What are your thoughts on getting an SSD for Arma 2?

**|Alex124|** · 07-20-2011, 02:35 PM

It's been almost a year since I've touched my computer and I'm starting to get that upgrade "itch."

CPU: Core i5-750 (OC @ 4.2ghz)
RAM: 8GB
GPU: ATI 5870 (OC @ 1ghz gore-clock)

What do you guys think about getting an SSD like the Vertex 3 and do you think that it would make any noticeable difference in-game?

**ChiefBoatsRet** · 07-20-2011, 03:24 PM

I have found because of the fast loading with a SSD that there is no stuttering and the game runs much smoother . I have a Crucial C300 64 gb for my OS and some apps, an OCZ Vertex2 80gb for my games and use a 500gb sata HDD for everything else. I got the SSD's when Newegg had them on sale, you don't need a huge expensive SSD for your OS because most of your apps and storage are just fine on your regular HDD.

**Grunt 70** · 07-20-2011, 03:33 PM

I have an OCZ Vertex 2 as well. Mostly due to the strength of Chief's recommendation on performance with ARMA. I can't see NOT having one now. It's a key upgrade, especially for ARMA players.

**Wicks** · 07-21-2011, 10:07 AM

Best bang for your buck upgrade around, especially for Arma. The difference is huge, you have a really nice rig so the HDD is the only bottleneck in terms of Arma performance.

**Jeepo** · 07-21-2011, 10:18 AM

Agree, I got an Intel SSD, and it has totally changed my game experience. Things load so fast, and their is no delay in textures like their used to be with my RAID array. Great upgrade.

**Unkl** · 07-21-2011, 12:47 PM

What size SSD are you guys using & how? I'm seeing average about $200ish bucks for the 100 Gigs and wondering how that could do my OS & games...seems small.

**ChiefBoatsRet** · 07-21-2011, 01:18 PM

You only need it big enough for your OS, Arma and a few apps, everything else can go on your HDD. Why waste space on a SSD for storage and apps that don't need that speed? You only get so many writes to the nand memory on a ssd in it's lifetime so don't waste then on stuff that doesn't need it it. There are things to know about SSd's before you jump into them, go to the OCZ forums and read about problems that never occur with regular HHD. I haven't run into those problems yet but they are out there so do some research before you buy.

**Wicks** · 07-22-2011, 02:30 AM

Chief is right, whilst some brands offer amazing speeds like OCZ etc reliability is something you may wish to consider. I went with an Intel 120 GB SSD as they seem to post the best stats reliability wise.

You can chase theoretical speeds, particularly if you have a SATA 3 motherboard however the jump in speed on any SSD over a mechanical HD is exponential, you will be pleased whichever one you choose. If you can get the fastest and take advantage of SATA 3 then do it, but anything that is going to hold the OS and my precious Arma install needs to be as solid and reliable as possible.

At present I have the following installed on mine-
- Win 7 64
- Arma 2 + a ton of mods
- Sony Vegas 10
- Project Reality BF
- Bad Company 2
- Mass Effect 2
- Teamspeak
- Incidental OS linked programs

It's nearly full but I will be trimming it down at the weekend. If anyone wants a more detailed breakdown so they can make an educated estimate on space requirement let me know. I've got a program that gives an easy breakdown.

**sapientiea** · 07-23-2011, 03:57 AM

I'm running:

Win7 x64 pro
Intel core 2 quad q8400 2.66GHz (OC 3.8GHz)
ATI HD9650 (stock for now)
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB (Win7, BF2-PR, ARMAII, and multiple programs--> free space: 47.5GB! )
4Gb RAM Kingston HyperX

The difference it made when I switched to a SSD was enormous, all games load faster, windows boots up under 40sec. and installing software is so fast! I have enough free space left at the moment.
Go for it, although I think you better take a look at your SATA type (600 or 300) on your MB since the Vertex2 (SATA300) is much cheaper than the Vertex3 (SATA600).

Sap

p.s. Short on liftime of SSD's (shamelessly copied from here: http://www.guru3d.com/article/ocz-ve...-ssd-review/1)

To increase lifetime you should do the following
Drive indexing disabled. (useless for SSD anyway, because access times are so low).
Prefetch disabled.
Superfetch disabled
Defrag disabled (win7 seems to disable defrag on default for SSD's)

DevilDog0351 · 07-28-2011, 06:17 PM

An SSD is a great option. Honestly, if you're unsure as to a purchase of a internal, I'd suggest a external SSD

Mind you I'd only install ArmA on it and see how it runs. I own a beefy gaming laptop and found that the external simply by itself with just ArmA installed made a world of difference.