New Build. Should I get SSD? HDD?

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ren3gade

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Feb 22, 2012
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Okay, so I am building a new PC for gaming.

This is my specs so far..
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card
Cooler Master HAF X Blue ATX Full Tower Case
Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Corsair GS700 PSU

I have just recently been learning more about HDDs and SSDs. My current gaming rig just has a WD Black 1TB. I've never used SSD, but I am reading good things about them.. the only problem is they seem very expensive to me for how much space they give. And I don't know what I would need. Should I buy 2 SSDs, and put my Windows OS on one and my games on the other? or Buy one SSD for my OS and one HDD for my games? or what? How much space do I need on them too? or should I just stick with HDD?

I really want a good gaming rig, that will load very quickly and have minimal problems.
Thanks for the help.
 
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carowden

carowden

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ssd and hard drive is a pretty good combo. i use a 120 gb ssd for os and a few games, then i use a 500gb hard drive for other stuff like music and documents.

also, you have a good enough current system that upgrading just to a 3570k would almost be a waste of money. i would seriously consider waiting until the 4th generation core processors come out at the end of the month.
 
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redeemer

redeemer

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ren3gade

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Is the SSD okay for games updating and things such as Steam? With all my games on it? Plus the Windows OS? How much space will the Windows 7 + Updates take up?

and I know, but I am building one because I am moving into an apartment at college and I need a build there and I will have my current one for when I come home.

 
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raytseng

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yes you should get an SSD or at least a hybrid ssd drive.

Compared to all the other money you are spending on parts, the SSD will impact the usability of normal computer usage greatly.

You are spending $100 to get greatly improved disk. Compared to the hundreds of $ you are spending for the rest of your system this is a no-brainer.

If your complete computer was like $200 and this was a $100 upcharge, that would be something to think about, but percentagewise for your system you are getting a lot of %improvement for your money spent.

You can either go with 1 disk or 2 disks; but you should have some ssd technology for your OS/apps.

Most power users use 2 disks (regardless of type), more for architectural reasons to separate out data from applications. As a main point, this gives you better options in case of failure or upgrade.

The majority of data is multimedia which does not require fast disk, so people use slower HDD data drives.

But if you want simplicity you can go with 1 disk and buy a hybrid disk
 
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ren3gade

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Is the hybrid drives worth it? Just purchasing 1 Hybrid drive for everything?

or would it be better to have OS and my games+steam seperate from all my other files?
 
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edogawa

edogawa

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SSD : Operating System + Applications - 128GB is enough
Mechanical Hard drive: Data + Games - 1TB is typically enough for a standard user.

This is the optimal setup until SSD become cheaper per gigabyte. I wouldn't recommend getting a hybrid drive, at least not until western digital releases theirs.
 
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ren3gade

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But if my games are on the SSD they will boot up and load quicker right?
 
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edogawa

edogawa

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Except a few games with long load times, Skyrim for example, most games will not have a big benefit from a SSD.

General usability of Windows feels so much better on a SSD compared to the age old mechanical drive. Keep 10-20% of a SSD free too.
 
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raytseng

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SSD+HDD is better, but adds up to more expensive and takes a slight bit of organization.

1 Hybrid requires no thought, but is less flexible.

You should have all your applications that you use on the SSD, including games.
Some people go overboard and try to "save" their SSD by avoiding putting stuff there and always using HDD. This is completely counterproductive and defeats the purpose of having a fast disk.

Steam games can take a lot of space and potentially eat up your SSD.
However google "steam symlink" and you will find instructions on how to move games from your SSD to your HDD once you are done actively playing a particular game.

 
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edogawa

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Except a few games with long load times, Skyrim for example, most games will not have a big benefit from a SSD.

General usability of Windows feels so much better on a SSD compared to the age old mechanical drive. Keep 10-20% of a SSD free too.

As I mentioned above though, games wont benefit much from a SSD, maybe a couple seconds at most quicker. Skyrim is the only game that takes more than 10 seconds to load for me, but it's heavily modded.
 
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ren3gade

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This makes sense to me as I play online games like Gmod, CS:S, CS:GO, Elder Scrolls Online, which wont benefit much from a SSD. So I think I will get a 1TB HDD for games and storage, and a SSD for Windows & Apps.

But.. Which HDD do you recommend for fast speeds and reliability? (I prefer 1TB space)
and which SSD should I get if I want Windows 7 Ultimate on it + Updates + my applications? (Which SSD and how much space do I need?)
 
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edogawa

edogawa

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My two personal favorites are the Samsung 840 Pro or the Corsair GS for a SSD.

For mechanical drives you can either get a Seagate barracuda or a western digital blue or black.

The Seagate drive is cheaper, but I personally don't recommend Seagate. Western digital is very reliable, in my opinion, and I've never had one of their drives die on me.

I use a black drive for games, and works great, but it's a bit more expensive than the Seagate though, so it's up to you.


Seagate 1TB:
www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368671868&sr=8-1&keywords=seagate+1tb

Black 1TB:
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-WD1002FAEX-Internal-Desktop/dp/B0036Q7MV0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1368671888&sr=1-1&keywords=black+1tb


For SSD optimization: www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds
 
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JackNaylorPE

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About 1/3 of the builds I have done have come back with owners asking em to clean the SSD as they have maxed out the SSD's 120 GB space....and these all have just the OS and nothing else that they know on them. That's because Windows wants to put things where it wants rather than where you want. If you are not an astute windows user, this may be something you don't want to do.

Recommended Hard Drives - Seagate Barracuda XT or WD Black ....The XT is faster but both have 5 year warrantees.

Recommended SSD's - Mushkin Chronos Deluxe, Patriot Wildfire, OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS, OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G, Corsair Force GS, Samsung 840 250 GB, Samsung 830 SSD 256 GB, Plextor M3 Pro 128 GB/256 GB, OCZ Vertex 4 512/256 GB, OCZ Vector 512/256 GB, Samsung 840 Pro 128 GB/256 GB

I have two laptops in my office, same model. One has an Intel 530 120 GB SSD and 750 GB HD .... the other has a 750 GB Seagate Momentus XT hybrid SSD/HD. Without running a benchmark program you can't tell which one is which. This not only saves ya some money but also eliminates the hassle of what goes where.

haven't tried it yet but there's this for moving files back and forth from SSD / HD

http://lifehacker.com/5824362/ssd-boost-manager-seamlessly-moves-files-and-programs-between-hard-drives
 
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edogawa

edogawa

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How is that even possible to fill a 120GB SSD with just the operating system, seriously? What did they do to their computers to fill up the SSD? If it's just downloads I could understand that filling it up quickly.


Don't get the XT though, western digital will have hybrid drives like that out next year which are far better, if you don't want to go with the SSD, get a normal hard drive for now.

 
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