SSD for game servers

[SpadeM]

First, hello to everyone After google-ing the subject of this thread i only came across old posts from 2008 or so about why SSD should or shouldn't be in game servers. I'm interested because as of now, i'm running 16 Counter-Strike 1.6 servers, 2 CS:S servers, team speak and a webpage off of a i7 965 with 12GB of RAM on a dedicated fiber optics 100Mbps line. I'm interested in doubling the amount of servers and maybe down the road adding new games/applications. As of now, there isn't an issue with my current setup (HDD wise, even though i use 2 old raptor drives 74GB each). What i am mostly interested in is: Do SSD make a difference in a game server enviroment? Do IOPS have a say there?

 

[japps2]

From everything I've read a ssd will not have any effect on gameplay. I read that the quicker load times are minor and absolutely no in-game benefit.

 

[japps2]

From everything I've read a ssd will not have any effect on gameplay. I read that the quicker load times are minor and absolutely no in-game benefit.

 

[japps2]

From everything I've read a ssd will not have any effect on gameplay. I read that the quicker load times are minor and absolutely no in-game benefit.

 

[Shadow703793]

The reason people said to stay away from SSDs back then was because there were massive stuttering issues with the JMicron based SSDs. This is no longer an issue with the new drives (Intel/SandForce/Indylinx). I have no idea what kind of IOPS game servers have/need, but for a traditional Server where IOPS are important, an SSD will make a pretty significant improvement over a HDD.

 

[SpadeM]

Is there any way i can test for IOPS performance of my current setup? Some monitoring tool that i can use to see how the HDD fair when all the servers are full.

 

[nativeson8803]

I disagree about performance. I have recently switched my primary drive to a G.SKILL Phoenix Pro Series 120gb SSD and I have seen a remarkable difference in the general "smoothness" of my game(s).

This has not been tested/benched with FRAPS yet because I just did it and don't have Excel installed, so it's just my observation. My game of choice is BFBC2 and I believe it's a superior experience, but when I get some actual benches I'll report back. One thing I will say, though, is that there's a whole bunch of crap you have to do to get your SSD up and running efficiently and hopefully that will someday be taken care of (i.e. drivers, various Windows settings, etc.).

 

[SpadeM]

I'm not interested in gaming on the server since it's a dedicated game server, i'm just interested in the best gaming experience for our players, meaning fast map changes, player stats, so on and so forth