I've bought a SSD but want to know...

[davep]

...Can I separate TrainSim from my Steam directory and put it (and it only) on my SSD,
leaving all my other Steam games on their present spinner?

TIA for any help.

[Juanillo99]

Yes, you can.
You will need to create 'hard links' with the 'Link Shell Extension' application → http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshel ... nsion.html

[peterfhayes]

It can also be done this way as described in this post: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/s ... ?t=2965732
pH

[Juanillo99]

It can also be done this way as described in this post: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/s ... ?t=2965732
pH

Right!
I did not remember this method, which is also very easy.

[Bradforth]

Hi Davep,
When you get your SSD up and running can you please make any comments about any improvements you have with TS on this drive,
improved load times less tile load stutter etc.
I also intend putting TS on an SSD in the near future and any comments from you experiences would be most welcome not only to me but other members as well.

Regards,
Pete.

[davep]

Yes, will do Pete.

I fancy an easy way to transfer TS over - the links provided above (the easy way)
say that the SSD should have Steam game folder already on it - which mine doesn't as
it's brand new.

Think what I'll have to do is transfer my complete Steam folder over, then move the
few other games back to their original spinner. Just waiting for the software to
arrive - the shop didn't have it in stock so is being sent from elsewhere.

[davep]

Well, this morning the postman delivered the SSD upgrade kit that Maplins didn't have in stock,
and I'm pleased with their (Maplins) speedy service.

Following the instructions, I attached the new SSD via a cable from the kit to a USB port
and set the software in motion. True, it performed effortlessly and without intervention -
BUT it took over 5½ hours to complete (but it is a 960GB SSD)!

Copying done, I installed the SSD within the pc and rebooted. No problems there.
As my old Steam drive was still in existence, I renamed the Steam folder to simply xSteam
(so that the system wouldn't read it). Changed the shortcut on the desktop to point to
the new drive (L).

The Steam interface came up in seconds. TS itself took just 12 seconds to load, much quicker than it used to be.
The updating/saving scenarios took another 20 seconds - again, faster than it used to take.
I purposefully chose the GEML route as I know that is one that I can guarantee stutters on -
at least in the area of the couple of stations north of Stratford.
From pressing the 'start' button to being ready to drive took 29 seconds so speed wise the SSD is looking good.

Now for the real test. Driving out of Liverpool Street in the pouring rain (what else?), up to and just beyond
Ilford I noticed no stutters at all. Not quite believing it, I ran a different scenario (again it was raining LOL),
this time to Shenfield. Passing stations, AI ... not a single stutter. And whereas before the fps could - and would -
dip down to 15fps in places, the lowest I noted was 27fps - and most of the time it was 30-32fps.

I had Task Manager running on my second monitor and was watching the performance of the SSD, and even
at maximum transfer rate, there was no change to the fps.

So I can only say that SSD's are a good thing.
I need to buy a second one now to take the place of my Windows drive

[smartie38]

So I can only say that SSD's are a good thing.
I need to buy a second one now to take the place of my Windows drive

Welcome to the world of ssd's, better late then never! Been running ts on an ssd for a couple of years now and as you've found out they virtually eliminate stuttering all together & make the sim a much better experience to play.

Also had windows running off it's own dedicated ssd for a long time now, I could never go back to a conventional spinner for the os ever again, considering the hdd tends to be the bottleneck in any pc system, it certainly was in my setup.


Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[gptech]

Don't forget that by default Windows will use the fastest disc it can find for any temporary/cached files, so whilst the addition of a SSD to a system does undoubtedly improve file/tile loading it may not be 100% because the game lives on it.

[Bradforth]

Hi all,
Just fitted an SSD with just TS 2016 installed on it, I also have a second SSD with Windows 7 plus a few other programs installed.
The model I have purchased is a Kingston Fury 240 Gb, my TS install at the moment is about 89 Gb.
At the moment I haven't had much time to do many tests but scenario's load in about half the time of my old HDD.

On reading other peoples comments they seem to have completely eliminated tile load stutter, this is not the case for me I still get micro stutters on GEML plus a few other heavy routes although they are much less obvious than before.

PC specs Intel i5 4670k @ 4.2 GHz, Radeon 260X graphics, MB Asus Z97k, Ram 16 Gb @ 1886 MHz,

In game settings, A.A FXAA + 8 X MSAA, Texture Filtering Anisotropic X 4, Scenery Quality 75%, Scenery Density 100%,
View Distance 40%, Shadow Quality off, Water Quality 30%, Procedural Flora off, Adaptive Bloom off, Depth of Field off,
Headlight Flares off, Dynamic Lighting off, Dynamic Clouds off.

I am happy with the SSD but I don't seem to be getting as good results as other members.
Any comments would be welcome.

Regards,
Pete.