want to buy an SSD

[hoofhearted4]

so i wanna buy an SSD. im going to stick it in my laptop for now, then when i build my PC (~6 months from now) ill stick it in there, and also have a 1TB drive to go with it. im just not sure if i want a 128gb or a 256gb SSD.

 

now let me start off i can afford either one, however, if i find out i dont need 256gb of SSD then ofc id rather save the $100 and put that towards something better in my desktop PC when i build it (ie a GTX 670 instead of a 660Ti).

 

im really just posting here to see what others have for space and how much of it they use and what they have left. ive tried looking around to see how much Windows 7 takes up, i cant find a definitive answer, but im assuming 40gb and hoping thats over estimating. ive gone through and looked at games id like to have on the SSD and they would just barely fit on the 128gb.

 

questions i really have is what benefits from an SSD? i know games all in all dont really, maybe some lower load times, good for maybe FONV or DA:O or something. in addition to those games, most of the other the games id put on it probably wont even benefit from it (StarCraft 2 or C&C: Generals)....do things like Anti-virus programs benefit from an SSD? would i want to put those on there? is there anything else id want on there? anything that is useless to put there (as in the games i listed? or anything else that people put there but there is no benefit?)

 

im hoping youll all convince me that 128gb is more then plenty, but if you really suggest the 256gb, well it is within my reach and ill take all opinions and info you all can give me into consideration when i buy the SSD. i hope to buy within the next day or two :D

[Erik005]

The problem is that as the ssd gets full it gets slower, 128GB isn't a lot.

 

I have about 40gb left on my ssd but this is on a desktop I move big files to my regular hard-drive and games are on my hard-drive to.

 

So go with 256gb.

[hoofhearted4]

idk. i mean i only see myself putting Windows on the SSD as well as the larger open world games like DAO and FONV. games like SC2 and C&C and LoL dont have load times past the initial start up so wouldnt benefit from an SSD. and the few seconds at start up wouldnt be worth the $100 to get the bigger drive to hold them imo, whereas FONV and DAO load every time you go into a new section, so an SSD would help with those in game load times wouldnt it?

 

im not against getting the 256gb SSD, but "because you should" isnt enough of a reason for me.

[Erik005]

I think you are close or over 128gb with the games and windows.

 

You can also replace your optical drive with a ssd or harddrive.

[Nysba]

128GB is easily enough if you have a 1TB hard drive, as long as you don't put every single game that's 20GB in size on the SSD. I've never had less than 50GB free space on my 128GB, and I've had WoW and Skyrim and Oblivion on there from time to time.

[hoofhearted4]

yea. for the most part i plan on having Windows 7 (ofc) on my SSD and as i said, any game that has in game load times. FONV, DAO, DA2 and thats about it. if i find i still have a ton of space after then, then ill consider adding other common games i play or applications like my antiviruses.

 

assuming W7 only takes up 40gb (which i dont think it does, i just wanna over estimate) FONV, DAO, and DA2 take up under 40gb between the 3. that leaves another ~48gb of free space. my anti virus programs take up a little over 1gb if i put those there. Steam is under 30gb, but that includes FONV i would think.

 

im very heavily leaning towards a 128gb drive. a 256gb would be an extra $100 only to put games on it that dont need to be there. dont get me wrong, having the bigger SSD would be nice then there would be no issues with anything id want on it, and even though i have the money for it, its still money ive had to save, and i think id rather save the $100.

[hoofhearted4]

ok. i simply couldnt wait anymore. i got myself too psyched up about getting an SSD so i bought the 128gb one. for the purpose of my laptop, it might be a little small i may have to uninstall and install games as i want to play them, but i have to think more of the long run. 128gb will be more then plenty for my desktop. especially with a 1tb HDD.

 

thanks for your guy's opinions and suggestions. worst case scenario, i could always buy a second 128gb SSD and RAID it, and it would be the same price as buying one 256gb SSD, maybe less if they drop in price by the time id want a second one, but thats just speaking hypothetically.

 

again thanks all! cant wait to be getting this in the next couple of days!

[Vecna6667]

One way to make efficient use of an SSD space is using the mklink command to create symbolic links. The following link shows how to use the command in Vista and it works the same way in 7:

 

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/howto_use_symbolic_links_master_vistas_file_system

 

One warning, both the Link name and the location it points to need to be in quotes. Example: mklink /D "D:\Photos" "\\192.168.1.4\photos".

 

If you don't want to mess around with the command line, line you can get Steam Mover from numerous download sites like cnet. Just Google Steam Mover. Here is a youtube link on how to use Steam Mover:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irCZDF2h6Ys

 

Also there is a beta version of Steam(emphasis on beta), that allows you to choose where to install games.

 

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/09/12/steam-finally-adds-choice-of-installation-drive/

 

Games that you install from DVD but don't need steam can be installed anywhere.

[FMod]

I just use FAR Powerpack. If you're used to Norton Commander and Windows Commander, its interface will come naturally. You just press Alt-F6 and presto, symbolic links.

 

FAR is also a very powerful file manager, doing things like uploading files from an archive into a different format archive on a FTP server while mass-renaming them to a new pattern as transparently as if you were moving them around your own hard drive.

[Vecna6667]

I just use the command line mklink command myself because I am used to the command line myself. To answer the question on how much space Windows 7 takes up, it is 16 GB before all the drivers and Service Pack 1. With the 223 GB of my Vertex 2 240 GB(I really wish drive manufacturers listed the drive's binary capacity rather than its decimal capacity,) I have 155 GB free after New Vegas, Skyrim, and Portal 2 installed on the SSD along with Microsoft Security Essentials, Malewarebytes, Spbot S&D, Super Anti-Spyware, VLC and LibreOffice. Edited September 23, 2012 by Vecna6667