If you’re a gamer, it’s a given that you want the smoothest gameplay experience possible. There are many possible modifications you can make to your computer in order to reach a state where you can run games without a hitch, and one of them is switching from a hard disk drive (HDD) to a solid-state drive, or SSD. You can learn how SSDs affect gaming performance through this article and decide whether one will make a worthy addition to your PC.
Do SSDs Improve Frame Rates?
A common question people ask when speaking of SSDs is whether they help to improve frame rates. The reality is that SSDs do not have any significant advantage over HDDs in this area. They will not give you more frames per second while you are actively in a game, so you won’t see any difference in movement polish. What then are SSDs useful for?
Boot and Load Times
The answer for how SSDs affect gaming performance is primarily found in the boot and load times that your computer carries out. SSDs store your game’s data for retrieval when you play. They shine in that your computer will be able to find and pull up that data faster. So if you install a game on an SSD, any point that involves loading a new screen will take much less time. This includes the initial boot-up of the game and intervals between the menus and game itself.
Hitching
An SSD can make a difference in the gameplay as well. While it won’t increase frame rates, it can stop hitching. Hitching is when the loading of assets within the game can’t keep up with your movements within it. Say, for instance, that you are playing a first-person shooter. As you walk around the map, you might see pauses on the screen then jumps of movement from one spot to the next with no visible connection in between. An SSD will keep hitching from occurring since it loads everything suitably fast.
