SSD + 64bit = computing heaven

from JoeUser Forums

I’ve long been an advocate of migrating to a 64-bit OS and then getting as much memory as you can reasonably afford.  If you have a choice between a solid state hard drive (SSD) or lots of RAM on a 64-bit machine, get the RAM. But if you can do both, even both. 

My beloved ThinkPad T400 is outrageously fast with the combination.  It’s been a long time since I’ve used a PC that felt this fast.  It reminds me of the days when I’ve gone back and used Windows 3.1 on modern hardware where everything is so snappy. I highly recommend it.

484,731 views 173 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

My current PC is going to be upgraded with 8 gigabytes of ram (up from 2) in preparation for a 64-bit Windows 7 install when its released.

I didn't really think of using SSDs, but if prices are reasonable in the near future I might consider nabbing a pair to replace my conventional hard drives as well.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

I'll be honest and say my knowledge of 64bit vs 32bit is shameful to say the least considering the passion I have for computers. But I do look forward to building a PC next year that will have the proper hardware to us 64bit software and cram as much memory as I can afford. I look forward to Windows 7, so far from what I have heard, it's gonna be pretty good and I don't see myself going the Mac way any time soon.

SSD's sound very intriguing. I'm am somewhat of a gamer and everyone knows that when you are facing an enemy and you have guns pointing at each other, every second you can gain over the lag is crucial to your survival.

Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

The main difference is RAM.  Having more RAM means more disk caching, more "stuff" instantly available.

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Okay, I have a Quad Core CPU, 64 bit Vista and 8 GB of memory.  What will upgrading to SSD cost and is it plug and play? 

What would a SSD upgrade for a P4 CPU, XP 32 bit, 2 GB of memory system.  Okay, don't laugh to hard.

Reply #5 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Philly0381, reply 4
Okay, I have a Quad Core CPU, 64 bit Vista and 8 GB of memory.  What will upgrading to SSD cost and is it plug and play? 

What would a SSD upgrade for a P4 CPU, XP 32 bit, 2 GB of memory system.  Okay, don't laugh to hard.
End of Philly0381's quote

1. SSD costs about 30x that of traditional harddrive. It is relativly plug and play, but to get awsome performace, you really want to isntall your OS on it

2. It would still make it load stuff faster. And I am not laughting because I still have computers like that, they work fine for many things.

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Sounds like someone who is just doing some home computing and internet searching really wouldn't benefit that much from SSD then?

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

My primary development box is now a dual core laptop running 64 bit windows 7 with 4GB RAM and a 250GB SSD. It flies. I was amazed at how fast Windows 7 ran when I installed it. But with the SSD as well everything happens instantly - I am in user heaven!

Reply #8 from Demigod Forums Top

I agree Frogboy!

 

My system just flys without even thinking. Insane boot times.

 

My Rig:

Vista 64-bit Ultimate

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9400 @ 2.66GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.7GHz

CORSAIR 4GB (4094MB) DDR2 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel

Intel X25-M 80GB Sold-State Drive (SSD) - Major speed boost!

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB

 

 

I ain't hurtin B)

Reply #9 from Demigod Forums Top

Would an Intel Core 2 Duo benefit at all from a 64bit OS? I'm looking to upgrade my rig.

And I'm not sure I'm ready to dump $300 on an 80 gig drive myself...

Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Fry's has a Patriot 128GB SSD for $250.

That is quite large enough for the OS, several large apps/data files and swap file.

It has slower read times (175MB/s vs. 250MB/s), but faster write times (100MB/s vs. 70MB/s) than the Intel. But still, 175MB/s will have apps loading like lightning. A few years ago that would have taken a striped array of 8 or more HD's to achieve.

The fastest HDD, the WD Velociraptor, clocks in at just under 100MB/s for write's and just over 100MB/s for read's - for about $230.

 

My best?

The Patriot 128GB SSD for the OS, swap file and other very large apps and data files to its capacity; then a 300GB Velociraptor (or a RAID 0 setup with multiple Velociraptors if you need more than 428GB, and better still a RAID 5) for everything else.

Reply #11 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Moosetek13, reply 10
Fry's has a Patriot 128GB SSD for $250.

That is quite large enough for the OS, several large apps/data files and swap file.

It has slower read times (175MB/s vs. 250MB/s), but faster write times (100MB/s vs. 70MB/s) than the Intel. But still, 175MB/s will have apps loading like lightning. A few years ago that would have taken a striped array of 8 or more HD's to achieve.
End of Moosetek13's quote

 

Chea. My writes are ok ... but once i got threw getting everything installed its pretty nice. The 250 MB prob isn't worth the price upgrade but eh .. i wanted a SSD and was in a rush so bought from intel since i trust them and it has plenty of good reviews.

 

I gotta learn to save a lil $ lol :P.

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

I really need a 64x OS...hope W7 does ok..

Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top

Meh, my main computer is still a 3.0 Ghz P4 w/ 1 GB of RAM and an 80 GB, 7200 RPM HDD running XP 32-bit.

I would love to upgrade, haha.

As for SSD's, yeah, I'm sure they're amazing.  I imagine the seek times are less than half of the average HDD, and considering the HDD is often a choke point for a system's speed...

*drools*

Reply #14 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting pseudomelon, reply 9
Would an Intel Core 2 Duo benefit at all from a 64bit OS? I'm looking to upgrade my rig.

And I'm not sure I'm ready to dump $300 on an 80 gig drive myself...
End of pseudomelon's quote

Yes. All Core 2 Duo's are 64bit systems, so with a 64bit OS, you can have tons of ram reducing the need for page filing and faster response in general! (note you need to buy tons of ram obviously to take advange of it)

Reply #15 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting IQofSpam, reply 13
Meh, my main computer is still a 3.0 Ghz P4 w/ 1 GB of RAM and an 80 GB, 7200 RPM HDD running XP 32-bit.

I would love to upgrade, haha.

As for SSD's, yeah, I'm sure they're amazing.  I imagine the seek times are less than half of the average HDD, and considering the HDD is often a choke point for a system's speed...

*drools*
End of IQofSpam's quote

 

What seek time? Lol :P.

Reply #16 from Demigod Forums Top

So these SSD's are fast, what happens when you put them in a raid for gaming?

Reply #17 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Tassadar, reply 16
So these SSD's are fast, what happens when you put them in a raid for gaming?
End of Tassadar's quote

 

They are just ... nuts.

 

http://forums.demigodthegame.com/356452

 

Check that post Tassadar.

Reply #18 from Demigod Forums Top

So these SSD's are fast, what happens when you put them in a raid for gaming?
End of quote
Pretty much nothing as you will be limited by SATA II interface speed - unless you have some monster multichannel raid controller that will probably cost more than the entire rig :)

BTW I'm upgrading to 64bit OS soon too, though I must admit my current 32bit Leopard is pretty snappy too :D

EDIT: I'm too old I guess, didn't realise SAS controllers had so much bandwith at such cost...

Reply #19 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting themadmanazn, reply 14

Quoting pseudomelon, reply 9Would an Intel Core 2 Duo benefit at all from a 64bit OS? I'm looking to upgrade my rig.

And I'm not sure I'm ready to dump $300 on an 80 gig drive myself...
Yes. All Core 2 Duo's are 64bit systems, so with a 64bit OS, you can have tons of ram reducing the need for page filing and faster response in general! (note you need to buy tons of ram obviously to take advange of it)
End of themadmanazn's quote

About how much RAM are we talking about here? I think my MoBo kicks out at 4 gigs or so...

Reply #20 from Demigod Forums Top

pseudomelon > what mobo we talking about here, can you post a link or give a name?

Reply #21 from Sins Forums Top

ok lets clear some things up here.

1) yes SSDs are fast but for the price/size they arent worth it for almost all ppl

2)you wont gain much performance from using one unless your using a rig with less than 1 maybe 1.5 gb of ram.

3)since they are rather small (i think the largest is 160gb) they arent that good if you have tons (and i mean TONS) of stuff you'll be putting on it.

4)SSDs' are still "new" tech and are not completely mainstream yet. the ones who are buying these are extreme system builders, overclockers, and bench markers.

5)they're not like HHDs were you can just defrag them as it will mess up the files you have on them.

so a fore warning to those considering buying one of these, if your looking to improve your system your better off buying a good gpu/cpu/mobo/more ram and leaving the uneeded stuff in the store.

(just my 2 cents)

EDIT: also most motherboards top out around 8gb of ram (which is ALOT) and you dont need the most pricy stuff out there, some 800mhz ram will do nicely and only cost about $100 for 4gbs worth

Reply #22 from Demigod Forums Top

Well I have 2 Western Digital Raptors in my PC, so SSD won't be that much of an improvent. But I still love the load times games have. In WOW I used to be in a dungeon 2 to 3 times faster than any other party member.

 

Not sure if I'll upgrade to W7 64 bit. I run W7 32 now and it goes like a newly made sportscar, but I'm not sure all my gadgets work on 64 bit yet. (die, Creative Technologies :()

Reply #23 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting twifightDG, reply 22
Well I have 2 Western Digital Raptors in my PC, so SSD won't be that much of an improvent. But I still love the load times games have. In WOW I used to be in a dungeon 2 to 3 times faster than any other party member.

 

Not sure if I'll upgrade to W7 64 bit. I run W7 32 now and it goes like a newly made sportscar, but I'm not sure all my gadgets work on 64 bit yet. (die, Creative Technologies )
End of twifightDG's quote

the largest concern is diriver support for 64bit os's but since they have become more mainstream its not that big a deal especialy since most programs are made to run on either 32, 64, or both (like crysis was)

Reply #24 from Sins Forums Top


I’ve long been an advocate of migrating to a 64-bit OS
End of quote

Then how about promoting x64 even further by releasing a x64 version of Sins? It could definitively make good use of the extra RAM. On my system (x86 XP), RAM is the bottleneck for Sins.

Concerning drivers: I have a dual boot system with x64 Win7 installed and every device works flawlessly, even my Xi-Fi, of which I was expecting the greatest driver nightmares. The only thing not working is my wifi-card (D-Link DWL520+ w/ ACX111 chipset), so basicly I can't use that OS till I get a new one (any recommendations for a good x64 compatible n-draft card? -> PN).

Reply #25 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting agentx250, reply 21
ok lets clear some things up here.

1) yes SSDs are fast but for the price/size they arent worth it for almost all ppl

2)you wont gain much performance from using one unless your using a rig with less than 1 maybe 1.5 gb of ram.

3)since they are rather small (i think the largest is 160gb) they arent that good if you have tons (and i mean TONS) of stuff you'll be putting on it.

4)SSDs' are still "new" tech and are not completely mainstream yet. the ones who are buying these are extreme system builders, overclockers, and bench markers.

5)they're not like HHDs were you can just defrag them as it will mess up the files you have on them.

so a fore warning to those considering buying one of these, if your looking to improve your system your better off buying a good gpu/cpu/mobo/more ram and leaving the uneeded stuff in the store.

(just my 2 cents)

EDIT: also most motherboards top out around 8gb of ram (which is ALOT) and you dont need the most pricy stuff out there, some 800mhz ram will do nicely and only cost about $100 for 4gbs worth
End of agentx250's quote

 

Majority of your post is true ... EXCEPT...

 

"2)you wont gain much performance from using one unless your using a rig with less than 1 maybe 1.5 gb of ram."

 

WRONG. I have 4 GB of ram and used to have a standard 180GB 7,200 RPM hard-drive.

 

I switched to my "Intel X25-M 80GB Sold-State Drive (SSD)" and i have noticed a HUGEEEEEEEEEEE difference.

So i would do some PERSONAL research yourself befor you just say like you know everything about them ... because my Vista boot times went from 1min or so to about 15-20 seconds.

 

If you don't call that a improvement or ... "you won't gain much performance" then ... idk what to tell you.