Is getting a 256GB SSD for game installations worth the extra price & less space?

[TareX]

..or should I just get a cheaper combo of a 128GB or 64GB crucial m4 + 750GB/1TB 7200RPM?

It was my understanding that only load times are decreased, and not game performance, but many are reporting that after switching from SSD to HDD, texture pop-in started happening in games like ArmA and Skyrim....

Most games fps performance won't be affected by the type of drive it's installed on. Like others have said, it's mostly down to load times. There are exceptions - Skyrim being a very notable one. After a couple hundred hours of playtime on my ssd, I moved my Skyrim installation to one of my hdds. Immediately, I experienced the texture pop-in so many others have complained about, and back it went.

Source: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=363577

 

[Goros]

It depends on the games you play. If you play MMO's, being the first to zone in and be able to respond in a pvp encounter is pretty nice, as opposed to loading and finding yourself half dead or dead and surrounded by enemies.

Load times for d3, sc2, wow, rift etc. all cut by more than half when i moved from a velociraptor sata2 to a vertex3 sata3.

It's up to you, but I run 4 ssd's in my rig for games now - and even cheaper sata2 ssd's blow load times away on sata3 7200 rpm drives.

It's probably not gamebreaking in anything, but it is nice to have.

 

[Zap]

If you can live with the lesser space, then may as well do it.

I have a 256GB SSD dedicated to games only (secondary drive) and I have on there...
Battlefield 3
Blacklight Retribution
Diablo III
League of Legends
MechWarrior Online
Modern Warfare 2
Starcraft/Broodwar
Blur
Borderlands 2
Modern Warfare 3
FlatOut 2
FlatOut 3
Left 4 Dead 2
Team Fortress 2
Torchlight II
Borderlands
Command and Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight
Company of Heroes (with all expansions)
Counterstrike
Counterstrike Source
Day of Defeat
Day of Defeat Source
Duke Nukem Forever
Dungeon Siege III
FlatOut
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage
Half-Life
Half-Life 2
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946
Left 4 Dead
Limbo
Magicka
Overlord
Overlord II
Overlord: Raising Hell
Post Apocalyptic Mayhem
Section 8: Prejudice
Supreme Commander 2
Titan Quest
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
Wasteland Angel
World of Goo
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
Deathmatch Classic
Plants vs. Zombies
Death Rally
Steam
Origin
LoLReplay

These are what I have actually installed, updated and playable. I'd need over a terabyte if I were to install ALL the games I own. Some games take more space than others and I only play a fraction of them (some I haven't even played, like DNF ) but the games/apps I listed are all on there. I have just over 10% free space.

 

[Charlie98]

I upgraded to a 256GB SSD just so I could load everything on one drive... OS, programs, media, Steam and other games. It's nice to have everything on one drive... and the speed I get loading a level sure is nice!!!

 

[nanaki333]

screw 256! when you use an SSD as your games/steam drive, it fills up QUICK! i'm replacing my 480GB mushkin already!

 

[exdeath]

The answer to SSD is always yes. 8 tracks are obsolete.

 

[jacktesterson]

I had a 512GB SSD (2x 256GB Vertex 4 Raid 0) Setup for a while for games (On top of my 80GB SSD for Windows) when I had my previous build.

To be honest, I'm running steam and games just fine off a WD Green hard drive now. Sure the speed is nice, but its not a massive difference for the extra cost, and certainly won't improve FPS other than load times.

Up to you.

 

[nanaki333]

The answer to SSD is always yes. 8 tracks are obsolete.

that actually made me LOL

 

[BeauCharles]

After playing MMOs and RPGs on a 256GB SSD there's no way in hell I'd go back to having them on an old platter hard drive. I rotate them out as I get bored with them, but if I ever run out of room I'll just get another. FPS doesn't change, but the general smoothness of the games are better (faster zone loading, no hitching from accessing a slower hard drive, etc...)

 

[blastingcap]

There is not a major difference in load speeds for most games, because even if you went SSD, the bottleneck is elsewhere (CPU, RAM, video card, etc.).

That said, I happened to have 2 x 256GB Samsung 830's available, so I RAID-0'd them together into one big 512GB drive with theoretically twice the max speed as a single drive in best case scenarios. Still no really big difference between that and my old 7200rpm 500GB WD RE3 drive, though.

 

[nanaki333]

There is not a major difference in load speeds for most games, because even if you went SSD, the bottleneck is elsewhere (CPU, RAM, video card, etc.).

That said, I happened to have 2 x 256GB Samsung 830's available, so I RAID-0'd them together into one big 512GB drive with theoretically twice the max speed as a single drive in best case scenarios. Still no really big difference between that and my old 7200rpm 500GB WD RE3 drive, though.

is TRIM working for ya with those SSDs raided together?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

SSD if it's big enough. HDD if you absolutely have to.

 

[TareX]

Thanks guys. Just dropped the extra $$$ to get a bigger 256GB SSD for games installations... I heard ARMA 2's performance and texture streaming benefited from the SSD's loading times in-game... so given that ARMA 3 is posed to be the most ridiculously looking PC game this year, and I'm getting it tomorrow, might as well get the SSD. Worth it, and better than losing value on my already pricey purchase... thanks all.

 

[TemjinGold]

Also note that 256gb SSDs are faster than the smaller variants.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Having crysis 3 on a ssd makes loading a short order compared to a spinner.

 

[TareX]

Well I was talking about in-game performance (apparently texture streaming and pop-ins are substantially improved with SSDs), not loading times, but thanks. Already bought the big SSD... ARMA 3 is going there...

 

[Remobz]

Well I was talking about in-game performance (apparently texture streaming and pop-ins are substantially improved with SSDs), not loading times, but thanks. Already bought the big SSD... ARMA 3 is going there...

I had to buy a samsung 840 pro 128gb because of money issues at the time. I never have more than 2 games I play at any one time. For my needs, a 128GB SSD is suitable for now.

I am amazed at how many games some of you guys play at any given time and own.

 

[Zap]

I had to buy a samsung 840 pro 128gb because of money issues at the time. I never have more than 2 games I play at any one time. For my needs, a 128GB SSD is suitable for now.

I am amazed at how many games some of you guys play at any given time and own.

Not much "money issues" if you got the Pro.

My list is just what I have currently installed. I only regularly play around 4 of them, so yes I can get by with a 120GB SSD for OS + games if I had to. Heck, some of the games on my list, I've never played even though I own and have installed. :whiste:

 

[WaTaGuMp]

HL2 DESERVES a SSD, those load times suck on a platter drive, MUCH better now.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Don't get a 64 gb ssd, it's too small. Go for at least a 128 go but 256gb is preferable by far.

 

[Anonemous]

In Dota 2 you can kinda tell who doesn't have an ssd when they take the full 2 minutes to load on a match.

 

[Baked]

Quick question for those with multiple SSD in the same system.I have a pair of SSD in RAID 0 as the OS boot drive, and a 2nd SSD on the same system. Are there advantage or disadvantage whether I install my games on the OS drive or the 2nd drive?

 

[Xtrem]

Raid 0 is faster, but the OS drive will have load on it due to the operating system itself, but Raid 0 doubles the read performance, which is what I think better.

 

[jhansman]

The answer to SSD is always yes. 8 tracks are obsolete.

Nonsense! I listen to my Rush, Twisted Sister, and Boston 8 tracks all the time. Ah, the glorious 70s....

As for SSDs, I keep the few games I play on my 1 TB spinner. Only my productivity apps get to go on my SSD.

 

[bleucharm28]

Im sure my next SSD will be at no less than 500GB. But im pretty happy with my 250gb right now.