Call me mad (?) but now that I have FSX running sweetly under DX10 I was thinking that it's time to remove FSX from my old 1TB HDD and put it on my brand new 240GB solid state drive!

 

I already have a 60GB SSD for the Windows 7 OS but there's not enough room for FSX on there and would rather keep FSX away from the OS and program file folder/s.

 

As far as I'm aware SSD's are significantly faster than an older HD? It certainly boots my OS much more quickly than previously. Are many of you running FSX from an SSD? Did you see much of an performance improvement? Any tips what/what not to do?

 

Cheers

 

Adam

I did exactly this change a couple of months back, Adam, with a Samsung 256-gig 840 Pro, and once I got over the initial "hmmm - it loads quicker" blush - two months later, I'm back to "Hmmm! no real difference at all.."

 

However - I would do it again, because there was a noticeable change when I first made the transition, but now I'm used to it, and have no reference any more. I suppose I could have done so "time-to-load tests" to establish a baseline, and done all kinds of measurements to verify the increase. (and justify the cost!) 

I've got an Intel RAID10 made from 4x4Tb high performance rotating drives and loads FSX in about 30 seconds with a PMDG and airport. With this setup I've got an automatic backup and a high performance striped pair.

I did exactly this change a couple of months back, Adam, with a Samsung 256-gig 840 Pro, and once I got over the initial "hmmm - it loads quicker" blush - two months later, I'm back to "Hmmm! no real difference at all.."

 

However - I would do it again, because there was a noticeable change when I first made the transition, but now I'm used to it, and have no reference any more. I suppose I could have done so "time-to-load tests" to establish a baseline, and done all kinds of measurements to verify the increase. (and justify the cost!) 

 

Thanks for the interesting info Paul. I was also led to understand that SSD's don't require defragging so presumably that would be an advantage even if there are no major speed improvements.

 

At the moment FSX takes about 60-90secs to load from the initial "click" on the program icon. It also takes a while to load the "aircraft" GUI once in a flight...under DX9 it was much quicker. Not sure of the reason for that! I'll report back after I've reinstalled FSX on the new SSD.

 

I've got an Intel RAID10 made from 4x4Tb high performance rotating drives and loads FSX in about 30 seconds with a PMDG and airport. With this setup I've got an automatic backup and a high performance striped pair.

 

Blimay. You lost me at the RAID10 bit Steve But load time sounds fantastic!

hehe, yes it's good but expensive, once FSX has been loaded subsequent FSX startups are even faster. :}

I just ordered a Samsung 840 750Gb from newegg. Prices are really coming down. You can buy 1TB for under $600 now. Crazy.

 

 

Thanks for the interesting info Paul. I was also led to understand that SSD's don't require defragging so presumably that would be an advantage even if there are no major speed improvements

 

The Intel SSDs come with a SSD Toolbox that includes an SSD Optimizer that I run weekly.  I do not defrag my SSD drives. 

 

Billy Bluestar

The Intel SSDs come with a SSD Toolbox that includes an SSD Optimizer that I run weekly.  I do not defrag my SSD drives. 

 

Billy Bluestar

 

That's interesting Billy. What does it optimize then? Mine is a Kingston SSD so not sure if it has an optimizer or not - it's arriving tomorrow.

That's right don't bother defragging your SSD since it presents a virtualised layout and writes new blocks rather than overwrite to update data blocks.

 

 

That's interesting Billy. What does it optimize then? Mine is a Kingston SSD so not sure if it has an optimizer or not - it's arriving tomorrow.

 

I'm not sure what it Optimizes, but Intel recommends it be run on a weekly basis.  There is also a read/write test and a utility to check to make sure the latest firmware is installed.  When the Toolbox is started it tells the estimated life remaining on the drive and the drive health.

 

Billy Bluestar

something to do with TRIM, setting up unused blocks in the file allocation table appropriately for best performance

Windows 7 and above should optimize ssd's automatically iirc. I think running manual optimize weekly might be overkill. SSD's are pretty much set and forget.

Windows 7 and above should optimize ssd's automatically iirc. I think running manual optimize weekly might be overkill. SSD's are pretty much set and forget.

 

That's a relief. Set and forget will allow me more virtual flying time

 

I'll update at the weekend once I've moved most of the important programs across!

Loading FSX is faster with SSD but then it's nearly the same because not so much to do for the SSD while FSX is running.

 

No need to be worried because Windows 7/8 do everything what's needed for a SD and never defrag a SSD this would shorten the live span.

Spirit