Hello, I am planning on getting a SSD for my new build but I don't know what size to get. So my question is, what exactly will go on the SSD? Do I really need to get a 246gb? 128? 64? 40? What i have gathered so far is that the OS and programs will go on the SSD, while the actual data files like .docx .mp3 .avi etc etc will go on the standard HD. How can you have 128 GB worth of just programs? I can see 64 gb since adobe CS4 is pretty big plus games and such... Is one size faster/better than the others? Thanks
I have an 80gb intel X-25M which has about 45Gb of data on it. That includes win 7, office 2007 and everything that loads at startup plus a couple of frequently used programs. I have one clockwork drive for other programs, less frequently used games etc. and one for My Docs, Pictures, Videos, Downloads, etc.
Look at the file size properties for Program Files and Windows on your existing system add a few GB for Documents and Settings and you should get an idea.
+1 I'd personally say 128GB Min, i currently have a 130gb partiotion as my main drive on my lappy and i only have about 10GB spare, thats with all my programs installed and about 10 games.
Laptops are shockingly bloated. I have a X-25M 80GB, and a clean install of W7 64-bit Ultimate was 15GB. Even with small apps, Office 2007 enterprise, L4D2, Supreme Commander, MW2 and i still have 20GB+ left. And above 80GB the prices get insane.
If you enjoy games I would go large. Modern Games can soak up an awful lot of space very quickly. I have 74GB used on my (128GB) SSD. It's OS, Program Files and Program Data (+user settings) - all Documents, Music, Video etc are on another drive. Of that 74GB my Steam folder takes up 42GB and that is just with 6 or so modernish games on it (e.g. MW2, Dragon Age (I succumbed), Batman Asylum etc). MMOs take up another load of space - my EQ2 folder takes up another 11GB. So just between my 7 games installed atm I need 53GB! An average of 7.5GB. So considering that 20-25 years or so ago I was playing games that fit entirely on memory of a 48KB machine, games have increased their footprint on average by 156250 times, or about 6250-7800 times increase per year on average! (the increase had not occurred linearly with time of course - it better bloody not have anyway or else I'll need another disk or 2)
you like me had a lot of questions about the worth of getting a large ssd. i finally determined that a 64 or 80 would be enough as i typically have the os, a few applications and maybe 2 games installed at a time. i felt there was no need to store my mp3 collecteion and such on the ssd and will use a mechanical drive for music, movies, project files and so on. basically anything that will actually benefit from the speed of an ssd should go on that, and things that won't shouldn't it all depends on what your usage is.
I've just bought a 64GB M225, and with a clean install of Win 7 Pro and most of my Program Files. I have all my games in general on a hard disk, apart from Freespace 2 because my HDD was being RMAed at the time... There's still 34GB free of the 60GB or so that is accessible. It really depends what you're going to do with it. I'd probably have no more than the game I'm playing mostly at that time on the SSD. Steam as a whole is on my HDD.
Ok - a prudent question here is: do Games benefit from being on the SSD? Yes of course they do for loading times...but accessing textures etc? Who has come across a setup where you NEED to use an SSD because the game can't load the tetures off a modern 7,200 fast enough? When is this point likely to happen in futiure? My feeling about loading times in games is that sometimes it helps the anticipation...I seriously don't mind waiting for crysis levels to load...but I SERIOUSLY mind waiting for Firefox or Word to load...
Here is what i use: Windows 7 ultimate AIM Mozilla Office 2007 Suite Adobe CS4 Master Suite Steam Itunes SQL database management software A couple odds/ends games (starcraft/planetside/crysis) Should my virus scan program go on it? Do documents have any speed increases being on it? Such as my mp3's, movies, RAW High Definition Footage downloaded from camcorder... Right now my choice is going to be the 128 gb probably... I am waiting for cyber monday to buy it, so i have time to change my mind
I would put your AV on it. I don't think there are any huge performance gain but it is the natural place for it to be with the other Program Files. In terms of documents, including MP3s and AVIs and the like, there is no real benefit of having documents or MP3s or AVIs that I know of, not to mentioned that the AVIs can take up large amounts of room. Get another mechanical HDD (Samsung F3s are v. cheap and excellent quality at the moment) and stick them all on there - you'll also need to move your pagefile over to there as well. In general, keep OS, program files on the SSD and everything that would typically be under "My Documents", "My Pictures" and so on on the HDD
Lol that's a bit of an insult to the developers that spend thousands researching how to cram more data onto a platter so you can have over 1TB of data for £60.
I'm doing just fine with a 64GB SSD + 1TB HDD windows + user data + desktop apps on the SSD, games and everything else on the mechanical drive. SSD is left with about 20GB free at the moment. It'd be nice if i could put steam on that, but i'd need over 150GB for that alone for me (far too many games accumulated over the years)
One thing I've been doing that has worked pretty well is using my backup software to create archives for my individual Steam games on my backup drive. That way I can delete them and if/when I want to replay them again it is simply a matter of waiting 5-10 minutes for it to restore rather than downloading the whole lot again. An absolute necessity if you format/reinstall from scratch every 6 months or whatever as well.
Depends on how many games and apps you want to run fast. If it's just the OS, your apps and maybe a game or two then 64gb should be fine, if however you want your Steam folder and/or your entire games library on there then the sky is the limit. Although ideally those should be on a quick mechanical storage drive like a Spinpoint F1.
