Well I've just added 4 GB of RAM to get to 8 GB and fully benefit from the LAA enabler ( my only CTDs were caused by Oblivion.exe running out of RAM )


currently I have a 7200 RPM, I was wondering what kind of performance upgrade would I see by getting a 10000 rpm? SDD are too expensive right now, I don't like to spend an arm and a leg for stuff.

Data folder is 27 GB, about 60 BSA ( some big ones like MMM and WAC ) and also some loose files (QTP3R + BOMRETS, others )

let me know if I should provide more info and thanks in advance for the help as usual

I upgraded to a 10,000 RPM hard drive a few years ago. I now have both: 7200 and 10000. I occasionally move a game from my 72000 HD to my 10000 HD and when I do I usually notice a difference. I have a slightly smoother gaming experience when I install games on my 10000 hard drive.

How about SSD?
It's faster than 10000 RPM HDD, and it's more expensive as well.

Yes, I expect moving from a 72k hard drive to a 10k hard driv e WOULD make a difference
In all seriousness though, there are a fair number of SSDs out there that don't cost much more than equivalent traditional HDD. They're not nearly as expensive as they used to be, at any rate - and they probably have a longer life than a traditional HDD.

I'm sure I recall reading that one of the drawbacks of an SSD is that they have a shorter life expectancy than traditiaonal HDD.

That depends on the brand of SSD really. Some of them do have longer lifespans than mechanical drives, but you'll be paying close to $1500 for that kind of quality.

If you can get a 10K drive for a good price, go with that. Oblivion may not have a dramatic improvement but it will obviously benefit your whole system.

good info, thanx everyone

is it possible to just copypaste the Oblivion folder to the new HDD, or do you have to reinstall?

I'll have to check if I have a spare slot for another HDD or if I'd have to replace mine ( that would be annoying :/ )

You can copy/paste but it would be wiser to reinstall or edit the registry (if you're confident with this) to redirect the install location entry. Otherwise programs which rely on the registry to find the game folder won't work anymore (like TES4Edit, TES4LODGen, TES4Gecko probably, maybe Wrye Bash, maybe OBMM, maybe NMM, other programs used for playing with the game files).

Actually SSD degrades much faster than HDDs as well as having more data integerity issues. This is why SSDs are only recommended as Cache in enterprise raid arrays. It only really benefits mobile devices when vibration is an issue. Otherwise, if you are seeking for ultimate performance on desktop, Ramdisk is the way to go.

Good to know. My personal laptop has a 5400rpm HDD while my business laptop has a SDD...I can definitely tell the performance difference, BUT the personal laptop has seen 4 years' service more than the business laptop has. It'll be interesting to see if the SDD lasts that long with regular use.