60GB as an OS drive - issues?

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elleana

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Apr 15, 2006
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Am mightily, mightily tempted to pick up an SSD. While 120GBs are within the realm of affordability, I was thinking if I could skimp and get by on a 60GB one instead, I don't have an awful lot of programmes that are absolute must haves, but I do have a fair number of games.
Should I just grab a 60GB (Vertex, probably) or just go all out and get a 120GB?
 
From what everyone says, after you get used to the SSD speed, you're going to want to run everything from it instead of having to micro-manage your programs and worry about space. Also, the larger drives are supposedly slightly faster. I would buy what you want and not compromise, even if it means waiting. I'm waiting for the price to drop on the larger drives.
 
Given how drastically prices have dropped in just the past few months, I would buy a 60GB now and be happy with it. Don't worry about putting every single program on it; just do your OS, most frequently used apps, and maybe a couple of games. Then enjoy watching the higher capacity drives get faster and less expensive...

You can also start thinking about ways to make your OS drive leaner. For instance, I've always placed my "Downloads" folder on the C: for no real reason other than habit. Even on my VR I download files to the C: and sync them to a second drive every now and then. But when I install my Vertex 60GB you can be assured that downloads folder is going to be on another drive! I plan on getting one of the Intel drives or a Falcon/Torqx 128GB to hold me over until the 256GB drives are priced reasonably and then I can start putting some real data on there. But at that point I'll be using it more for storage and less for apps. I have a LOT of apps installed on my boot drive and I'm still at less than 60GB including 2 VMs and the Windows 7 install. Now, I'm not talking massive space hogs like Adobe, SQL Server, Visual Studio Pro, etc but I have a huge directory full of portable software and my Program Files/PFx86 directories house a lot of programs as well. So why buy more than I need? It doesn't make sense for me to buy a huge SSD right now and have the empty space sitting there wasted, or filled with MP3s while prices continue to decrease. This is the same reason I didn't buy two GTX 260s at $300/ea. when I got my x58 board. One of them would run all of my games just fine at 1920x1080 with AA/AF/etc. on, so I gamed happily for months while prices plummeted. I recently picked up a second one for $140 when I bought my Dell 30" and am happy that I didn't pay twice that only to have it sit there and go to waste because it was more than I needed. I will apply the same principles to my SSD purchases and will be happier, with a heavier wallet.

So I would encourage you to evaluate how many GB of apps you have, as well as how many of your favorite games you want to be able to place on the SSD and make your decision from there. I wouldn't worry about cramming absolutely everything on there right now. I have a ton of games but how many of those do I actually play at a time? Maybe 2 or 3. I don't need a game on the SSD that I only have the urge to load up once a month.

I would buy what you need, or maybe a bit above that. If you estimate needing 40GB for your main apps and games then buy a 60GB or 80GB. You'll be able to live with infrequently used apps and games remaining on a platter based drive and your wallet will be happier. Then pick up a larger capacity drive in a few months when they are much cheaper than what they are today. Win-win. :)
 
I suggest getting the bigger drive if you don't plan on upgrading often. You're probably going to fill up the drive no matter what (especially since you mentioned games), so you might as well get the bigger drive so you'll be better off in the long run.
 
My "OS" drive/partition is only 50GB. My second drive/partition (150GB) is where all apps/games get installed. Setup your system similarly and you can upgrade as you desire. Data of course gets placed on a third, mirrored partition where older platter drives still shine.

It's more about how many drives you want sitting inside the case...
 
I'm thinking of grabbing a 60gb drive now for my new Corei7 build. As it is, I am running a small/fast (80gb) hard-drive for my OS drive, with some terabyte drives for medai, etc.

If I ever feel that 60gb is holding me back, I can buy whatever the current SSD is, and move the 60gb to my laptop.
 
I use a 64 gig X25-e and it works for me if I'm not loading any games on the system. Its all internet/office/email/stock charting software stuff and most of that doesn't take too much space.

On the other hand I have another x25-e on my gaming system and its filled to the rim.

I know how to manage my space eventually by raiding all three x25-e's in 0 (yes there's a third). I also have two 1tb x 2 in raid 1 for large storage.

Get the 120 gig it should work well.
 
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