Hey guys...
I am in the process of shopping for a new PC. I am wondering how differently Pantheon will run on a SSD vs a HDD. In other words, how often will Pantheon have to load data from the installation directory vs being preloaded into memory? Some games I play constantly read from the install directory and therefore installing that game on a SSD would be beneficial. I believe zoning speed in Pantheon will be dependant on the drive, anything else?
As I recall, zones in Pantheon are going to be quite large and they've indicated that we won't be seeing the loading screen nearly as often as in EQ for example.
However, if the zones are huge and given the awesome level of detail we've seen in the streams so far, one of two scenarios is going to kick in.
1. You have a ton of assets to load when you do zone.
2. The game client is going to be stealth loading assets as you move around in the zone.
3. Some combination of the above.
In every case, I think you'll appreciate an SSD.
In terms of general game performance I'd rank hardware performance impact in the following order:
Graphics card
Memory (just having enough, doesn't really matter if your memory is ultra fast)
SSD
CPU
So if it came down to buying an i5 vs i7 processor or getting an SSD, you'd be better off investing in more/faster storage.
Just my two cents.
Pantheon is going mostly the same route as Vanguard: Saga of Heroes with seamless zonelines I believe. So, there will be little to no loading screens. This is done to truly represent an open-world experience. The loading screens you do find will probably take longer than other MMORPG's, as they will be loading significantly more data by comparison. So, if you want to eliminate this minor inconvenience then an SSD is always going to benefit.
I just built my new rig in anticipation of the game 4 months ago. I went with a 120gb M.2 SSD, another 240gb 2.5" SSD, and a 1TB HDD from Western Digital. Using the M.2 for Operating System. I use the 2.5" SSD for most of my games.
philo said:Haseno said:Pantheon is going mostly the same route as Vanguard: Saga of Heroes with seamless zonelines I believe. So, there will be little to no loading screens. This is done to truly represent an open-world experience.
Pantheon will be a zoned game.
Not based on what I heard during the streams. It seems like kind of a hybrid to be honest.
Haseno said:philo said:Haseno said:Pantheon is going mostly the same route as Vanguard: Saga of Heroes with seamless zonelines I believe. So, there will be little to no loading screens. This is done to truly represent an open-world experience.
Pantheon will be a zoned game.
Not based on what I heard during the streams. It seems like kind of a hybrid to be honest.
Kind of, but not really. It's only a "hybrid" in the sense that there will definitely be zone lines, but the zones themselves will be quite large so you probably won't be hitting zone lines as often. That may be what you're thinking of. Anyway, the official answer is from the FAQ:
20.0 Will you be dividing the world into zones or will it be entirely open?
Pantheon is a zone-based game as opposed to having a truly seamless world, although this could change as technology and tools evolve, either before or after launch. Regardless, however, our current technology and tools allow us to create truly vast, rich, and detailed zones. Players will not be running frequently into zone borders. Our larger zones also allow us to create long vistas and views, and in almost all cases, if you can see a location you can travel there.
We have lots of overworld adventure areas and overland dungeons where players don’t need to zone into but there may be several groups hunting there. Even in underworld and dedicated dungeon areas, they will be open world as well. It is all part of the shared experience we really want to capture.
Edit: my advice: Always game on an SSD. Improving zone loading times alone should be enough of a reason.
SSD all the way, for anything other than video and picture storage. imo.
SSD is the biggest improvement you will see. Even if you got a crusty old a$$ computer. a SSD will literally work miracles for you.
I will never ever own a computer that does not use a SSD. I have 3 SSD in this rig, 1Samsung 500g for OS. 2 Samsung 250g for games. and 1WD Black 2tb Hdd for movies and shows and other junk
and 2 in my old rig ( wifes now)
go SSD if you do not have one.
Im delaying on building my PC until I get an Alpha/Beta invite (still on the fence about upgrading due to wife agro), but when I do I plan on going M2 SSD for applications and a 4TB or so Sata for media and bulky design files. Depending on when I get the email I will hunt down the best bang for the buck processor mobo video card combo with at least 2 M2 slots. Might finally go water cooled simply because I hate noisy fans.
I see a lot of people pushing SSD purchase without any real data to stand on. Most games only see a real benefit to SSD during loads, that being said, with the speed of Motherboards now, even a normal Mechnical drive can handle a quick load pretty quick. If you have the money, SSD is def. not a bad idea, if not for the game, for your OS.
Another suggestion I would shoot out there is a SSHD. If you don't want to throw hundred or so dollars down on a large SSD, pick up a 100/200 GB SSD for the main drive and pick up a 1/2TB SSHD. It's the route I went with mine and my load times are awesome. Also a good idea to save money where possible right now if your building a new computer, with the current price of video cards, unless you can snag one cheap somewhere, your money is going to go there.
Rivacom said:I see a lot of people pushing SSD purchase without any real data to stand on. Most games only see a real benefit to SSD during loads, that being said, with the speed of Motherboards now, even a normal Mechnical drive can handle a quick load pretty quick. If you have the money, SSD is def. not a bad idea, if not for the game, for your OS.
Another suggestion I would shoot out there is a SSHD. If you don't want to throw hundred or so dollars down on a large SSD, pick up a 100/200 GB SSD for the main drive and pick up a 1/2TB SSHD. It's the route I went with mine and my load times are awesome. Also a good idea to save money where possible right now if your building a new computer, with the current price of video cards, unless you can snag one cheap somewhere, your money is going to go there.
I've done lots of hard drive physical testing of load times due to applications that I use at work. Hard drive read write speed very quickly becomes the bottle neck when designing modern systems due to large file sizes. Those delays, while they might be only measured in milliseconds, tend to compound and cause delays that the rest of your rig would not otherwise experience. The key is in the fact that the best Sata 6gb/s drives have a read and write speed of 128mb per second while M.2 2280 PCI 3.0 drives read at 2500 mb/s and 1100 mb/s write. This difference means that your hard drive is never the bottle neck and the pipeline on your video card usually becomes the bottle neck. SSD hard drives also reduce the draw on a GPUs onboard memory which can directly affect your frame rate if you have your drivers configured correctly, this could push you into a much cheaper video card than the extra price of SSD over a Sata.
All this being said if you are targeting a $600 build vs a $1200 build vs a $2500 build your bang for the buck will change. I have added 2 years of usable life to what was basically an E-machine by swapping the 500gb ide drive with a 128gb SSD and left the old drive connected as a storage drive.
I don't know about Pantheon in particular, but my experience with my computer in general, and playing MMOs in particular, was that an SSD was the single most important upgrade I ever made with an impact on game performance (this also because I already had a pretty beefy GFX card).
Any SSD will make load times much, much faster than an HDD. At the very least this will improve first logging into the game and probably zoning as well. If you want to keep your costs down, go for a SATA SSD. If you can stretch a bit further, consider going for m.2/PCIe, as that will remove the interface bottleneck that SATA drives can run against.
Trasak said:Rivacom said:I see a lot of people pushing SSD purchase without any real data to stand on. Most games only see a real benefit to SSD during loads, that being said, with the speed of Motherboards now, even a normal Mechnical drive can handle a quick load pretty quick. If you have the money, SSD is def. not a bad idea, if not for the game, for your OS.
Another suggestion I would shoot out there is a SSHD. If you don't want to throw hundred or so dollars down on a large SSD, pick up a 100/200 GB SSD for the main drive and pick up a 1/2TB SSHD. It's the route I went with mine and my load times are awesome. Also a good idea to save money where possible right now if your building a new computer, with the current price of video cards, unless you can snag one cheap somewhere, your money is going to go there.
I've done lots of hard drive physical testing of load times due to applications that I use at work. Hard drive read write speed very quickly becomes the bottle neck when designing modern systems due to large file sizes. Those delays, while they might be only measured in milliseconds, tend to compound and cause delays that the rest of your rig would not otherwise experience. The key is in the fact that the best Sata 6gb/s drives have a read and write speed of 128mb per second while M.2 2280 PCI 3.0 drives read at 2500 mb/s and 1100 mb/s write. This difference means that your hard drive is never the bottle neck and the pipeline on your video card usually becomes the bottle neck. SSD hard drives also reduce the draw on a GPUs onboard memory which can directly affect your frame rate if you have your drivers configured correctly, this could push you into a much cheaper video card than the extra price of SSD over a Sata.
All this being said if you are targeting a $600 build vs a $1200 build vs a $2500 build your bang for the buck will change. I have added 2 years of usable life to what was basically an E-machine by swapping the 500gb ide drive with a 128gb SSD and left the old drive connected as a storage drive.
In a Real world Gaming test, the difference in minimal in most games. There are tons of websites who test loads in various games across all 4 platforms (M2, SSD, SSHD, HD) and although there are some improvements in some games over others, Like I said it's usually only has to do with initial load.
The other thing to keep in mind, Hard drives are probably one of the longer lasting devices in a Computer build, so most people who replace a HD with a SSD see vast improvement because the old Hard drive was just that, of a older technology, less cache, less Sata speed, etc.
You are correct on pricing, if you have money to blow, SSD or M.2. is going to be your choice. What I'm saying though for budget reasons, a SSHD which will get you increased speed and storage for half the cost is a great choice. We are already stuck in a RAM Chip price increase currently, might as well save money where you can without giving up too much speed.
