So I'm bulding a new PC that will feature a i7 4790K and well as a GTX 970. These two things as well at a Asus Z97-A can kill a wallet. So I'm trying to cut cost on a SSD and HDD solution.

 

My question is; is it possible to have a PC with only a SSD and if so is their any problems I will face?

Also if I choose to buy a HDD only, what will I miss out if I had used a SSD?

 

(Keep in mind I will be running P3D on this new computer)

 

Thanks!

Mechanical drives provide a cheap means of storing data whilst SSDs are considerably more expensive i.e. a 1TB SSD will cost you ~300 whilst a 1TB mechanical drive will cost you ~45.

 

Obviously in an ideal world you would only want to use SSDs because of the performance gains but depending on the amount of data you need to store this may not be an affordable option. This is why a lot of people use a SSD for performance critical storage like the operating system and software and a mechanical drive for storing data such as media files, documents etc.

 

I would recommend a minimum size of SSD at 250GB and you will need to check how much storage you are using on your current PC to get a handle on whether this would be sufficient for your immediate requirements or if you needed a larger SSD or the compromise of a 250GB SSD and a mechanical drive.

Why not get both in the one package?  SSHD...google it. 2TB is a round $150

Thanks PieEater

 

I'm leaning towards settling with a 1TB HDD due to cost as opposed to both a SSD and HDD.

Would you know what I'd lack from having a HDD only?

I know load up time would be less buy what else would I gain from a SSD as opposed to a HDD?

Also currently FSX uses 32GB but I struggle to operate as I constantly have to delete items on my 256GB HDD laptop.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the input Beerwolfe,

I haven't heard of a SSHD before, would it be possible to possibly have a 1 or 2TB SSHD on my PC and that's it?

And do I loss any performance/attributes as I would if I had a SSD or HDD?

Thanks Once again

Click here for the benefits of an SSD over a HDD. If you are unable to afford a SSD and seperate HDD then a Hybrid drive (SSHD) that beerwolfe suggests would be a better option than a HDD drive.

Thanks so much PieEater.

I'll look into this more!

I have the same basic set up as you (mobo, cpu, gpu) i went for a 256gb M.2 ssd on a pci-e card and its very quick. P3D + pmdg + orbx loads in under a minute.

 

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-026-PL
 

hope this helps

 

Glen

I have the same basic set up as you (mobo, cpu, gpu) i went for a 256gb M.2 ssd on a pci-e card and its very quick. P3D + pmdg + orbx loads in under a minute.

 

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-026-PL

 

hope this helps

 

Glen

I'll look into it Glen, Thanks

Would you know how big your P3D folder is?

My P3D folder is currently at 81 Gb, that's with Orbx global, vector, fsglobal 2010, fly tampa Kai Tak, taxi2gate VHHH, UK2000 EGLL and PMDG.

 

HTH

 

Glen

You might want to consider M.2 or NVMe solid state drives and/or consider waiting a month or two as NVMe is going to get very popular with other manufacturers (which will drive prices down considerably).

 

NVME Intel

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167298&cm_re=intel_nvme-_-20-167-298-_-Product

 

M.2 Samsung

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147426&cm_re=m.2-_-20-147-426-_-Product

 

P3D (and FSX) does considerable File IO trashing, the more scenery/aircraft/AI you add, the increase in File IO 

 

Here is a File IO log I did from just flying a few minutes around KDAB (Daytona): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw0Q-fAfEZwyaFVxZ0t1dTBkX2s/view?usp=sharing ... unzips to a CSV and can be opened by Excel ... 500,000+ I/O operations in just a few minutes of flight.

 

Cheers, Rob.

Thanks a lot Rob, I'll consider both products and that log is quite interesting!

Nice Share!