2 raptors (74gig`s at the time) which speeded things up a bit. I now have SkyRim and i am now having the same problem but with a much better rig (2500k, gtx580,60GB ssd boot) the only diffence now being just one WD Black 1000GB Drive being used for a Gaming , storage drive. The game is running well but it`s just that distance draw of trees , grass ,rock etc. are slow to come up or just pop up. In which case would putting the game files on an SSD be a better option.
 
Back
Top Bottom