Help me understand SSD?

[thehotsung8701A]

Hey guys,

It me again with another question thread. I appreciated everyone help here and I learn a lot from you guys that I simply would not learn as much or as fast from just reading guide online.

I don't actually understand how SSD work or what Raid 0 does? I know that SSD is used to boot up your computer start up speed and loading time for games. I don't know if games have to be install in SSD instead of your HD for it to load?

Could I buy a cheap 128 GB SSD drive and be able to load as many games as I want or does it work like a HD where I could only use it for games until I reach the 128 GB limit?

I also don't understand what SATA, mSATA, SATA III, etc is? I did some research a while ago but it still very confusing for me.

Thanks

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Hey guys,

It me again with another question thread. I appreciated everyone help here and I learn a lot from you guys that I simply would not learn as much or as fast from just reading guide online.

I don't actually understand how SSD work or what Raid 0 does?

Two different things.

I know that SSD is used to boot up your computer start up speed and loading time for games. I don't know if games have to be install in SSD instead of your HD for it to load?

SSDs are very fast hard drives. They are more expensive for the amount of storage capacity they provide, but they are faster. You can install any number of SSDs and HDDs in a system together. The speed benefit only applies to data that is stored on the SSD.

Could I buy a cheap 128 GB SSD drive and be able to load as many games as I want

Of course not.

or does it work like a HD where I could only use it for games until I reach the 128 GB limit?

Correct.

I also don't understand what SATA, mSATA, SATA III, etc is? I did some research a while ago but it still very confusing for me.

Different kinds of plugs. It doesn't really matter as long as the SSD and your computer have the same kind of plug. (So they fit.)

RAID-0 is when you take two or more drives (HDDs or SSDs) and store part of your data on each drive. So if you want to, say, load your resume, your computer stores/loads a piece from each drive. This makes it faster. However, if one of the drives dies, all the data is incomplete.

Generally speaking, never use RAID-0.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Anybody that has had a SSD never goes back to a regular HD again unless it for storing stuff as a second drive or for external back up drive. Just love the speed of a SSD for web browsing and booting up the OS!

 

[DigDog]

i'd like to add a couple things.

first, the speed of a SSD does matter, a lot. the speed of you ram, for example, changes almost nothing in how fast a game will load or how quickly your PC boots up. The speed difference between a HDD based PC and a SSD based PC is ridiculous.

second, i started my 4650k build with a 60Gb SSD, as i had a limited budget. No problem there, i have 2 large games (8+Gb), the OS, and some basic software (VLC, WinAMP, Java, Daemontools, just the basics), Minecraft and Sony Vegas, and i have about 15Gb of empty space left.

sure i need to excercise a bit of discipline with my data, but 60Gb is ok at the beginning.

120Gb should be plenty, unless you plan to hoard a massive amount of data or have a dozen AAA games at the same time. i only keep the games i am actually playing and uninstall the rest.