OCZ Core 64GB MLC SSD Review.. (Testing in progress..)

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(Just skip to the end if you want to know if MLC SSDs are better than RAID0 Raptors and multiple separate hard drives.)

Preface:
The hard drive is by far the slowest aspect of your computer, in all forms of data access and transfer (well, except an optical/floppy drive). There are a few ways to improve performance. First, we need to clarify hard drive performance, because there are two main measurements for two different purposes.
- Access time. This is the time it takes for a hard drive to locate a file when it is requested.
- Transfer rate. This is the speed at which a file is transferred after it has been found.
Faster hard drives, 5400rpm to 7200rpm to 10000rpm to 15000rpm, usually result in lower (better) access times and sometimes faster transfer rates.
Transfer rate is usually limited by the hard drive's internal controller and data connection: ATA66/100/133, SATA 1.5Gb/s, SATA 3.0Gb/s, etc.
Once we have the stats on a particular drive (my Raptor 36.7GB drive is 10,000rpm & SATA 1.5), we have a choice to RAID0 them. RAID1 is for data redundancy and does little to affect performance. RAID0 splits the files over both drives, using a slight overhead to split/combine files while transferring (in theory) at twice the speed. RAID0 does *nothing* to improve access time.
Solid State Drives (SSDs) have the benefit of having very low access times, respectable read speeds, and usually sub-par write speeds.
MLC SSDs are slightly slower and have a lower number of lifetime writes than SLC SSDs, but they're much less expensive and our purpose for WoW won't be using writes often - only during patches including changes to /Data.

The lag in large cities of WoW is caused by the game having to retrieve hundreds (or thousands) of very small data files quickly - think of all the world & player object models & textures that are coming and going while you're in a city. Each displayed piece of a player's gear has to be loaded when they enter your client's area. These data requests are not in any particular order, so random access and transfer times are very important, especially the access times because there are so many I/O requests. Even on Raptors, the time required to access each of these files is too long, resulting in city lag as they're loaded. RAID0 does very little to reduce this lag, since the majority of the time is spend *finding* the data, not *transferring* it.
I had considered spending $600 on a couple 300GB 10k rpm Velociraptors to combat this lag, but then I considered an SSD. OCZ Core SSDs can locate ~14 files in the time it takes for a Velociraptor to find one (0.3ms to 4.2ms access time), and the transfer rate for file to be read is similar. (SSDs can be in a RAID0 array like Velociraptors, so the comparison I'm making is drive to drive.) For our use in WoW - many small reads in a short period of time, but not needing to write to disk - the SSD was an easy choice over the Velociraptor. Based on known results of SSD vs 10k rpm hard drive testing, and the fact that I want to use the drive as data storage for extremely quick random reads, the SSD should be a MAJOR upgrade over any mechanical hard drive.

My OCZ Core 64GB Solid State Drive arrived today from Newegg. The 32GB drive was just lowered to under $200 today, and I'm sure that one would have worked fine for WoW as well. Here's the drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227344 ($249)

These were the primary links that convinced me to try out an OCZ Core SSD for WoW:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/ocz-co...drive-review/8
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.p...d_state_disk/1

Package:
I'm glad I had some old laptop 2.5"->3.5" drive bay brackets. The SSD comes in a small retail box and small info pamphlet, but that's it. You'll need to provide your own SATA2 data/power cables, mounting brackets, and screws. I'm surprised how light the drive is - think of just a few ram sticks.

Install:
Install is identical to any other SATA drive, except you'll want 2.5"->3.5" mounting brackets for a proper install. The drive comes pre-formatted NTFS, which means I had no work on the Windows side once I finished the hardware install. Opening the Computer Management screen in Windows, the drive shows 56.33GB free, which is expected with the standard advertised space. Keep in mind that my 36.7x2 GB Raptors only show up as 68.93GB, and my 250GB drive is 232.88GB. This is due to the way *all* drives are advertised and the difference between base 2 and base 10 number systems. Expect around 28GB space on the 32GB model. Since WoW's data directory only needs ~8GB space, that's far more than enough. Even with the extra content of WotLK, I seriously doubt it'll go beyond 15GB. I opted for the 64GB model simply because it was twice the capacity of 32GB for only $50 more.

WoW Setup:
I renamed my main WoW/Data directory to WoW/Data-bak, then removed the /Data link in all my other WoW directories. I'm using symlinks, as everyone should, especially if you decide to get an SSD. Next, I copied the WoW/Data-bak directory to the SSD, which took about 2 minutes. This is an acceptable time for 8GB of data - approximately 67MB/s write speed. I renamed this file to WoW/Data, then symlinked this directory in all my other WoW directories. For reference, my main WoW install is on a RAID0 (striped) array of 2 36.7GB 10k rpm Raptors. My other WoW installs are on a 250GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 7200rpm drive, symlinked to the Data directory on the Raptor array.

Initial testing:
I'll need to re-test the load times of WoW to the login screen, because if there was any improvement here it's not easily obvious. I didn't expect the game to load any quicker.

I loaded up all 5 instances of WoW on my oc'd Q6600, 4GB memory, Windows XP, 8800GTX, 2x 24" LCDs in span-view mode. I started out in the Allerian Stronghold in Terokkar, which usually isn't too bad for lag, so I hopped on a gryph flight to Shatt. Usually, this results in me having to wait at the flight master after landing in Shatt for 20-45 seconds as the city is loaded, then it is extremely slow moving around as objects/players come into and out of view. I was STUNNED - I was IMMEDIATELY able to move around, fly around, and enjoy the game as it should be played. Although frame rates naturally aren't as good in the city, the fps hit I'm sure is due to my videocard struggling over 3840x1200 resolution with so many polygons to render. In any case, Shatt is now very playable - not once did I lose /follow on my alts! Before the SSD, it was barely playable. I then loaded up 4 WoW instances on just 1 24" (to reduce the fps hit I was taking in span-mode), and all 4 WoW instances were smooth in Shatt.


Conclusion:
Performance (in reducing lag in cities/Shatt) was even better than I had expected. The cause of the lag absolutely must be the vast amount of random reads being requested on the hard drive. Don't bother with Raptors if you don't have them yet. I loaded up 4 WoW instances from my 7200rpm Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB drive, symlinked to the Data directory on the OCZ Core SSD, and Shatt was smooth. Using the Raptor RAID0 array instead of one 7200 drive made little difference. Using the SSD to host the Data directory made a world of difference. One 32GB SSD for under $200 with a symlinked Data directory is all you need to remove the hard drive bottleneck for smooth performance in Shatt.

If you're building a new computer primarily for multiboxing WoW, save $200 on a high-end videocard (go HD4850 instead of GTX 280 or 4870x2) and get an OCZ Core 32GB (or larger model, but unnessary for the size of WoW's data) SSD to host the WoW/Data directory. Find a way to reduce other expenses for such a major upgrade.

I'm loving this so much, I've got plans to order an Areca ARC-1200 RAID controller (on-board processor and memory, so little overhead on the CPU) and another OCZ Core 64GB SSD.

[Mosg2]

Absolutely awesome review man! Very well constructed and thought out with incredible results.

I'm saving now for a completely new machine and this'll help tremendously--I absolutely hate lagging in AV when our raid runs by their raid at IBGY.

[BobGnarly]

Nice review, man. I've been waiting for it ever since you said you were ordering the SSD. Thanks a bunch for the write-up.

I'm about to order some parts (or maybe a whole new computer, you know thaaat goes hehe), and I think I might put one of these in just for WoW.

I just have one question: Do you have any thoughts wrt how this compares to say Vista 64 with 8G of RAM so you are RAM caching all those textures? I mean, on paper it seems like it should be a win.

[Stabface]

We just got a few of these in at work to test out as a local store for transaction logs... there's a spare, and I'm hoping to get my grubby paws on it for a few days if I can

[Lowvez]

i have 8gb ram installed on Vista 64 and i don't lag in shat. But i DO if i have my 3 shamans all there at once..i drop to about 20fps.. But if i'm only on one account i usually have 60 at least. I have thought about these SSD drives for a long time now and OCZ is finally getting these types of drives into a price segment i can afford.

Do you think putting 2 of the 32gb versions in RAID0 would be better then the 64gb version? (I'm assuming yes here)

[BobGnarly]

But if all of these textures are stored in RAM, there should be NO lag, regardless of how many toons you are running - or at least less lag than even an SSD.

Unless, of course, these textures take > 4-5G that an 8G system should have left over after 5 clients. Then you are still paging from disk. I just have a hard time believing there are THAT many, even in shat.

hmmm

[beyond-tec]

hmm

4 solid state disks in raid0.......

... sounds excellent :-D

[Talos]

But if all of these textures are stored in RAM, there should be NO lag, regardless of how many toons you are running - or at least less lag than even an SSD.

Unless, of course, these textures take > 4-5G that an 8G system should have left over after 5 clients. Then you are still paging from disk. I just have a hard time believing there are THAT many, even in shat.

hmmm

The problem in question is Flying INTO SHattrah or Loading Alterac Vally
when its loading all those textures into your ram it takes a LONG LONG time to do it, while searching for each small texture file

once its in the memory everything is good, as long as there is no use of swap filing

[moog]

Great review... have been waiting for the price on these things to come down to more 'reasonable' levels

I loaded up 4 WoW instances from my 7200rpm Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB drive, symlinked to the Data directory on the OCZ Core SSD, and Shatt was smooth. Using the Raptor RAID0 array instead of one 7200 drive made little difference. Using the SSD to host the Data directory made a world of difference. One 32GB SSD for under $200 with a symlinked Data directory is all you need to remove the hard drive bottleneck for smooth performance in Shatt.

Quick question, why only put your wow/data directory on the SSD... why not put the OS and your complete WoW directories on the SSD?

[Otlecs]

Don't bother with Raptors if you don't have them yet.

Doh! Curse my impatience....

Thanks for the enjoyable write-up. As I have no spare bays left in my main rig, I'm going to have to think very carefully about what to do if the shiny new raptors I have on order don't live up to expectations! I suspect they'll be shelved in favour of this setup to be honest.