# SSD just for steam?



## Eric_Cartman (Aug 31, 2013)

The main use of my computer is gaming, and 90% of my games are steam games.

So would it be beneficial to get a small SSD and just put my Steam folder on it?

I'm thinking the cheapest 32GB SSD I can find.

ADATA Premier Pro SP600 ASP600S3-32GM-C 2.5" 32GB ...


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## Fourstaff (Aug 31, 2013)

I personally wouldn't bother, either go big or go home for SSD. go big = get a decent one (preferably able to store OS).


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## Arrakis9 (Aug 31, 2013)

absolutely, the load times will be very quick, how ever i would suggest something with a higher IOPS rate, thats were all your "snappy" feeling comes from. also unless you dont mind the write rate on that drive is only a smidgen faster than two raid 0 7200rpm drives

May i suggest this instead, its $20 more but gives you a much better value per GB and is also quite a bit faster

Kingston  SSDNow V300 Series  SV300S3D7/60G 2.5"  ...


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## Jstn7477 (Aug 31, 2013)

Just use the SSD for the OS, and 32GB is barely enough space for anything. My 240GB SSD is full and it has Windows, programs and a few games on it. You can install Steam separately from most of the games nowadays, and it will probably reduce your boot time if you install the Steam application itself on an SSD. Don't bother with the games, you spend more time playing than loading anyway.


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## Melvis (Sep 1, 2013)

I agree with most people here I wouldn't bother with a SSD and your games. Unless your willing to spend a shit load on a large SSD for your games id just go with something like a WD Black 500GB. I find that drive with games to be very good and its alot cheaper then a SSD. Just use a SSD for your OS.

I have a 320GB velociraptor as my gaming HDD and its to small, im sick of always uninstalling and reinstalling games for when i need to play them. Im upgrading my main system with a 500Gb Black and that should be enough for now.


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## Jetster (Sep 1, 2013)

The first SSD you buy would be for your OS. Then iif you need more space and want a second for Steam that would be great. Buying a SSD just for your games owuld help with loading maps but thats about it


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## freaksavior (Sep 1, 2013)

Not for a 32Gb. It' just not worth the cost. If you had linked something like a 256, then i'd say yes.


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## AsRock (Sep 1, 2013)

Jetster said:


> The first SSD you buy would be for your OS. Then iif you need more space and want a second for Steam that would be great. Buying a SSD just for your games owuld help with loading maps but thats about it




Basically what i did although i did have a current game installed on SSD which i was bound to play more than another for a long time like Arma 2 in my case.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Sep 1, 2013)

Get a 240GB+ for Steam, or games in general. With the size of games these days, youll run out of space quicker then you think.


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## MightyMission (Sep 1, 2013)

I use a 256gb SSD for steam, though it was initially a boot drive that got reassigned as storage once SSD's got cheaper and i got more of them, it's quick and silent but the occasional stutter can be a bit irritating.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Sep 1, 2013)

MightyMission said:


> I use a 256gb SSD for steam, though it was initially a boot drive that got reassigned as storage once SSD's got cheaper and i got more of them, it's quick and silent but the occasional stutter can be a bit irritating.



stutter? You shouldn't be getting any from an SSD.


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## cruxis (Sep 1, 2013)

MightyMission said:


> I use a 256gb SSD for steam, though it was initially a boot drive that got reassigned as storage once SSD's got cheaper and i got more of them, it's quick and silent but the occasional stutter can be a bit irritating.



You need to check that, stutter should not be happening.


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## Dan2312 (Sep 1, 2013)

I have some essential Steam games on my SSD, Arma 3 being one of them, skyrim and borderlands 2.


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## Wrigleyvillain (Sep 1, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Get a 240GB+ for Steam, or games in general. With the size of games these days, youll run out of space quicker then you think.



Yeah and if you can't afford a larger SSD then it does still make much sense to use one as your OS drive instead at least (though 32GB not really enough for that either). Games aren't accessing the disk most of the time anyway. These days I keep some games on larger USB 3.0 flash drives too. BF3 is on my 128GB OS drive though (even though it's over 30GB). The loading time difference is major and it's still my go-to game.


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## ChristTheGreat (Sep 1, 2013)

freaksavior said:


> Not for a 32Gb. It' just not worth the cost. If you had linked something like a 256, then i'd say yes.



I agree. My 64gb have like 22gb free, and it has only Windos and software (and updates) 64gb for only os is the way to go.


Personnaly, if you get a good price on a 256gb SSD' it worth it. Instead just get a small SSD for OS, then a HDD for games. Just having the OS on a SSD is a great upgrade. For games, I didn'T see that much difference. Maybe a little bit less loading, but for the price..


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## vega22 (Sep 1, 2013)

i boot off a 64gb ssd and have my games on a 120gb ssd.

it does limit how much i can leave installed at once, i mean if i have bf3, sleeping dogs and hitman installed thats 100gb gone on 3 games but i find i am always 1st into maps


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## Eric_Cartman (Sep 14, 2013)

I ended up buying this drive.

Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SV300S37A/120G  Solid ...

Space is really not a concern for me.

I usually only have one or two games installed at a time.

Once I beat a game I uninstall it.

I put my steam folder on the drive and I'm so glad I did.

Games load so much faster.


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Sep 15, 2013)

I have my games on a 1tb Wd drive. I am using almost half of the drive now.


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## Mindweaver (Sep 15, 2013)

I have steam on a 1tb drive and use Steammover to push which ever game I'm playing to 1 of my SSD's.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Sep 15, 2013)

Mindweaver said:


> I have steam on a 1tb drive and use Steammover to push which ever game I'm playing to 1 of my SSD's.



does it work ok? I'm gonna have a look at it. thanks


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## Mindweaver (Sep 15, 2013)

tigger said:


> does it work ok? I'm gonna have a look at it. thanks



Works great, and I've been using this tool for awhile now.  It's not just for steam. I've used it for Origins as well.


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## FordGT90Concept (Sep 15, 2013)

There's some games out there that are almost 32 GB by themselves.  Max Payne 3 comes to mind.  I wouldn't be surprised if GTAV is closer to 50 GB when it gets to Windows.  32 GB would be suitable for the operating system and a few applications but I'd put Steam on a nice, big 3 TB HDD or something like that.

Edit: FYI, my Steam directory weighs in at 840 GiB.


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## Fourstaff (Sep 15, 2013)

FordGT90Concept said:


> There's some games out there that are almost 32 GB by themselves.  Max Payne 3 comes to mind.  I wouldn't be surprised if GTAV is closer to 50 GB when it gets to Windows.  32 GB would be suitable for the operating system and a few applications but I'd put Steam on a nice, big 3 TB HDD or something like that.



Unfortunately the one which appreciates fast drives are those with a load of storage, but depending on the game OP plays it can all be a non-issue. I usually keep only ~5 games installed (the rest archived to slow mechanical), so space is a non issue for me.


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## Mindweaver (Sep 15, 2013)

FordGT90Concept said:


> There's some games out there that are almost 32 GB by themselves.  Max Payne 3 comes to mind.  I wouldn't be surprised if GTAV is closer to 50 GB when it gets to Windows.  32 GB would be suitable for the operating system and a few applications but I'd put Steam on a nice, big 3 TB HDD or something like that.
> 
> Edit: FYI, my Steam directory weighs in at 840 GiB.



Yea, before I wiped my drive clean and installed Windows 8, my steam directory was over 640Gbs and I didn't even have everything installed. When I was using a 60gb SSD for OS, I had just Battlefield 3 the game 19Gb+ (_Not the DLC_), Visual Studio 2010, and Office 2010 Pro I was fighting for space all the time. I'd suggest with prices as low as they are for SSD to get a 120-128gb at the very minimum. I see a 128gb for $69.99 for the daily deal on newegg the other day.


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## FreedomEclipse (Sep 15, 2013)

Well My steam folder is at least 300Gig and is always constantly growing, So for the reason that I need to get a 512gig SSD and because my steam folder is always growing in size. paying less for 2 fast 2 or 3TB drives an running them in Raid 0 is probably a lot more value for money not to mention significantly cheaper then going SSD


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## CrackerJack (Sep 15, 2013)

I have a 120Gb Corsair Force GT just for games. Sometimes I wish I bought at least a 256Gb. But the 120Gb was on sell. Largest game I have is Battlefield 3, 35Gb. But on avg most games I have are ~20gb. But as for steam and orgin, I just install the games directly to my SSD. (It does give a option to install to different drives)


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## de.das.dude (Sep 15, 2013)

32GB would hold like 2 games. so... no. i think atleast a 256GB one is reqd.


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## RCoon (Sep 15, 2013)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Well My steam folder is at least 300Gig and is always constantly growing, So for the reason that I need to get a 512gig SSD and because my steam folder is always growing in size. paying less for 2 fast 2 or 3TB drives an running them in Raid 0 is probably a lot more value for money not to mention significantly cheaper then going SSD



My steam folder is 1.6TB so it would cost me far too much to put my games on an SSD. Not to mention the fact that if you're playing multiplayer games, it doesnt matter if you load faster than everyone else, because you're going to be waiting for them to load anyway! Very few single player games truly benefit from being on an SSD unless you have a shit load of data to run from the drive (Like Shogun 2) aside from that, I find SSD'ing games entirely pointless for the sake of saving 2 or 3 seconds load time.


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Sep 15, 2013)

I see some people for the ideal of using a ssd for the steam folder and others against it. How about a compromise like using a sshd for steam.


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## de.das.dude (Sep 15, 2013)

RCoon said:


> My steam folder is 1.6TB so it would cost me far too much to put my games on an SSD. Not to mention the fact that if you're playing multiplayer games, it doesnt matter if you load faster than everyone else, because you're going to be waiting for them to load anyway! Very few single player games truly benefit from being on an SSD unless you have a shit load of data to run from the drive (Like Shogun 2) aside from that, I find SSD'ing games entirely pointless for the sake of saving 2 or 3 seconds load time.



+1. only games like simulation based games really could use an ssd. i dont think there are any games that have loading times >30secs on a mordern comp.


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## CrackerJack (Sep 15, 2013)

ThE_MaD_ShOt said:


> I see some people for the ideal of using a ssd for the steam folder and others against it. How about a compromise like using a sshd for steam.



I thought about this option. But for me, most of the time I only have ~5 games installed at a time. Even when I was using my bigger HD.


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## mDee (Sep 26, 2013)

de.das.dude said:


> +1. only games like simulation based games really could use an ssd. i dont think there are any games that have loading times >30secs on a mordern comp.



I think so too. The only game I actually have installed on my 60GB SSD is a flight sim; all my other steam games are on a regular HDD (and a slow laptop drive at that) and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. 

Like the OP I've thought about buying an SSD for games, something cheap like a Samsung 840 or even a 2nd hand SATAII drive, but I don't think it's worth spending money on. 

Might as well go for a 20GB ram drive if you're really that fussed about loading times, though that'll only work for a single game that you play often.


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## Jetster (Sep 26, 2013)

BF3 take forever without an SSD


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## MightyMission (Sep 26, 2013)

Scan are doing refurbed 512gb ocz ssd for £130ish..seems a good time to pick up a couple for steam/games


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## mDee (Sep 29, 2013)

MightyMission said:


> Scan are doing refurbed 512gb ocz ssd for £130ish..seems a good time to pick up a couple for steam/games



Wouldn't a non-Sandforce drive be a better choice as a game-SSD because of the generally smallish reads and writes once games are installed? Just wondering...


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## Deleted member 24505 (Sep 29, 2013)

Jetster said:


> BF3 take forever without an SSD



BF3 is the only game I have on my SSD.


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Sep 29, 2013)

ThE_MaD_ShOt said:


> I see some people for the ideal of using a ssd for the steam folder and others against it. How about a compromise like using a sshd for steam.



steam allows you to install on multiple steam drives in beta mode, i just put the games i play a lot on a samy non pro250(120uknotes) and the rest on hdd


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## MightyMission (Sep 29, 2013)

mDee said:


> Wouldn't a non-Sandforce drive be a better choice as a game-SSD because of the generally smallish reads and writes once games are installed? Just wondering...


I couldn't tell you to be honest, you may have a point but I wouldn't know if it made any difference once the game is loaded into RAM?
Plus I like a very quiet computer and the noise of hd's spooling up or seeking is something i'd come to forget hearing but don't want to hear anymore.


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## IggSter (Sep 29, 2013)

This is the method I use for Steam:

240GSSD as boot drive
2T HD for data.

Steam is installed on the SSD
Steam games are installed on the HD as default.
I install one steam game on SSD so the steam folder structure exist on the SSD

Then to move any game to SSD:
1. copy HD game folder to your steam games folder on SSD
2. uninstall the game in steam (right click on game and choose: delete local content)
3. Install same game on SSD (where you've already copied the files) Steam will verify the existing files are present and update their settings for the new location.


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## pigulici (Sep 30, 2013)

Well, I have a 512gb Samsung 830 ssd + 1tb wd hdd 7200rpm, I installed steam+ skyrim legendary on ssd(because I play often) and on hdd I installed the rest of steam games(I play them once in a week), the C partition(windows 7 64b sp1+steam+skyrim legendary+photoshop and the rest of software) have 100gb with 50gb free; I think the best it is to have a ssd with good write speed for uncompressible data...


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