Noob hard drive question here.

[Sabellian]

I recently purchased a new computer with a SSD hard drive and a regular hard drive. Here are the stats

CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: None
CAS: Thermaltake Element-T Mid-Tower Case (Original Color)
CASUPGRADE: None
CS_FAN: Default case fans
CPU: Intel(R) Core™ i7-930 2.80 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366
FAN: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
FA_HDD: None
FLASHMEDIA: None
FLOPPY: None
GLASSES: None
HDD: 30 GB Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk (Single Hard Drive)
HDD2: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
IEEE_CARD: None
KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
MONITOR: None
MONITOR2: None
MONITOR3: None
MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
MB_ADDON: None
MEMORY: 6GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1333MHz Triple Channel Memory (Corsair Dominator)
MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) MSI X58A-GD65 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Triple-Channel DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Audio, eSATA, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III, RAID, IEEE1394a, 3 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI
MODEM: None
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: Pro OC (Performance Overclock 10% or more)
POWERSUPPLY: 600 Watts - XtremeGear Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SOFT1: Free Microsoft(R) Office(R) 2010 STARTER EDITION (Reduced-Functionality versions of Word and Excel that include advertising)
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: None
TEMP: None
TVRC: None
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBHD: None
USBFLASH: None
USBX: None
VIDEO: * NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO2: None
VIDEO3: None
VC_PHYSX: None
WNC: None

The SSD hard drive has everything on it that came with the computer, while the other one is totally empty. I know that SSD hard drives are supposed to be faster, thats why I got it. My question is this: Where do I install programs? My understanding was that my games would be installed on the SSD drive, while everything else (my drivers, windows files, music, pictures, etc) would be on the regular hard drive. What is the purpose of the 30gb SSD drive, if not solely for the game files?

Also, I notice that there are 2 folders, "Program Files" and "Program Filesx86". There doesn't appear to be anything in the program files folder that isn't in the program filesx86 folder, so what is the purpose of having 2 folders? Which one should games be installed to and which one should programs such as Xfire and Ventrilo be installed?

 

[richc46]

You must have 64 bit like me. 86 is for 32 bit and the other for 64

 

[Wishmaster]

Operating system and most application make far better use of a SSD than a game will.


They will help the initial load time of a Game a couple seconds, but after that its running from memory anyway (which is faster than a SSD.

The OS is constantly accessing the disc.

Program Files folder is for 64bit programs, Program Files (x86) for 32bit programs. mostly for organization purposed.

I would make a folder for Games on the Spinning drive and install Games there.

 

[Sabellian]

Yes I do have 64 bit, but telling me that one folder is for 32 bit and the other is for 64 bit programs doesn't help me much. I do not know how to tell the difference

 

[richc46]

Files 86 is the folder for 32 bit.

 

[Wishmaster]

Its mostly just for organization. To keep track of whats what.

Although best to keep things sorted where they go, it will not hurt if you install to the wrong folder.

But, windows will know where to put applications if you just let it or are unsure.


Just Manually reloacte your user Files to the spinning disc (music,documents pics,videos, etc)
And make you a folder "Games" and install all your games there.

 

[merkat106]

Yes I do have 64 bit, but telling me that one folder is for 32 bit and the other is for 64 bit programs doesn't help me much. I do not know how to tell the difference

Program Files folder is 64bit
Program Files x86 folder is 32bit.

The second folder is for installed programs that are not written to be native on a 64 bit platform. In other words, the second folder allows for 32 bit programs to be installed on a 64 bit operating system. Up until quite recently, most current programs were written for 32 bit.

 

[Sabellian]

Its mostly just for organization. To keep track of whats what.

Although best to keep things sorted where they go, it will not hurt if you install to the wrong folder.

But, windows will know where to put applications if you just let it or are unsure.


Just Manually reloacte your user Files to the spinning disc (music,documents pics,videos, etc)
And make you a folder "Games" and install all your games there.

ok so I was correct in assuming that the SSD is for my games and the other one is for everything else?

and what I meant by not being able to tell the difference, I meant that I wouldnt be able to tell the difference between a 32 bit program and a 64 bit program

 

[ignatzatsonic]

As Wishmaster told you: there is little point to putting the games on the SSD. But you can do it if you want. Keep in mind the SSD has limited capacity and Windows alone may want 20 GB or 30 GB, or more, over time. A 30 GB SSD is about as small as they come, so you ought to be very picky about what you put on the SSD or you will run out of space.

General advice would be to keep ALL of your personal data on the spinning drive and use the SSD for Windows ONLY.

You have 64 bit Windows. Given a choice between a 32 bit program and a 64 bit program, you should go with 64 bit. BUT, most 32 bit programs will work on your PC. Windows will recognize whether a program is 32 bit or 64 bit and install it in the appropriate folder. You don't have to worry about it much.

 

[Wishmaster]

If you want you can, its up to you.

But you will be sacrificing alot of system performance to save maybe 3 seconds of initial load time on a game. And, on a 30Gb you may only get 3 games on it.

When you start the the installer, it will ask if you want to do a custom install or default.
just take a glance at the default location.
if windows want to put it in the Program Files Folder (its 64bit)
if it want to install to Program Files (x86) its a 32 bit.

Generally, anything for Windows 7 will be clearly labeled 64 or 32 bit bit when you DL it.
If not, its 32bit.



EDIT- I type too slow ..

 

[Sabellian]

so the SSD drive isnt what I thought it was. I thought the point of it was to give you better performance during gameplay, not just to boost the speed of the program starting up. Thank you all for the help.

 

[whs]

Since your SSD is so small, you want to optimize it a bit:

1. You want to move the user folders to the HDD: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18629-user-folders-change-default-location.html

2. You want to delete the hibernation file (assuming you do not use hibernation): Open and elevated cmd and type: powercfg.exe -h off

3. You will not fit a lot of games. The system itself will take about 17GBs and you should leave about 5GBs free.

 

[Wishmaster]

Sabellian,

You are not wrong in the sense, SSDs do in fact help increase loading times of games.

The large majority of games will load a level, and then run from memory. So for the most part, the game is running from memory once its loads a level and you really see no benefit from the SSD other than that short initial loading time.

However, there are certain games, that have huge open worlds that load sections (or cells) on the fly & will see the most benefit from a SSD as far as games go.
(Oblivion and Fallout 3 for example)

The point we are trying to make is that the system itself will get a huge gain from a SSD as it is contantly accessing the disc for thousands of small files.

Even if you install your games to a spinning drive, you will still see a performance gain overall in everything because of this.
In fact, the games themself seem to load slightly faster even though they aren't themselves located on the SSD.

If you have a secondary smaller SSD, putting a couple games on it wouldn't hurt. Especially the ones that want to load sections of a large wold on the fly.

But with just a single SSD, you are certainly better off letting Win7 have it. the gains to be had this way far outweigh the small perf. gain youll get for games.


whs has given some additional excellent advice.

Hope this helps understand a bit better what we are all trying to say

 

[Sabellian]

This has all been great information. I really appreciate it.

 

[spyknee]

You want the OS on the SSD.
Anything that you want to benefit from SSD speed, must be on the SSD. That would include games.

The spin drive is for files that are edited a lot. Backups, pics, movies etc......

You want to reduce the writes to disk as much as possible. Make sure you have trim enabled. There are a couple of OS adjustments, disable defragment, prefetch, superfetch for the SSD. ( should have been done before purchase) Go to SSD manufacturer forums and check up on your particular SSD. Taken care of right, SSD's are sweet, but beware they can be frustrating when used improperly. My boot array writes 475Mb/s and reads 625Mb/s.

 

[spyknee]

so the SSD drive isnt what I thought it was. I thought the point of it was to give you better performance during gameplay, not just to boost the speed of the program starting up. Thank you all for the help.

Gaming is about cpu's, ram mhz, and vid cards, and of course the player. Altho a fast disk will not hurt. It will not improve your game play. If your games run fine now, they will still run fine.
SSD's are quiet and use less wattage, this is a plus in itself.