The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    SSD as a storage vs. SSD as a boot drive

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Aznkorealee, Jul 6, 2011.

  1. Aznkorealee

    Aznkorealee Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    121
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Hi everyone,

    So I was thinking of putting my Steam games in a SSD and run games from the SSD via USB 3.0 (or eSata) but then I came to a question of will that configuration speed up the loading time of the games stored in the SSD compare to having the SSD as a boot device and store some Steam games there?

    Since SSD costs so much per GB, I'm thinking of picking up a 60GB and either store it with just games, OR install the OS and store some games and then let the laptop boot the OS in the SSD.... both connected via USB 3.0 or eSata.

    So which is faster? I'm assuming the SSD as a boot drive with some games will be faster but how much of a difference in performance are there?

    Thanks
     
    Aznkorealee, Jul 6, 2011
    #1
  2. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

    Reputations:
    5,398
    Messages:
    12,692
    Likes Received:
    2,717
    Trophy Points:
    631
    If you can use the following link to move your 'users' folder to another HDD, then I could (possibly) recommend getting a 60GB SSD.

    See:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...gramdata-folder-separate-drive-partition.html


    If you don't have a two drive bay system - I say don't bother with SSD's until you can afford at least a 160GB or larger unit. The smaller SSD's have too many compromises with certain performance aspects slower than a good mechanical HDD (like the properly partitioned Scorpio Black 750GB model, for example).
     
    tilleroftheearth, Jul 6, 2011
    #2
  3. EnglishCoder

    EnglishCoder Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I'd also recommend not going with a 60GB drive, but think 120GB/128GB are also good drives to go for, and as fast as the 160GB drives tiller is referring to. But, use the SSD as a boot drive with some games on, as many games don't get large performance boosts from being on an SSD (so leave them on an external HD).
     
    EnglishCoder, Jul 6, 2011
    #3
  4. Aznkorealee

    Aznkorealee Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    121
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    So what you are saying is that games don't get large performance boost huh?

    I actually have the Scorpio Black 750GB on my laptop. I guess I'll just stick to that than going out to buy a 120GB SSD.

    I just think the current SSD prices are tad bit too much for me. Well that's my view of it.
     
    Aznkorealee, Jul 6, 2011
    #4
  5. EnglishCoder

    EnglishCoder Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    If you put an SSD in your laptop, you'll be amazed at how fast it boots, copies files, runs applications etc, and for some games they will load much faster... but, if it's just games you want to load faster, you'll need to research how much faster those games will load, and then make your decision.
     
    EnglishCoder, Jul 6, 2011
    #5
  6. Aznkorealee

    Aznkorealee Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    121
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Alright, I guess I'll search for those info before making my decisions :)

    Properly partitioned Scorpio black??? Is there a golden ratio for boot/storage drive sizes? Personally, I hate making partitions because I find it nuisance to either transfer files over from OS to Storage partitions...
     
    Aznkorealee, Jul 6, 2011
    #6
  7. aintz

    aintz Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    34
    Messages:
    588
    Likes Received:
    3
    Trophy Points:
    31
    partitioning does help. make a small sector where you want to store your windows/some essential programs, then the rest as storage.

    as i understand the smaller the first partition the faster it will be.

    but upgrading to a ssd is just so much faster. i was running raid 0 velociraptors 150gbx2 on my desktop before switching to a intel g2 80gb ssd. the change in access time and read speed was very very impressive. WoW loading time was particularly noticable
     
    aintz, Jul 6, 2011
    #7
  8. wkearney99

    wkearney99 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    66
    Messages:
    212
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Partitioning will do NOTHING to improve speed. All sectors on an SSD are accessed at the same speed. Partitioning on an HD can actually make things slower. Size of a partition will do nothing appreciable to affect the speed.
     
    wkearney99, Jul 6, 2011
    #8
  9. paulieg

    paulieg Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    This. There is a huge difference in boot times, running apps, loading games etc, but only you can decide if the the trade off of space for speed is worth it. I find that easy with my desktop, as I run my OS on my SSD's and use a platter drive for storage. For me, it's not yet worth exchanging in my lappy, since I can only have one drive installed.
     
    paulieg, Jul 6, 2011
    #9
  10. EnglishCoder

    EnglishCoder Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    For me, a 128GB drive in my Laptop is perfect, as I don't have lots of media files stored on it.
     
    EnglishCoder, Jul 7, 2011
    #10
  11. Aznkorealee

    Aznkorealee Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    121
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Well, I just ordered a drive caddy bay for my laptop, which will replace the optical drive with the caddy. So I do have room for one more drive. Yeah, I guess the ultimate showdown is speed vs. space.

    Either i choose space and stick in my extra 2.5" HDD in it or buy a 120GB SSD... hmmm decisions, decisions lol
     
    Aznkorealee, Jul 8, 2011
    #11
  12. DEagleson

    DEagleson Gamer extraordinaire

    Reputations:
    2,529
    Messages:
    3,107
    Likes Received:
    30
    Trophy Points:
    116
    If you got a dual drive system, and can afford it, a setup of a 120gb+ SSD and a big HDD for storage is the way to go.

    My setup is a snappy Intel SSD 510 120gb and a big 500gb hybrid hdd for storage.
     
    DEagleson, Jul 8, 2011
    #12
  13. EnglishCoder

    EnglishCoder Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    79
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    +1 for the 120+GB SSD, and relegate your Scorpio Black 750GB HDD to the caddy!
     
    EnglishCoder, Jul 8, 2011
    #13
  14. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

    Reputations:
    5,398
    Messages:
    12,692
    Likes Received:
    2,717
    Trophy Points:
    631
    tilleroftheearth, Jul 8, 2011
    #14