Racking my brain over hard drives

[twharrell 38]

Looking at a computer build to finally upgrade to FSX. Right now, I'm stuck at what HDD or SSD (or both) to get and what is the best way to set them up for performance. Right now, I am thinking of going with a Western Digital 500 GB HDD for the operating system and general FSX library storage, and a Crucial m4 128 GB SSD for FSX, aircraft, weather engine, and other add-ons that will need to be accessed during a flight.

 

Is this a reasonable strategy? Are there other better recommendations? Is there any visible benefit to even having an SSD?

 

Which HDD - too many caviar colors to know what is the best value. Black, Blue, or Green? Or would another manufacturer be better?

 

Thanks!

 

Todd

[mpw8679 428]

I think the best bang for the buck would be a WD velociraptor drive. Use that for your fsx drive and get a WD black for everything else. Black is the best.

[SAAB340 28]

I think your post is in the wrong forum.

Maybe a Mod could move it?

 

I recently posted about SSD vs HDD. What may differ is stutters, load times and texture loading. You won't gain any FPS with faster storage.

I would stay away from WD Green drives. A WD black would probably do fine. I did go for the 1TB Velociraptor myself.

[twharrell 38]

I appreciate the replies. And I did realize shortly after posting that I had used the wrong forum. Hopefully the powers that be can move this to the correct forum. I thought about the velociraptor, but the idea of not having to defrag over and over made the SSD appealing. Plus, the velociraptors appeared to cost a lot more than they did a year ago. Maybe I'm wrong. I have quite a few addons for FS9, which I am currently running, and so far haven't used close to 128GB yet. Do FSX addons use more memory?

 

Todd

[Ben Cap 89]

Best bang for buck would be the Crucial M4 256GB SSD.

[TechguyMaxC 516]

Newegg has OCZ Agility 3 240GB SSDs on sale for $189 ($169 after mail in rebate). That's the best bang for buck in the >128GB range at the moment.

[dazz 69]

Newegg has OCZ Agility 3 240GB SSDs on sale for $189 ($169 after mail in rebate). That's the best bang for buck in the >128GB range at the moment.

 

I wouldn't get an asynchronous SSD's just to save a few tenners, but that's just me

[magnetite 38]

Best bang for buck would be the Crucial M4 256GB SSD.

 

That's the same one I have. Works great. Crucial is one of the more reliable brands of SSDs. Haven't had any issues with mine.

[twharrell 38]

Yup, just saw that crucial SSD last night and it is tempting!

[JohnFromCO 15]

Another good option is the OCZ Vertex 4 which are about $10-20 more than the Crucial.

 

The Vertex is based on the new Indilinx controller and with the latest firmware it beat the Crucial in every speed test I threw at it. Very pleased with the Vertex compared to the M4.

 

Only downside is the Vertex uses a little more energy and runs a few degrees hotter.

 

It is worth a look if you are in the market for a high end SSD.

 

Link to Newegg

[SAAB340 28]

Just realised some WD blue drives are only 5400rpm. So stay away from them as well. Edit, that's the scorpio blue notebook drives. I think it's getting late...

 

If you have the money, go SSD. I'm a big fan of SSD. But put the OS on the SSD as well.

[twharrell 38]

I thought it was best to put fsx and OS on separate drives.... I was thinking of placing FSX plus addons on the SSD and Windows and all other programs on the HDD.

[SAAB340 28]

If you got space on the SSD there won't be any harm if you have both OS+FSX on it. The seek times on the SSD are minimal. And that is the reason you dont want OS+FSX on a conventional HDD. And I would say it's the OS that will gain most from being on an SSD

[TechguyMaxC 516]

I have a Vertex 4, and having compared it to 2 M4 (128 & 512) it was night and day. I do not recommend the M4 series at all. I have also used the Agility 3 240 drive in question and would take it over an M4 any day.

[dazz 69]

it was night and day

 

Can you elaborate here? The M4 is regarded as a great performer and rock solid stable SSD