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[marcost]

Hi,

Might be of interest if you have built your own system and if you are anything like me in that you only know enough to plug everything in correctly, load windows (7) and start it up:

I built my system with an SSD for Windows and another SSD for IL2 to live on. I also have a couple of HDD's with data on them. After connecting everything and installing W7, everything worked fine and has ever since.

However, in the search to eradicate some micro-pauses I was seeing when looking down at the landscape from cockpit view, I decided to investigate optimisation of my system (it's already overclocked etc etc but I felt something else was wrong). Having updated drivers etc, checking power draw etc etc I came across articles on correct SSD installation...

In short, Windows defaults to IDE hard disk mode when you set it up. SSD's support a mode called AHCI, which allows faster access to the drive. If your motherboard supports this, you can enable AHCI in the BIOS settings and make a registry change to enable it. I did this and saw a significant (15%?) improvement in all loading speeds and my micro stutters are gone 

Point one on this guide is what I did to switch to AHCI:

http://www.custompcreview.com/articles/guides/ssd-optimization-guide/10858/

Regards,

M

[rruff]

Thanks for the info! I just put a new computer together so it was already properly configured, but it's a good thing to check.

[OberstDanjeje]

yes, I use it since the Windows XP era, even if XP didn't support it natively and you have to use a floppy with the correct driver from Intel during the installation.
It meant that you can't change from IDE to AHCI after the installation.

[jg1234]

Hi Folks,

I wasn't sure if my question warranted a new post so I thought I would ask on this post.

Will installing IL2 1946 DBW with The Full Monty on a solid state drive improve my in game performance?

My specs are below.

-OS.  Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit
-CPU. Intel I5 3.2 ghz
-RAM.  8Gb DDR2
-Sound. On board Beats audio
-Graphics. Nvidia GT 640 1GB 128 bit DDR3

Thanks in advance for any information.

jg1234

[rruff]

It will definitely speed up loading of missions, but I don't know about "in game" performance. Kinda doubt it.

[jg1234]

Thanks rruff,

I agree with you. I didn't think it would help a lot with in game performance as much. I think my quest for optimization is going to move away from the hard drive - at least for now.

Thanks again - jg1234

[Mick]

... it will also shorten spawning loading time of  AC, ships and vehicles during mission, so much less stutter whenever you have spawning objects during missions ... 

[rruff]

I think my quest for optimization is going to move away from the hard drive - at least for now.

If you start a new post maybe some good suggests will come up. I've been playing around with getting my new system optimized. Lots of trial and error.

[PO_MAK_249RIP]

Glad I spotted this post I'm building a new rig in February and was wondering how to employ W7 on an SSD alongside a HDD for my programs - I understood there was still reliabilty issues with SSD's, is this the case?

Did you guys load your utilities (ie, AV, Maleware, Firewalls, Firefox etc) onto the SSD or keep these on your HDD's ?

Any installation problems to look out for with Windows7 on an SSD?

Thanks in advance,

Mick

[Ass Eagle]

I hooked up a WD Black HDD (now drive "F" ), and put IL2 onto that. Wow, SUPER fast loading now. But, micro stutters are still there, however if I put, say my custom "Berlin dogfight heavy flak ntrk" on loop, each time it loads, the stutters go away, eventually (after 3 loads) it's stutter free.

[marcost]

Mick,

I had reliability problems with a OCZ SSD but after i dumped that and installed Samsung I have not had any problems. The main thing to watch for on W7 is the problem I described at the start of this thread - Windows does not automatically set up your system for optimum SSD use. Samsung drives now come with software that makes the drive and system optimisation really easy.

Regards,

M

[rruff]

Did you guys load your utilities (ie, AV, Maleware, Firewalls, Firefox etc) onto the SSD or keep these on your HDD's

I installed all software and games on the SSD. It's a 256GB and I have over half of it empty. That size is typically on sale for <$100. Note that you should avoid filling them completely, else they get slow. Keep ~20% buffer.

The difference in performance is pretty dramatic.