Setting up a new SSD into a currently-working gaming PC

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ccjmk

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I'm about to buy a SSD for my recent build, but i'm uncertain about how big a SSD to target and how/if a "soft-landing" is possible; specifically:

a) I currently have a 1 TB HDD, can't recall the model now (will check later today) where I've just recently made a fresh Win8.1 install with my usual apps, steam & games. Is there some way to easily migrate this data to the SSD for me to boot from there without the need of re-installing windows & apps into the SSD ? (I'm afraid of having boot problems or else after installing the SSD)

b) Focus is on gaming performance; I usually play through Steam, should I install OS and Steam+games on the SSD or leave only the OS on the SSD and keep Steam+games on the HDD to take advantage of the double interface (OS leaching from one SATA while games leaching from another)??

c) Related to above, I guess that for OS + Steam&Games I should go for a 500GB SSD; but if the better call is to keep OS and games appart, is 128GB enough or should I target for a 256GB SSD?

Thanks a lot for any help provided!
 
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geofelt
a) The easy way is to use a free ssd migration app that will convert your hard drive to a ssd.
Samsung and Intel are two that I have used. They are proprietary in that each will only convert to Samsung or intel ssd's. It is a safe process since your original hard drive is left unchanged.

b) Performance for games will be better if games are on the ssd, along with the os. Sequential performance of a ssd is 3x that of the best hard drive, so level loads will be faster.
Consider the source, but Samsung argues that a ssd can help fps:
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/global/html/why/forGamer.html

c) Larger ssd's perform a bit better. They have more nand chips that can be read in parallel.
Moreover...
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Suztera

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Ideally, a fresh install on the SSD is better but there are cloning tools if you want to use them.
Steam is easy to move around without needing to redownload the games.
Put games that have long loading times on the SSD to boot loading times else there is not much benefit with the SSD for gaming. I would out the rest of the games on the hard drive.
Right now 256GB is the sweet spot with pricing. if you think you can manage a 128GB SSD, you can get that or if you want a 500GB SSD just case then get that. It all depends on how much you will use.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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a) The easy way is to use a free ssd migration app that will convert your hard drive to a ssd.
Samsung and Intel are two that I have used. They are proprietary in that each will only convert to Samsung or intel ssd's. It is a safe process since your original hard drive is left unchanged.

b) Performance for games will be better if games are on the ssd, along with the os. Sequential performance of a ssd is 3x that of the best hard drive, so level loads will be faster.
Consider the source, but Samsung argues that a ssd can help fps:
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/global/html/why/forGamer.html

c) Larger ssd's perform a bit better. They have more nand chips that can be read in parallel.
Moreover, it is easier to manage one large space. Many things want to go on the "C" drive. 120gb will fill up quickly and lose performance.
I would opt for a single 500gb ssd. Repurpose your hard drive for backups or large files such as videos.
 
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ccjmk

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Having a full 1tb available on the other HDD, i'll probably keep music, videos, ISOs and miscellaneous stuff on the HDD.. Sadly steam doesn't allow to have games in different drives, they all need to be inside the SteamApps folder alongside Steam's files, so that "put games that have long loading times on the SSD" is only possible if I move them ALL (except for standalone, non-steam games, but those are the least)

As of ingame loading times (e.g. when loading maps on Battlefield/else, or when loading chunks of terrain when walking around in Skyrim, for example), those are also influenced by the SSD higher speed? That could definitely push towards buying a higher-capacity SSD to be able to accomodate the games.
 
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ccjmk

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Thanks for your replies! I've been checking on my available stores (Argentina), and 500GB SSDs make increible jumps in pricing: e.g samsung 850 evo 500gb is 425 US$. Will a 250GB be enough for OS + games + a couple IDEs (probably just VS community + Eclipse + one or two DB managers) so long as I keep my game count limited?

(I can always backup SteamApp folders for specific heavyweight games i'm not planning on playing often into the HDD and restore them + "Verify local content integrity" on Steam when I want to play them)
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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I have 5 games fairly large games installed on 256 GB SSD storage (two 128 GB drives in RAID 0 ), and have enough space for a 6th or 7th I would guess. You can look up game sizes and see what you will be OK to install.

I have all my programs on the SSD, only thing the regular hard drive holds is the My Documents folder and media (movies, music, downloads, books, etc...)
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Games come in different sizes.
My personal usage is a total or 200gb used which includes some10-12 games. Some large, some small.
And a file of photos, perhaps 12gb.
It is the videos that will take up lots of space and they properly go on a hard drive.

If budget is an issue, you can go with 240gb. If you run out of room, just clone again to a larger 500gb ssd.
That is what I did.
I kept the old 240gb as a backup. I know it works and in the event I get a virus or whatever, I will not have to reinstall all my apps and programs.
 
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