Should I split my 120GB SSD in half for new Z68 build?

[ohforfs]

Hi folks,

I am upgrading from Core 2/4870 to a new Z68 build with a 2500k and directcu 6950 2GB with 8GB RAM and a 120GB Vertex 3 SSD. I was wondering if I could ask your opinion on what the best use of my SSD would be please? I have a Steam collection of 212 Steam games at last count, with Rift being the biggest at around 20GB.

I am wondering which of the following would be a better idea:

(a) Use the 120GB as a normal C drive but only have so many games "loaded" in the steam folder at any one time, but being able to lift a game off of my backup steam folder (on D drive) if I am going to play it for a bit. I generally am only playing 2 or 3 games in any one week, plus I like to keep Civ 4 available for multiplay.

(b) Split the 120GB drive 80/40, with 80GB as the C drive, 40GB operating as the new SSD cache for Z68, and a HDD "D" drive with all my steam games on it, caching "D" with the 40GB cache partition I have created.

What do you think guys? I just can't make my mind up!

Thanks for your help,

Kevin

 

[IndyColtsFan]

That's a good question and I was about to post a similar question. Like you, I'm in the process of building a Z68 system. I have an Intel 120 GB G2 SSD and was wondering if I should split it like you mention or if I should buy a small, cheap SSD to use as a dedicated SSD cache. Also, if I have my hard drives in a RAID0 config, is there even that much of a benefit to SSD caching?

 

[ohforfs]

You really should read up a bit on the caching articles Anand wrote. Plus this one at Hardcop: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/05/11/intel_smart_response_technology_srt/6

I might run Raid 0 on the HD if I do decide to split the SSD. The article I linked will answer your query about different types of drive used as cache - really only the new Sandforce ones come close to the Intel 311 SLC.

Noow... back to my question

 

[Spikesoldier]

i would just go with option A since the ssd you have is pretty large. just load up your most modern and your most frequently played games on it, like RIFT.

IMO the cache drive loses its appeal if you already have a large, primary ssd; moreso if you obtain another vertex 3 down the road and throw them into RAID0.

i wont discredit the increase in performance SRT gives for data thats on the hdd though, its just the luster is lost once your primary stuff is on solid state anyway.

 

[ohforfs]

Yea you have a point there. If i get used to scenario (a) and can make that work, it would be hard settling with scenario (b).

I don't play more than 3 or 4 different games in a week, so with (a) maybe it's just a matter of switching in and out a couple of games every so often.

I can't think of much else I do that will take up space. Though, if I get used to compiling from the SSD I might not be happy having my sources on a HDD. My project atm isn't too huge, so maybe it will be ok.

Virtual machines is an issue though - I can't see a way around that, I will have to run my virtual machines of HDD. VMWare eats up space like nobodies business!

Typically I have 2 or 3 VM's running (though no need to frequently reload them), a couple of Putty or SSH terminals, Netbeans, Notepad++ and a couple of other small things. Thankfully I don't work on Visual studio, though I may have to switch over to Eclipse for some Android work.

 

[know of fence]

With solution (a)
+ you get the maximum speed and you needn't listen to your HDD rattle.
+ Also people have been partitioning drives into C:System Data forever, and now this divide has materialized in a meaningful way.

- SSD caching (b) seems like an uneasy compromise solution for convenience, like hybrid cars.
- Like RAID it just increases risk of failure
- Like RAID it does nothing to increase RANDOM read speeds even makes those worse

 

[abaez]

Keep it as a 120gb drive and use steam mover http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover to move your games back and forth as needed.

 

[Qbah]

Keep it as a 120gb drive and use steam mover http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover to move your games back and forth as needed.

This. I use SteamTool myself though - http://www.stefanjones.ca/steam/

Install Steam on a regular drive and use one of the above tools to move games to your SSD. Zero issues and it works perfectly!

 

[ohforfs]

BIG thanks for the last two posts especially guys! I didn't know there were utilities to do it - saves me loads of time, thanks!!

I will go with option (a) then.

 

[notty22]

Intel sells a 20gb ssd as a SRT option, so you could still set SRT up using only 20-30gb and see if you feel benefits to your platter HD.
I believe this is something you can configure at any time. As long as you don't fill the whole ssd up. Define size of cache, and select which HD to cache.

edit: for example , the momentux XT hybrid drives only use a 4gb ssd onboard.

 

[ohforfs]

Either of those options are expensive though. I think I will stick with the Steam switchout idea as that is really the only thing I can see that would send me over the 120GB

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I have a question. I see that Newegg has an OCZ 30 GB SSD for $50 after rebate. I currently have a 120 GB SSD that I was planning on dedicating to the OS and select apps; in your opinions, is it worth the money to buy the 30 GB SSD and make it the dedicated cache for the hard drive? I'm just trying to think ahead and maybe conserve as much space on my 120 GB drive as possible.

 

[GotNoRice]

On my old P45 motherboard I had the OS installed on my 80GB Intel X25-M G2 and that barely left enough room for maybe 2 games after that. It was always a compromise on what I could have on the SSD at any given time and I ended up installing tons of "less important" apps/games directly onto mechanical drives instead because I really had no choice.

Now with Intel SRT I use my SSD as a 64GB (max) cache for two 500gb drives in Raid-0. I have an entire Terabyte to work with and I get 95% the responsiveness of running on the SSD directly in most situations. Before, I was considering getting a 2nd SSD for more room, but that would have cost me more than my new motherboard did and I would have still ended up with only 160GB to work with. The 64GB cache left me with 11gb or so free on the SSD, which I used for the pagefile.

It's really an amazing tech. You might decide that the OS is worth it to put on your SSD but that still includes tons of random windows files that don't really need to be there. You might decide that you want one of your favorite games on your SSD, but that doesn't necessarily mean you really want every single map on the SSD or the entire single-player campaign loaded on the SSD, etc. Not to mention the hassle of having to use symbolic links or some ghetto program to move individual steam games away from the main steam folder. With Intel's block-level caching only what you use gets cached, so even within individual apps, games, etc it's only caching what you use and not the entire app/game. With your OS it's only caching the parts that you use and not touching other crap like help files or Spider Solitaire, etc.

I don't notice any reduction in performance when loading games that have been cached (anything I use more than once a week) compared to stuff that was loaded directly onto my SSD before. Now, it's almost like I have a 1-Terabyte SSD.

 

[LokutusofBorg]

There are quite a few SSDs worth buying (not crap) that are selling for or less than $1/GB. $60 for a 60GB SSD for SRT seems worth it to me, if you really want to see the performance.

 

[Puppies04]

Keep it as a 120gb drive and use steam mover http://www.traynier.com/software/steammover to move your games back and forth as needed. abaez is offline Report Post

This. I use SteamTool myself though - http://www.stefanjones.ca/steam/

Awsome i didn't know you could do this, cheers guys.