SSD virgin needs advice.

[martin-w 3,235]

Yes, I'm rather late in regard to SSD adoption.

 

Have done some research today, but I'm interested in the opinions of those of you that have been using SSD's for a while.

 

I gather there are certain considerations in regard to setting up an SSD?

 

No defragging I know, but what else should I consider?

 

I'm probably going for the Samsung Evo, not as fast as the pro I know, but fast enough for me, and far cheaper.

[Bob Scott 7,721]

The Evo SSDs are fine for flight sim...they're intended for read-intensive apps, and FS is nothing if not that.  I just put a 1 TB 840 Evo in my FS machine after outgrowing my 300GB Intel X-25M, and I have no complaints.

 

Make sure you set AHCI as the interface in the BIOS, and have the SSD connected to a SATA III port that is not shared with any SATA II devices (i.e. old hard drives)--presence of a SATA II device will slow all the devices on that port to SATA II speeds.  The Samsung Magician utility can be used to ensure that Win 7/8 have the right settings for the SSD.

 

Regards

[martin-w 3,235]

Thanks Bob, useful information. :smile:

[Groovin_DC-10 50]

I'm using a 250g Samsung for FSX and FS9.  Really enjoying the benefits.  Not having to defrag after each add on installation saves so much time.  Load times are quicker.   It also gave me better performance in FSX.  Not by much, but just enough to notice a slight change.

 

When I first installed it, Win7 didn't detect the new SSD even though it showed in the Bios.  I did a quick google search and found out what to do.  Just a heads up in case you run into this and can't figure it out like what happened to me :lol: .

 

Good luck on your SSD.

[martin-w 3,235]

 I did a quick google search and found out what to do.

 

 

So what did you do then Maurice, or are you going to make me use Google? :biggrin:  

[Groovin_DC-10 50]

So what did you do then Maurice, or are you going to make me use Google? :biggrin:  

 

I couldn't remember what it was I did since it was a while ago :lol: .

Just did a search and I'm pretty sure this is the one...

 

*edit* ok, the link on my post won't work for some reason.

 

I didn't want you to have to use google, but since the link won't work, you'll have to use google :lol:  and type "windows 7 won't detect my new ssd".  It's the third one from tomshardware.

[martin-w 3,235]

Thanks Maurice, I'll check it out.

[martin-w 3,235]

I understand that in addition to disabling defragging, it's also necessary to disable...

 

• Drive indexing.
• Prefetch.
• SuperFetch.

I presume this is optional to extend the life of the drive?

[neil0311 366]

I'm sure that using tools to measure ms seek times, you can see some difference, but with modern SATA 3 drives, current CPUs, and large amounts of RAM, how much practical difference does a SSD really make?   I have my OS on a 1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3 drive, and FSX and add on software on a 2TB 7200 rpm SATA 3.0 drive.   With an overclocked i7 3930K, how much better performance would a SSD really give?  1%?  5%? 

 

I'd also ask how much difference does defrag really make?   Sure, if your drive is badly fragmented, then a defrag will help, but I'm very skeptical of people who say that they defrag all the time.  Unless you're uninstalling and reinstalling constantly, how does your drive get fragmented?   I run a defrag about once every 3 months, and generally the drive isn't the slightest bit fragmented to start with, but I do it anyway. 

[Bob Scott 7,721]

 

 

I'm sure that using tools to measure ms seek times, you can see some difference, but with modern SATA 3 drives, current CPUs, and large amounts of RAM, how much practical difference does a SSD really make? I have my OS on a 1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3 drive, and FSX and add on software on a 2TB 7200 rpm SATA 3.0 drive. With an overclocked i7 3930K, how much better performance would a SSD really give? 1%? 5%?

 

FSX load times going from my old 10000RPM Velociraptor to a SATA II SSD were about 6x faster, and my 10K drive has a considerably faster seek time than your 7200 RPM drives.   Loading the sim entails the loading of a large number of small files--something an SSD is very good at.  Once it's loaded, FSX's lookahead caching pretty much negates any benefit of faster disk access.

 

A fragmented drive is just going to make load times worse still.  Unless it's badly fragmented, again, the lookahead caching will probably keep you from noticing the much longer access times while the sim is running, unless you're using a lot of photoscenery in which case you may well see the effects.

 

If you're a developer or chronic tweaker, that snappy load time is worth having FS on an SSD.  But I've always maintained that it's a nice-to-have, not a must-have for most.  But with SSD prices falling (I just paid $550 for a 1TB SATA III Samsung 840 Evo) it's less of an extravagance than it used to be.

 

Cheers

[ryanbatc 12,857]

 

Make sure you set AHCI as the interface in the BIOS, and have the SSD connected to a SATA III port that is not shared with any SATA II devices (i.e. old hard drives)--presence of a SATA II device will slow all the devices on that port to SATA II speeds.  The Samsung Magician utility can be used to ensure that Win 7/8 have the right settings for the SSD.

 

Regards

 

That's interesting.  I was considering a new sata3 ssd but I've got a lot of 7200rpm HDD's...  hmmmm  what to do?

 

Also what is the difference (for FSX purposes) between samsung's evo and Pro drives?

[martin-w 3,235]

 

 

I understand that in addition to disabling defragging, it's also necessary to disable...

 

 

•Drive indexing.

•Prefetch.

•SuperFetch.

 

I presume this is optional to extend the life of the drive?

 

 

 

What about the above chaps? Worth doing or not?

That's interesting. I was considering a new sata3 ssd but I've got a lot of 7200rpm HDD's... hmmmm what to do?

 

 

 

Also what is the difference (for FSX purposes) between samsung's evo and Pro drives?

 

 

 

Pro's a bit faster. Not enough to make much difference. Not worth the extra cost in my opinion.

 

Theoretically a longer lifespan with the Pro as well. Again, not worth it given that the Evo will out last your system anyway.