SSD or better graphics card?

Krohnny · May 11, 2015

I'm building my first computer and have most of my components decided on, and have already bought a case, ram, and a hard drive. The issue i'm facing is whether I should buy an SSD (preferably a cheaper model around 90 USD) or spend the extra money on a better graphics card since I already have a hard drive. I can afford an R9 270 with an SSD but I can get anything up to a 280X without an SSD. Which would be the best option? I'll mostly be playing games like Skyrim (lightly modded), League of Legends, Planet Side 2 and Kerbal Space Program (heavily modded).

SBMfromLA · May 11, 2015

You need to decide on what your style of usage will be. If you will mostly be gaming... then get the 280X since an SSD won't make your games play any faster... If you want a faster boot time with a faster launch for programs... then get the SSD. You should not buy something you won't be happy with or will regret (like the 270).

You didn't say what GPU you are currently using. If it's at least an 8800 or 6850... then I would probably think about getting the SSD and picking up a new graphics card later. So many factors to consider.

lunyone · May 11, 2015

Short answer is:
If you want better gaming, go with the better GPU (280x in this case).
If you want faster boot times and quicker movement in and around the desktop, then buy the SSD.

It'll be easier to add an SSD down the road (and I'm sure they will be cheaper then they currently are), so keep that in mind. An SSD is all that I buy now for boot/OS drives, but that is just me. If I was building a budget gaming system now, it would be hard not to get the better GPU over an SSD. On the other hand, if your fine with your current GPU (you didn't mention that you had one) I would wait a bit more and get the SSD now.

atheus · May 11, 2015

To be honest I'd just grab the SSD and wait until June to decide on a graphics card. The options and prices for graphics cards will be far better after Computex on June 2nd, if not before. Like lunyone, I wouldn't even consider building a new PC today without an SSD unless it were some $300 budget system or som'n.

yeskay · May 11, 2015

Krohnny :

With regard to gaming:
SSDs are good, If you prefer faster loading of game levels, other than that you won't see any noticeable performance difference while gaming.

With regard to daily home and professional work:
They quickly boot up your PC (from the time you turn on the PC to loading into OS will be like less than 20 secs), faster launching of hardware intensive applications like Photoshop, 3DS Max, Sony Vegas, Adobe Premier etc.

Come benefits regardless of your work:
- Faster loading of applications (keep in mind, game is also an application).
- Also they are less vulnerable to vibration than traditional hard drives, hence offers more reliability.
- Consumes very less power.

So after considering these points, I would say go for a better graphics card rather than a SSD if your on a "tight budget & gaming is your priority", as with regard to in game performance SSD offers nothing to negligible performance benefits.

Cheers!

Krohnny · May 12, 2015

SBMfromLA :

Yeah, I guess i'll just get a 280X and wait a while for an SSD. Right now i'm using an hp pavilion with an A-10 APU in it and its just barely pushing through games like skyrim at low settings at 1080p. It has a lot of problems (had to replace the hard drive because it was corrupting my windows install) and I want to replace my laptop as soon as possible before it dies on me.

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