Hi

I would like to put a separate hard drive into my puter just for FSX and FS-9.

This is what I have now

 

CPU; Intel Pentium G6950 @ 2.80GHz

 

RAM 4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 532MHz (7-7-7-20)

 

Motherboard EVGA 111-CD-E630 (CPU 1)

 

Graphics VA2226w (1680x1050@59Hz) 1024MB GeForce GTX 460 (EVGA

 

Hard drive 156GB Seagate ST3160815AS ATA Device (SATA)

 

I dont know much about this sort of stuff, FSX works fairly well for me now unless its on the deck somewhere like New York then it gets a bit

sticky.

I've been told my hard drive is the weak point and I should get something called a "Raptor" Very handy cept I wouldnt know a raptor if it up n bit me.

Any advice gratefully accepted

Ta much

Dannielle

It makes zero sense to me to get a Vrap now when you can get a 256GB Crucial M4 for less. Yeah, the VRap is 600GB, but filling up a mech drive beyond 60-70% completely defeats the purpose of having a high performance drive.

Honestly, the old "mechanical drives are the main bottleneck" motto is vastly overstated. It depends on the type of load you apply to your system, and FSX is not that I/O intensive.

 

Do you need a new drive because you're running out of space or are you trying to boost performance by upgrading your HDD? because if it's the later, don't even bother.

If it's the former, get this

 

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148834

 

for the best $ per GB ratio, or this if you want to minimise expenses:

 

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136769

Hi Dazz, a 256GB Crucial M4 cost $110 more than a 600GB Velociraptor here! I'm thinking of getting a 128GB m4 for the OS/programs/storage (for the time being) and using a Velociraptor as an FSX/games drive only.

 

SSDs are excellent for reducing loading times, but from everything I've read online, forums and reviews, they don't result in increased frame rates in FSX.

 

Various benchmarking tests etc have shown the Velociraptor to be faster than 7200rpm drives, but whether it's worth the premium is an individual choice.

 

Some say that placing the OS and its programs on a smaller SSD, say 128GB and using a dedicated drive for FSX yields better results than having both on the same drive.

when you can get a 256GB Crucial M4 for less

 

You can? Not here... Vrap 180€, M4 210€.

You can? Not here... Vrap 180€, M4 210€.

 

Ok, I think the M4 is still better value, but to each their own

I think the M4 is still better value

 

Possibly, but I wouldn't be able to fit my FSX onto SSD, so I would have to get a 512MB, which is more than double the price. Besides, I have a clean FSX installed on the same drive for testing if something breaks inside of my usual FSX, and P3D. Usage around 270GB.

Possibly, but I wouldn't be able to fit my FSX onto SSD, so I would have to get a 512MB, which is more than double the price. Besides, I have a clean FSX installed on the same drive for testing if something breaks inside of my usual FSX, and P3D. Usage around 270GB.

 

Check this out

 

http://www.pccompone..._ssd_sata3.html

 

Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that the trend of SSD's prices is going to follow that particular unit and store, but it doesn't really matter. I think you know what I think about storage + FSX.

This is from a guy who didn't even bother run FSX on a separate drive when it was in my Vrap, so my point is not to dish Vrap's or promote SSD's

50€ less then expected. Still, the price is quite high. I just hope in time, SSDs drop seriously. Then I'll get one.

 

I know :)

A 500 Vrap for $170!

 

http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/June-0-2012/Express16/index-landing.html?nm_mc=EMC-EXPRESS061612&cm_mmc=EMC-EXPRESS061612-_-EMC-061612-Index-_-E0-_-SeeAll

A 500 Vrap for $170!

 

http://promotions.ne...x-_-E0-_-SeeAll

 

There's a promo code for the 256GB M4 too... $179

I bit the bullet and ordered an M4 256GB. It is probably going to serve windows.

 

Any advices about best tools for porting from Vrap to SSD?

I bit the bullet and ordered an M4 256GB. It is probably going to serve windows.

 

Any advices about best tools for porting from Vrap to SSD?

 

What imaging tool do you use for backups and is your current OS drive controller set to IDE or AHCI?

You need to make sure the partition is aligned after cloning your OS and that AHCI is enabled for the SSD controller

Acronis True Image 2012, and I got Disk Director 11 too.

AHCI is enabled.

Acronis True Image 2012, and I got Disk Director 11 too.

AHCI is enabled.

 

ATI 2012 is supposed to align partitions when cloning to SSD's, but I've read plenty reports from end users claiming it doesn't work.

You can always pre-partition the SSD in Win 7, allocating a 100MB partition for Win 7, and then move one partition at a time to the SSD, and finally the Master Boot Record. You may need to run an install repair off the Win 7 installation CD after that.

 

Then make sure TRIM is enabled and the partition is aligned.

Disable hibernation, disk indexing for the SSD, Prefetch, and that's about it

OK, got it, almost :)

 

My current HDD doesn't report to have 100MB partition, though I remember something from the W7 setup - Disk Director says there is only one partition, the main one.

 

To MOVE: I could just use the Clone function?

 

COPY MBR: how would I copy the MBR, not really sure about this one?

 

TRIM: fsutil behavior set disabledeletenotify 0 should do it?

 

Hib, indexing and prefetch off - got it.