I know this isn't a specifically FS9 question but you guys are my "peeps" and this forum is the equivalent of my local pub. So here we go. I have noticed that price of solid state hard drives has started going down. I remember when they first came on the scene the forecast was that they would be great for programs like FS because they would dramatically reduce the time for the program to find textures and load them into memory. (Or something like that - my tech-speak skills are pretty basic)

 

Bottom line - is this a performance enhancer? If so, worth the price? and last question - do they have to be installed internally and take the place of existing drives or can the be added as an external and additional drive????

 

Cheers

Ian

You won't really see an increase in performance in fs9, you would be better off upgrading to a core2duo wofldale E8600 3.33ghz since they must be extremely cheap now.

 

What you will see with a solid state drive is extremely fast loading times for windows and opening applications.

I've heard from my friend who is currently using SSD for Fs9. He said that it doesn't really boost the performance of the game but it helps a lot with the loading time.

 

I've full of AI and aircrafts/sceneries and it took me quite a while to get into the menu screen of Fs9(before upgrading to Ivy, it took me about 1m30s or more,but now only ~20s)

 

Upgrading from E5300 to 3570k helps me with the loading time already so I'm not really in the mood of getting a SSD. Quite expensive.

Hi Ian

 

I'd imagine that hooking up a SSD externally through USB would probably defeat the porpoise (squeak squeak!), as the super transfer rate from the drive would be slowed by the USB bus transfer rate (although I don't know about USB 3, but I'd imagine still not as good).

 

As an aside, did you get Yetkinaburg (sp?) Still tossing up on that one as my freeware one is still very nice and I want to save some dollars to lavish some luuurve on my toy car. Flew (virtually) into Wellington (Wullungton!) this arvo, a heavy 767 needs all the runway there!

 

Cheers, SLuggy

Hi Ian,

I have two SSD's on my system, one for the operating system and the other for FS9 and FSX. I also have a WD caviar black 1TB for storage. As far as performance, you won't notice any framerate improvement, but as has been said your load times will be greatly decreased. Also a plus is they are silent. I've had mine for about a year and a half.

 

On a technical note, mine are installed internally. They are pretty small and light, I have mine mounted in it's ssd bracket which is attached in my case with velcro. Mine are also hooked up to a Sata6 port. Do you know the model of your motherboard? They will need a SATA port. If you want to mount and use them externally you could use something like this:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16815158088

 

Even thought they are expensive,I'm very happy with my ssd's, and will only use a traditional drive for storage from this point forward.

 

Matt

Another option Ian is the so-called 'hybrid' drives from Ocz (RevoDrive) and Seagate.(Momentus). Suggest you check them out before spending your hard-earned.

I too have wondered about this. Will a SSD offer any relief for micro-stutters and pauses caused by scenery loading ?

I've had a Kingston SSD for about a year for flightsim use, and in addition to the greatly reduced loading times, it does seem to reduce (not eliminate) some of the more pronounced stutters experienced when first flying into (or out of) a scenery-rich area. For example, the one-second freeze I used to get when flying into the greater London area is now just a barely noticeable hiccup. Don't know if I can recommend such an expensive solution for a minor problem, but I'm glad I bought mine.

Hey Joe, if you are seeing any pauses on your rig when scenery loads then it will be down to how efficient your windows and FS9setup is.

 

Whilst your rig is not high end you should still be getting liquid smooth performance in FS9.

 

Having the correct drivers, defragged drives, only essential background procceses running etc etc are all important parts of having a smooth running sim. Even on a high end system.

 

Regards

 

EDIT - I shoud add, never defragg a SSD!

Thanks for the input Rob. I have tried to keep my machine up to date, clean and defragged. I was hoping that an SSD might give that boost (reducing or eliminating the stutters and pauses) so I could get a little more mileage out of this rig. My only gripe is the aforementioned issues. Think I would be willing to make an SSD a last investment in my aging FS rig, if it can offer a little move forward.

Hi Ian

 

I'd imagine that hooking up a SSD externally through USB would probably defeat the porpoise (squeak squeak!), as the super transfer rate from the drive would be slowed by the USB bus transfer rate (although I don't know about USB 3, but I'd imagine still not as good).

 

As an aside, did you get Yetkinaburg (sp?) Still tossing up on that one as my freeware one is still very nice and I want to save some dollars to lavish some luuurve on my toy car. Flew (virtually) into Wellington (Wullungton!) this arvo, a heavy 767 needs all the runway there!

 

Cheers, SLuggy

Hi SLuggy

I did get USSS Yekaterinburg and I thoroughly recommend it. One of the best sceneries I've seen. Not only the airport beautifully rendered, but the surrounding area as well. The winter textures are superb and the dynamic ground traffic is smooth and looks fantastic. I think it's amazing value for the money. And there is some awesome Siberia freeware (UNNT 2011!!!!) so there are other excellent destinations to fly to within a reasonable distance

Ian

 

BTW SLuggy, you are a brave man taking a 767 into NZWN, though I have seen a RW photo of a 777 doing a demo flight into there. (It was VERY lightly loaded I imagine).... Just don't do what the pilot of an RAF Vulcan did during the air show that marked the opening of Wellington International. He knew the distance available was marginal so tried to put it down as close to the runway edge as possible. Unfortunately, he was about 20 feet short and managed to wipe off one landing gear leg and punched a hole in a fuel tank. I was a kid in the crowd and got sprayed with fuel. He ended up putting it down at Ohakea without too much further damage and after about three months work it flew back to the UK...

Many memories of that airport. Went to school less than a mile away from the runway - had my first job working there at the old De Havilland's - and learned to fly at the Wellington Aero Club.

 

Cheers mate

Ian

 

Thank you everybody for all the great input. I think I'll save my $$$ as I'm considering getting a new PC in the not too distant future and it doesn't sound like this particular investment would be all that cost-effective. But the quick loading time does sound appealing so I will definitely consider a solid state drive for the new machine. And prices really do seem to be coming down rapidly on them.

Thanks again guys!!!

Ian

Just a small point. SSDs do have a limited life-span (based on the number of writes made) against traditional ones and for this reason it is really better not to use them for something that frequently re-writes files. My arrangement has Windows on the SSD to use its benefits of speed but other things (like FS) are on a conventional drive. This was as set up by the manufacturer and I think that is probably the best way to do things.

 

I'm not saying your SSD will conk out next week but it is something to bear in mind.

 

John

Thanks John. That's the kind of information that probably only comes with experience... It sounds like it might be a good idea to wait a while longer for the technology to mature a bit. When the news first came out about SSD, it seemed like a no-brainer - getting rid of the only "mechanical" aspect of the contemporary PC. Apparently it's not so simple....

Ian, I believe the newer SSD's are more reliable than those from a few years ago, and unless you're uninstalling and reinstalling your entire FS9 folder every month, you shouldn't have too many problems with reliability. Given how quickly we abandon most hardware in this hobby due to obsolescence (like video cards), a four to five-year life for an SSD isn't that big of a deal. There are many recent threads on the Avsim hardware forums discussing the pros and cons of SSD's (mostly for FSX), so you might want to take a look at those as well.