I actually find it incredible that there are actually people out there who voted 'No' that an SSD wouldn't benefit FSX. These people have not used one. Period. ... There are too many people here voting 'NO' simply because they don't own one, or are put off by the price.

I would strongly encourage you to read this whole thread as well as The FSX Benchmark, Storage Edition. I'm not saying they're the final word, but several people including myself have tried SSDs and have seen no benefit other than loading times. Period. I wish I knew why some people see an improvement while others do not, but there's several very knowledgeable people here running great systems who have put countless hours into tuning and tweaking. You're certainly not the only one. So why don't you explain what you mean by "all the right tweaks"? I think it's still up for debate and I'm certainly open to trying it again if someone knowledgeable on the subject can provide some sound logic for why some people are seeing the improvement and some aren't.

I would strongly encourage you to read this whole thread as well as The FSX Benchmark, Storage Edition. I'm not saying they're the final word, but several people including myself have tried SSDs and have seen no benefit other than loading times. Period. I wish I knew why some people see an improvement while others do not, but there's several very knowledgeable people here running great systems who have put countless hours into tuning and tweaking. You're certainly not the only one. So why don't you explain what you mean by "all the right tweaks"? I think it's still up for debate and I'm certainly open to trying it again if someone knowledgeable on the subject can provide some sound logic for why some people are seeing the improvement and some aren't.

Will definately check out that link..Cheers! By all the right tweaks, I mean things like editing the .CFG file, to utilise your multi-core processor and GPU memory as best it can. You are right about differences being small, but that's what makes all the difference to me. I used clouds as an example, when those things were rolling past in highly detailed REX 2.0 weather, with I mean hardly a noticable micro stutter..the environment begins to feel incredibly real, and a good sensation of flying through the clouds develops. So yes, we can argue that the differences on different systems are small or vary (which is a good point) though its those little things and attention to detail that make things flow. It's like that with anything :) The whole 'near enough is good enough' thing doesn't keep us moving forward. So..If people are happy at the end of the day, that's great. But its a real sense of pride and acheivement when you take the time to learn your system and tweak it, and yes, shell out for some expensive investments (SSD) to put the icing on the cake. That's all it is..icing on the cake..And I love not waiting for load time in FSX :) Thanks for the reply guys, some really great points you all make, and I humbly admit that although I've been into computers and Flight sims for many years, there is always more for me to learn Much appreciated! John

I bought an Intel 320 160GB drive and its smoking fast. I had a bit of a drama migrating existing install to my new drive but I now find that its way smoother with 737 NGX in ORBX PNW with UT2. Maybe its a placebo effect but I find the texture way crisper and I can run REX HD 4K cloud textures without any stutters. Its just smooth and feels like a real simulator that I find mind blowing at times. I definitely say yes to get a fast SSD. Get one with high performance specs. I5 750 oced to 4g8GB RAMRadeon HD6950 1GBusing enbseries with shader 3 mod

Maybe its a placebo effect but I find the texture way crisper

This is a bit of placebo but, SSD's are known to help with blurries on the ground textures.

This is a bit of placebo but, SSD's are known to help with blurries on the ground textures.

It's an old thread, but I'll bite... I don't know that I would agree with the word "known". It has certainly been claimed by some, however.

Edited February 22, 201214 yr by cmeeks

I did not take the survey since I don't own one.IF it helps with eliminating or reducing blurries... then that alone would be worth investing for me.One of the biggest busters is to have all these amazing photoscenery addons and then end up flying over blurries. If it also helps eliminate stutters than that is worth even moreI never expected that it would help with FPS.I don't own an SSD, but from what I have read, I plan to invest in an SSD for my upcoming build.The question I have is, is it worth getting a second one for the OS.Manny

Edited February 22, 201214 yr by Manny

FSX, while flying, never has a chance to put such strain onto storage when it comes to ground textures and current devices, that you would get blurries with anything more than one of the new generation 7200rpm drives. <- that is my opinion and what tests have shown here (tested Seagate 7200rpm, WD Raptor 150GB, Intel SSD).Another story is loading or plane switching or panel switching etc...Now, I'm conflicted with a choice, which I resolved quite quickly: WD Raptor 600GB for 175€ or SSD 256GB Samsung 830 for 330€.My FSX has about 200GB now and it's growing, not shrinking. How long until I have to outsource addons again.Next size is over 600€.For me, it's a clear choice.And only to shorten those first time loads after reboot, and maybe have a bit faster panel reaction in FSX. No... it ain't worth the dough, even if I had it to spend.

Now, I'm conflicted with a choice, which I resolved quite quickly: WD Raptor 600GB for 175€ or SSD 256GB Samsung 830 for 330€.My FSX has about 200GB now and it's growing, not shrinking. How long until I have to outsource addons again.Next size is over 600€.

Haha, I've got a photoreal scenery project currently on hold because my 1TB drive is currently full of it. An SSD is not even feasible for that! I can tell you that it's very high quality scenery and yet I don't experience blurries whatsoever. I tested FSX on my SSD at one point and other than initial load times, there was no difference in performance. Load times with the photoreal scenery are HORRENDOUS!...but so worth it!Anyway, if you're not the type to load up FSX with an abundance of addons, then purchasing a smaller 120GB SSD may be worth it to you - especially as SSDs drop below $1/GB as they have slowly been doing lately. Load times and even hard drive noise (if your case is particularly noisy) are legitimate factors to consider.Trust me - I would love to believe SSD's make a huge difference, but they're just not the magic bullet we all wish them to be.

Edited February 23, 201214 yr by cmeeks

Have never tried photo real scenery on the SSD why is htere no improvement - I dont think i could go back to normal hard drive again- I guess though time will tell and cost will go down definetly

Well if I was to get an SSD how much GB should I have? I'm afraid I'll buy an 128GB and I'll run out of space pretty quick since I will be installing addons like GEX and REX which I imagine take up a lot of space..

REX shouldn't be installed on the FSX drive. GEX also not. GEX and REX also don't take much space on the FSX drive.UTX does though.But: mesh, aircraft, airport sceneries, photo sceneries... that eats up the space.128GB is very very little for FSX.256GB is fair, but I'm currently crossing the 200GB... SSD shouldn't be more than 70% filled for best performance? (or was it more, I don't remember exactly)

SSD shouldn't be more than 70% filled for best performance? (or was it more, I don't remember exactly)

90%

It's an old thread, but I'll bite... I don't know that I would agree with the word "known". It has certainly been claimed by some, however.

I've observed the difference on a system I built for a customer. First built with a couple 1TB 7200 RPM drives, then migrated to an SSD as a mid-life upgrade. The sim loading, texture loading, and texture crispness were all noticeably better.Is it worth the $300+ for a decent SSD? Only you can answer that question for yourself. If I had the money, I'd do it though.

Edited February 24, 201214 yr by TechguyMaxC