
#16
Posted 14 May 2012 - 05:00 AM
Either way, GameSave Manager works great with Steam and I highly recommend it.
[quote='stoppingby4now' pid='4694' dateline='1336958286']I'm going to chime in with regards to HDD and Raid 0. It will absolutely improve sequential reads and writes (Skyrim will be primarily reads), and will allow you to hit about 2/3 of the bandwidth cap of SATAII (with diligent de-fragmenting). Raid 0 will NOT assist you in random reads and writes, the performance is still horrible and sub 1MB/s (you might be able to break 1MB/s with 10K drives). Fortunately, random reads and write aren't as common as sequential for most general use. One of the most noticeable times when you can see a vast improvement from moving from HDD to SDD in regards to random reads is when booting Windows.
[/quote]I saw evidence of SOME improvement in random reads and writes but it's mostly noticeable with larger files.
Fast sequential reads will not help in many games, I don't know how Skyrim loads its data so that may be one title that would benefit from Raid 0.
In any case, SSDs manage much better loading times than any HDDs in Raid (0, 5) configs.
#17
Posted 14 May 2012 - 05:29 AM
#18
Posted 14 May 2012 - 07:17 AM
In any case, SSDs manage much better loading times than any HDDs in Raid (0, 5) configs.
[/quote]Well that depends on how you are measuring improvement. 4K random reads on most single drive 7500 RPM drives averages 0.55MB/s. Jump to a WD raptor 10K RPM drive and you can get an average of 0.72MB/s. In my case, testing on a single Hitachi Deskstar 7500, I get an average of 0.58MB/s. With two of the same model drives in RAID0, I get an average of 0.78MB/s. That's a 26% increase, but it's still crap.
But in general desktop use, for games or otherwise, at least 70% of the HDD's time is spent doing sequential reads. And I'm not disputing that SSD's are much better. Even the cheapest/slowest SSD's will knock the socks off a HDD, though even those types of drives have shown to suffer performance problems as they fill up.
#19
Posted 14 May 2012 - 04:56 PM
This is what I needed to hear! Thanks frihyland. I'm pretty sure I have a PEGATRON mATX (9.6" x 9.6") mobo, how do I check if it will support AHCI natively? I tried a quick search of the web but didn't find anything definite. I did discover that my mobo manufacturer Pegatron is a subsidiary of ASUSTeK Computer Inc (source) and not some cheap knock-off from Taiwan.I'm actually buying 2 of the mushkin drives one for windows and one for games. Just pick the size you can afford, the larger the size the more games you will be able to have installed at once. The 60GB one is just as fast as the rest so it may be all that you need.
Keep in mind that these drives are only likely to be reliable for about 3 years then they will start degrading. If you want something that lasts longer buy one with a 5 year manufacturer warranty it will cost quite a bit more.
Make sure your motherboard supports AHCI natively, you will have to look that up on their website. If not you will be missing out on a lot of the benefits of using the SSD.
You will definitely want to keep your regular HD to install regular programs and to store stuff like all your music and videos on.
The mushkin drives you mentioned sound great though, definitely interested in the 60GB one. Would this show up in my computer folder as a separate drive when it's installed? Like in addition to the (C: ) and (D: ) drives I have listed? Sorry if these questions are basic / obvious, this is all sort of new to me. Thanks!
Edit: formatting
#20
Posted 14 May 2012 - 08:06 PM
#21
Posted 15 May 2012 - 04:27 AM
He won't be able to boot into Windows from his current drive if he hasn't had AHCI enabled until now.Depends on your motherboard most will need to be configured to use the new drive, in any case you will need to go in and enable AHCI as it is disabled by default. You will need to look up your motherboard and follow the manual to do this, you should do this before you buy an SSD to make sure it will work for you.
#22
Posted 15 May 2012 - 04:48 AM
That is correct. That will only occur if you install a drive without turning on AHCI and then try and turn it on later, it is a bug in Windows 7. The fix is to first edit the registry to load the ahci driver, and then install the new drive and turn on the ahci in bios. Serious PITA.
He won't be able to boot into Windows from his current drive if he hasn't had AHCI enabled until now.Depends on your motherboard most will need to be configured to use the new drive, in any case you will need to go in and enable AHCI as it is disabled by default. You will need to look up your motherboard and follow the manual to do this, you should do this before you buy an SSD to make sure it will work for you.
#23
Posted 16 May 2012 - 04:55 PM
#24
Posted 16 May 2012 - 05:36 PM
#25
Posted 16 May 2012 - 05:49 PM
https://www.gigabyte...spx?pid=3311#sp is my mobo btw, says 1156 there aswell when I doublechecked
https://www.fractal-...egory=2&prod=71 is my case, says it supports CPU coolers with height of ~165mm which should be fine I believe, even if barely (that cooler is 159mm)
#26
Posted 16 May 2012 - 05:52 PM
#27
Posted 16 May 2012 - 05:54 PM
yep, you should have 1156 like me.I have a socket 1156 mobo I believe, not 1155, and checked that all of those had Socket 1156 supported. But yeah, I think I like the sound of the hyper 212 best personally. Was ofcourse the only one out-of-stock at the site I usually order from, time to pull up pricerunner.se I guess to find best price ;)
https://www.gigabyte...spx?pid=3311#sp is my mobo btw, says 1156 there aswell when I doublechecked
Most of those CM coolers will come with adapters for either 1155/6
What kind of case do you have?
#28
Posted 16 May 2012 - 05:55 PM
#29
Posted 16 May 2012 - 06:00 PM
#30
Posted 16 May 2012 - 06:04 PM
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