Hard Drive space - various games

Just curious as to how much HD space various modern games are using as I'm trying to decide what size to get. I've been away from PC gaming for a few years and have been console gaming. What about games like Half Life 2 and FEAR, or Tiger Woods, Sims, Civilization, etc.? Also, does hard drive speed effect games much? I'll probably be getting the i9400 or E1705 and I know they have the 7800 which probably makes HD speed a non-issue. Thanks!

 

Actually on the bigger game HD speed matters. Depending on if it is extending the RAM onto your HD it could slow it down. Also when you are installing games the HD matters because it will install quicker on a 5200 than a 4200.

Also if you plan on playing alot of modern games I would suggest at least an 80GB hard drive. I think Fear itself takes up like 5GB.

 

Thanks for the info. I guess a more specific question would be...on the E1705/i9400 will a 7200rpm have any noticeable gameplay difference from the 5400 keeping in mind I'll have 1GB ram, the 7800 and the 1.83 dual core?

 

I still have slowdown playing Fear and WoW when I am loading levels and zones. So you might want the 7200 or 2GB of RAM.

 

I think the average is around 4GB of hard drive space being required from what I have seen, and I have most of the latest games - FEAR, Quake 4, CoD 2, BF2, etc.

If you are going to play games [especially the latest], then I'd recommend 2GB of RAM, 1.5 would be good too. 1GB is getting to be the minimum.

The 7200RPM hard drive will only show an increase in performance when you load a level, etc. Not in actual performance of your video card, processor, etc. I'd focus on the RAM more than the HDD.

 

Cool. Thanks guys. I don't really mind waiting for levels to load (when it means saving some $) and my music and photos, etc. are all maintained on my Powerbook so I'll probably end up going with the 60.

The E1705 comes with 1 OR 2 GB dual channel RAM. I can choose the 1GB and then get the additional 1gig from elsewhere and add it in there right? Dell is charging $244 for the 2nd gig...

 

I wouldn't suggest buying RAM from computer manufacterers as they tend to rip you off. Go to newegg... they sell 2 gigs for 140-160 max

 

Get the 1GB option for 1 So-Dimm...or else they will give you 2x512MB. You want either a 1GB stick and buy the second or you will have to buy 2x1GB sticks from newegg...which will still be cheaper than upgrading it from Dell.

Edit: Then you can sell the 2x512MB sticks on Ebay. That is what I am going to do.

 

There are only two options for the E1705:

1.) 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz [Included in Price]

2.) 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz [add $244 or $7/month2]

So that's 2 512s and 2 1gigs right? If that's the case and I want to upgrade to 2GB from newegg.com, then I'll have to buy TWO 1gig Dimms...like these? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144183

That's actually about $70 cheaper than just configuring the laptop with 2GB from the factory. So will that work on the new E1705's? Only problem is it's slower than the Dell's.

 

It appears as if the DDR2-667 memory is quite rare right now for notebooks. I would still get the minimum from Dell and then upgrade, unless it proves cheaper to get it from them, which I doubt.

Those So-DIMM's you linked Cygnus are DDR2-533, not the DDR2-667 that the E1705 needs. They would still work, but not run as fast. I am not sure how much of a performance increase there is from 533 to 667, but I am sure it can't be signifigant. Still, I would get the 667 because it will be somewhat faster.