DimmDrive: Can't afford a new SSD or the hassle?

FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
http://store.steampowered.com/app/337070/

This looks pretty amazing if you dont have an ssd or the means or desire to get one!

Basically you'll load NS2 onto your RAM... FULLY as thought it's a disk. (Ram Disk)

The Ram disk tech or idea isnt new, but this interface is super streamlined. Wish I knew about it before i got a new pc.

Comments

  • OscarTheCouchOscarTheCouch Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34647Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    just know that when its running your friends cant connect to your game since it will show you playing DIMMDRIVE.
  • NordicNordic Long term camping in Kodiak Join Date: 2012-05-13 Member: 151995Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    Ram disks in my experience are annoying to use. If this actually streamlines it and makes it easy it could be useful if you have plenty of ram. $30.00 is a lot to ask though.
  • YojimboYojimbo England Join Date: 2009-03-19 Member: 66806Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited January 2015
    This has been going on for years, used to hardlink all NS2 important load files on a 8GB RAMDISK over a year ago which sat on 3 SSD's in a RAID0 configuration, needless to say read speeds were well over 10000mb's.

    http://memory.dataram.com/products-and-services/software/ramdisk/ramdisk-purchase-and-download

    Much cheaper, been around longer, no need for steam intergration and just works.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
    just know that when its running your friends cant connect to your game since it will show you playing DIMMDRIVE.

    False, was fixed
  • ObraxisObraxis Subnautica Animator & Generalist, NS2 Person Join Date: 2004-07-24 Member: 30071Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Silver, WC 2013 - Supporter, Subnautica Developer, Pistachionauts
    You can get small SSDs now for much cheaper than RAM - enough for NS2 and probably a few more games. Probably for around the price of the RAMDisk software.
  • dePARAdePARA Join Date: 2011-04-29 Member: 96321Members, Squad Five Blue
    You need 16gb ram minimum for an ramdisk wich are 8gb over the current needed ram.
    8GB (70€) + 30 € for this software = 110€ to speed up games and software.

    Well, 110€ for an 250GB Samsung SSD would speed up your whole system.

    Ramdisks are a nice idea but pretty useless in times of SSDs.
  • develdevel Join Date: 2014-09-13 Member: 198444Members
    RAMDisk "software" is a scam.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
    What if you already have plenty of RAM and no SSD, and no desire to reconfigure your system?

    Or just to do it for fun?
  • HeatSurgeHeatSurge Some Guy Join Date: 2012-09-15 Member: 159438Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    edited January 2015
    devel wrote: »
    RAMDisk "software" is a scam.

    It's not a scam; it's just dumb and unnecessary to spend $30 on it in my opinion. Unless you really like it for some reason. It's your money, but just be aware that there's other options and make an intelligent choice.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_RAM_drive_software

    And not just RAM drive software - think of other ways you can spend your $30 that you might enjoy more (alcohol, women, SSD, dinner).
  • dePARAdePARA Join Date: 2011-04-29 Member: 96321Members, Squad Five Blue
    edited January 2015
    Investing 30€ in a useless software, that sound like real fun.

    More ram didnt make your pc faster btw. but a SSD do.

    Lets say you have an 7200rpm HDD+32gb ram + a ramdisk for NS2
    I have a Samsung EVO, 8gb ram

    We both start our systems at the same time to play NS2.
    The result?
    You need around 40sec to boot the system + 5 sec to load the ramdisksoftware + the time to load NS2
    I need 7 sec to load Windows + 4 sec to load NS2

    Hell, i changed the map 4 times before you even startet NS2.

    Thats what i called fun.

  • HeatSurgeHeatSurge Some Guy Join Date: 2012-09-15 Member: 159438Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    RAM disk CAN be useful.

    Yes, SSD is cheaper. But say you already have 16GB or more of RAM for another reason (you do video editing, the computer "just came" with 16GB, your mom was building the computer and she thought moar ram=moar faster, you were dumb, etc.). I guess you can sell the ram and buy a SSD... :-) But if you don't want to sell the ram - why not just use it since you have it anyway? Ramdisk!

    Yes, SSD doesn't need to be "preloaded" and if you're just booting your PC, you're waiting for the data to be read from the mechanical disk anyway. However, when it's loaded, it's at least 10x faster than the fastest SSDs out there, and if you keep your computer on 24/7, it doesn't need to be "preloaded" once it's been loaded once.

    If you are about to buy RAM to use it as a RAM disk, I would probably choose a SSD though.

    In any case, spending $30 on ramdisk SOFTWARE is pretty dumb, again, my opinion. If you really think it's "worth it," do it. I don't.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
    Personally I got it to play with my workstation which has only a hdd. Its not as useful as i hoped.

    But it would have saved me when I was using my macbook last year to play competively and a patch broke my game and I started hitching bevause the hdd but I didnt have time to do any ssd replacement shit OR money for how expensive it was then etc etc etc theres uses
  • cooliticcoolitic Right behind you Join Date: 2013-04-02 Member: 184609Members
    RAMDISK can be useful, but for general applications a small ssd will usually do the job.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
  • woozawooza Switzerland Join Date: 2013-11-21 Member: 189496Members, Squad Five Blue
    edited January 2015
    Also a nice idea, buying a small ssd (20GB-64GB) to use it as precache! Your ssd is invisible in OS and will store all the files you need.

    Edit: I forgot, you need a Mainboard supporting Intel Smart Response Technology.

    I would not buy for 30USD this DIMMDRIVE application since there exists alot of Freeware ramdrives which are a bit older but working properly
  • 999nekrofom666999nekrofom666 Germany Join Date: 2014-04-07 Member: 195224Members, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    Have RAIDR Express PCIe SSD


    I need dimmdrive ???

    Specifications

  • cooliticcoolitic Right behind you Join Date: 2013-04-02 Member: 184609Members
    mattji104 wrote: »
    Go play 249

    How is that relevant?
  • RaZDaZRaZDaZ Join Date: 2012-11-05 Member: 167331Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    coolitic wrote: »
    mattji104 wrote: »
    Go play 249

    How is that relevant?

    249 actually fixed the loading screens. Even when you loaded up for the first time, it started up pretty fast.
  • RejZoRRejZoR Slovenia Join Date: 2013-09-24 Member: 188450Members, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow
    Buy a hybrid caching SSD unit. I have one and it does wonders to performance. And you can keep all the HDD space. And all this for a fraction of a price of a massive SSD.
  • cooliticcoolitic Right behind you Join Date: 2013-04-02 Member: 184609Members
    RejZoR wrote: »
    Buy a hybrid caching SSD unit. I have one and it does wonders to performance. And you can keep all the HDD space. And all this for a fraction of a price of a massive SSD.

    Yeah I have one for my laptop. It's pretty great in boosting general performance.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
  • TurbineTurbine Join Date: 2012-09-13 Member: 159160Members
    Apart from the still broken pre-loading. It stops the micro pauses but marginally makes it load quicker from an 11gb ramdisk.
  • FrozenFrozen New York, NY Join Date: 2010-07-02 Member: 72228Members, Constellation
    Turbine wrote: »
    Apart from the still broken pre-loading. It stops the micro pauses but marginally makes it load quicker from an 11gb ramdisk.

    If it fixes the micro-pause/stuttering, and you don't need to buy more RAM, and you don't know how to manage a RAM disk perfectly for Steam games, and you love playing NS2...

    I'd say it's worth $30.00, and I wish I knew about this way long ago.
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