Is a SSD really worth it?

[Shaidz]

Is the performance increase really noticable and is it worth it? I plan to just have my OS on it in my gaming build but I feel that I might be better off ditching the SSD and getting a 7950 or something instead. It would be great for someone with an SSD to explain how noticable the difference is and if it is worth it. Here is my build as it currently stands:

i5 3570K
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
MSI Z77A-G45
8GB KIT 1600 Kingston Hyper-X
1TB Westen Digital Blue
Samsung 830 Series 64GB SSD
Radeon HD 7870 Saphire O/C
Antec Eleven Hundred
Corsair CX600 v2 600W
Samsung SATA DVD Optical Drive

Thankyou!

 

[mclovits]

Good lord, go for the 7950 all day long, I have an SSD for my OS, sure it's faster when booting or running apps off of it, but don't prioritize it over the GPU. I would say in this case, it's not worth it.

 

[jitpublisher]

Is the performance increase really noticable and is it worth it? I plan to just have my OS on it in my gaming build but I feel that I might be better off ditching the SSD and getting a 7950 or something instead. It would be great for someone with an SSD to explain how noticable the difference is and if it is worth it. Here is my build as it currently stands:

i5 3570K
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
MSI Z77A-G45
8GB KIT 1600 Kingston Hyper-X
1TB Westen Digital Blue
Samsung 830 Series 64GB SSD
Radeon HD 7870 Saphire O/C
Antec Eleven Hundred
Corsair CX600 v2 600W
Samsung SATA DVD Optical Drive

Thankyou!

The choice you are making between these 2 parts is tough. The 7950 would be better for pure gaming reasons, the SSD would be vastly better for just about everything else you do with your computer, except play games. Make no mistake, for just about everything else, an SSD does make a dramatic difference, and it will cut level and load time on your games to practically nothing. No modern build is complete without one, in my opinion. So, its your choice. If it were me, would scrape up the extra money somehow to get both.

 

[Shaidz]

The choice you are making between these 2 parts is tough. The 7950 would be better for pure gaming reasons, the SSD would be vastly better for just about everything else you do with your computer, except play games. Make no mistake, for just about everything else, an SSD does make a dramatic difference, and it will cut level and load time on your games to practically nothing. No modern build is complete without one, in my opinion. So, its your choice. If it were me, would scrape up the extra money somehow to get both.

Thankyou for your reply I think I might raise my budget a bit and include both since this is my first rig and I will probably have it for a long time so I may as well make it worthwhile.

 

[jnkweaver]

Did I miss it? What resolution are you planning to run your games at?

 

[Shaidz]

Did I miss it? What resolution are you planning to run your games at?

Sorry, I didn't include that. I will be just playing games on a single 1080p monitor.

 

[madbiker]

lol

 

[jnkweaver]

At 1920x1080 the difference in the 2 cards is 2-10fps with the higher difference being in the 100fps or above range (except for crysis). Once you are over 70-80 fps I question whether you notice without the software to tell you. I have an SSD in my system and I love the fast boot time in the morning and the fast reboot on software installs.

You should make the decision based on the games you plan to play.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7870-review-benchmark,3148-6.html

 

[Alespiller]

Thankyou for your reply I think I might raise my budget a bit and include both since this is my first rig and I will probably have it for a long time so I may as well make it worthwhile.

From what I have been reading today the Seagate Momentus 750Gb / 8GB SSD hybrid drive makes a really worthwhile improvement over a normal drive though not as much a bigger stand alone SSD say 120Gb. My laptop builder charges £25 for the Seagate Momentus 750Gb more than a Seagate 750Gb ordinary drive.

Might be worth considering using the hybrid if you want to save some money and can stand having a 750 Gb drive rather than the 1tb you originally specced.

 

[Computered]

Is the performance increase really noticable and is it worth it? I plan to just have my OS on it in my gaming build but I feel that I might be better off ditching the SSD and getting a 7950 or something instead. It would be great for someone with an SSD to explain how noticable the difference is and if it is worth it.

Later in this thread you mention you game at 1080. I can tell you moving from a 7850 to a 7950 at 1080 when playing Skryim or Borderlands 2 made no difference in my game play experience. I am not going to tell you that my frame rates did not go up but I play at the same settings and resolution and with the 7850 my game were smooth, I mean how much smother do you need than no lag, and no stutter?

The move to an SSD however will make a notice difference in the way your system feels in day to day use. The video card, if you noticed the difference would only be seen in games, the SSD will make the system have a snappier feel in EVERYTHING it does.

Based on your build, I would saty with the SSD.

 

[Shaidz]

Best answer selected by Shaidz.