The new rig arrives tomorrow - what things should I do?

[Owltoid]

Sorry for the vague title.

My new computer arrives tomorrow and I want to set it up as "best" as possible. I'm a little worried about the SSD and want to make sure that I'm writing as little as possible to the drive.

Quick specs:
i7 920
12GB DDR3/1600MHz RAM
GTX 260
64GB RiData SSD
320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive (data drive)
Vista 64 Premium

The OS should already be installed on the SSD. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, and the answer seems to depend on the day. Since I don't want to reinstall the OS on the data drive then please just take it as a given that it will remain on the SSD.

1.) Should I move the pagefile to the data drive? If so, then how?
2.) Given the typical Vista install, what other items should I move from the SSD? I currently use Internet Explorer (maybe this is the perfect time to stop) so due to the SSD write degradation should I move that to the data drive? I don't want the small temporary internet files destroying my SSD.
3.) Should I somehow clone whatever is on my SSD onto my data drive? If so, what is the best way to do this?
4.) Any other suggestions that you can think of if you had a fresh start with your computer?

[Sajuuk]

Here's something I came across when I got my SSD.

(Vista 32/64 bit registry tweaks)
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47212

[Sam DeathWalker]

I dont know about SSD anymore:

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=669&type=expert&pid=1

But just keep the whole OS on the SSD and see what happens, and tell us heh.

Get Arconis TrueHome 2009 and clone the whole SSD to the regular hard drive, that way if the SSD dosnt work you can just go into bios make the hard drive the boot drive and you are back up and running np.

http://www.acronis.com/promo/ATIH/true-image-2009.html?source=us_google&ad=ati&gclid=COrswqPH5pgCFRYiagodtUjfdw

Make sure it has the "Clone DIsk" function (clones the whole disk byte for byte hidden files, everything).

Put everything on the SSD 64G is WAY more then enough, and then after a few hours measure your throughput and see if its down to 50M/S like that artical says. If so send it back and get a veloraptor ....

Swap file is set in "system-advanced-performance options-virtual memory"

[weeep]

Put everything on the SSD 64G is WAY more then enough, and then after a few hours measure your throughput and see if its down to 50M/S like that artical says.It is not after few hours, it is after few *months* of usage.
Personally I would not put anything except WoW on SSD. It is really new and untested technology with lots of yet undiscovered drawbacks.

[Chranny]

I dont know about SSD anymore:

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=669&type=expert&pid=1

But just keep the whole OS on the SSD and see what happens, and tell us heh.

Get Arconis TrueHome 2009 and clone the whole SSD to the regular hard drive, that way if the SSD dosnt work you can just go into bios make the hard drive the boot drive and you are back up and running np.

http://www.acronis.com/promo/ATIH/true-image-2009.html?source=us_google&ad=ati&gclid=COrswqPH5pgCFRYiagodtUjfdw

Make sure it has the "Clone DIsk" function (clones the whole disk byte for byte hidden files, everything).

Put everything on the SSD 64G is WAY more then enough, and then after a few hours measure your throughput and see if its down to 50M/S like that artical says. If so send it back and get a veloraptor ....

Swap file is set in "system-advanced-performance options-virtual memory"SSD's are fine for read-only files. Using it as a main HDD for the OS is a bad idea because it cuts down the lifespan of the drive (and in some cases the general speed].

[Bovidae]

I would suggest against putting anything that writes (regularly) on the SSD. This includes OS, IE cache (and the like) and pagefile.

It is also important that Windows does not try to defragment the drive. All this will serve to do is burn through its limited amount of read/write cycles and to confuse the on board file system of the drive.

Take a look at this:
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49779&highlight=superfetch
it bundles together a number of the basic changes that should be made to optimally use your new SSD.

Personally, I have only put static data files on my SSD, including: the WoW data folder (only the data folder) and similar data folders for the other games I play. That's it. That is why I got the small 30gb SSD, It more than handles what I want out of it.

[Owltoid]

Here's something I came across when I got my SSD.

(Vista 32/64 bit registry tweaks)
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47212

Wow, that's a very interesting link. Thanks! I will disable my defrag, superfetch, prefetch, and move the pagefile to the data drive. I don't think I'm going to try for a RAM disk, though I probably have enough RAM to spare.

[Owltoid]

I would suggest against putting anything that writes (regularly) on the SSD. This includes OS, IE cache (and the like) and pagefile.

It is also important that Windows does not try to defragment the drive. All this will serve to do is burn through its limited amount of read/write cycles and to confuse the on board file system of the drive.

Take a look at this:
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49779&highlight=superfetch
it bundles together a number of the basic changes that should be made to optimally use your new SSD.

Personally, I have only put static data files on my SSD, including: the WoW data folder (only the data folder) and similar data folders for the other games I play. That's it. That is why I got the small 30gb SSD, It more than handles what I want out of it.

So that application does all the registry changes and modifications needed? Very nice! I'm a little worried about disabling the pagefile, since a few users have suggested keeping it just in case, but I can probably do that through the Windows system instead of the link you provided (which I believe doesn't change the location of the pagefile but only enables/disables it).

[Owltoid]

Well, the new computer is here and I'm installing WoW as I write this :)

A few questions & concerns. I originally asked (weeks ago) that they install the OS on the SSD drive. They did just as I requested (in hindsight I wish I hadn't asked, but c'est la vie) but it now looks like I only have 30GB left on my 64GB SSD. I don't see any bloatware and I have already uninstalled Office 2007. I'm not sure what else is taking all the space...

Also, is there a way to make my D drive (the data drive) my Desktop? I'm a bit unorganized and I like to just quickly save things to the desktop, but since I don't want to be writing on the SSD at all, to conserve space, I now have to create a folder on the D drive every time I install a program or download something. I suppose I could just stop being lazy and make shortcuts, but I'm overall concerned that my SSD is going to be filled up very quickly when all I really wanted it for was hopefully fast gaming. Any suggestions?

[Zzyzxx71]

I kind of went another route - I have 2x7200rpm 500gb drives striped for my OS, but have all my games installed on the SSD.

As far as desktop relocation, google TweakUI - it's free from MS, lets you relocate many profile resident folders to wherever you please.

[Owltoid]

Thanks, I'll look into that!

I'm loaded up and checking things out... I have 5 in shat but it's still laggy at times. When I view the resource monitor, it looks like RAM is around 5MB so that's definitely not the problem, but 2 of the processors are at 100% and the other 6 look to be relatively unused. If this where I need to mess with the affinity stuff?

[Sajuuk]

Switch the CPU affinity in your config.wtf file(s) to 255.

SET processAffinityMask "X" is the line you want.

[Sam DeathWalker]

No its "hours" the fragmentation problem is almost with the first write:


Since the flash locations are isolated from the OS by a lookup table, these fragments can not (presently) be directly manipulated by the OS, leaving any defragmentation efforts to the SSD itself. These fragmented areas will remain until they are overwritten by larger contiguous files. The end result is that the drive is not so much ‘adapting’ as it is approaching a steady state level of internal fragmentation as a result of the mix of small / large files being written to it.


Once the newness wore off and I got some hours logged with it, I discovered that my speedy SSD had lost some of its luster

But no matter lets see his experenice with the SSD, I am looking forward to see how it plays out in WoW.

Zzyzxx71 what has been your experience with the SSD drive you use?

[Clanked]

SSD's are fine for read-only files. Using it as a main HDD for the OS is a bad idea because it cuts down the lifespan of the drive (and in some cases the general speed].

It is also important that Windows does not try to defragment the drive. All this will serve to do is burn through its limited amount of read/write cycles and to confuse the on board file system of the drive.
Both of you need to get with the times. SSDs have wear leveling algorithims that spread writes out amongst the entire drive. The drives will outlast the life of your computer easily. Even assuming constant writes at the max capacity of the drive (which NEVER happens) it would take 50 years for the drive to start having trouble to do writes.