Crysis Level Loading Time With 8x OCZ Onyx SSD RAID0 on LSI MegaRaid 9260-8i Linus Tech Tips

The video demonstrates the level loading time of Crysis when played from a high performance eight SSD RAID0 array connected through an LSI MegaRaid 9260-8i controller. The host machine is described in detail at the start, featuring an overclocked 4 GHz Core i7, MSI GTX 460 graphics, and 8 OCZ Onyx SSDs arranged in RAID, aimed at evaluating how such a fast storage configuration impacts game startup and first level load times. The creator begins by launching Crisis on a fresh patch and notes it is the first boot on this specific hardware, then proceeds to adjust some in-game video settings before starting a new game. Throughout the run, he discusses the perceived bottlenecks, the unreliability of cutscenes for measuring load times, and the practical observation that the actual level loading is driven by the data transfer from the array rather than the GPU or CPU alone. The core result is presented when the loading hits a measurable point, with the RAID array achieving substantially higher sequential read speeds, around 700 MB per second, compared to prior setups. He explicitly remarks that while the eight SSDs deliver faster loads, his overall satisfaction with the array’s performance remains modest due to possible improvements with higher end SSDs. The video closes with a reminder to subscribe and a casual note on the experimental nature of the benchmark, inviting future refinements and alternate configurations to better quantify loading performance. Overall, the video serves as an empirical example of how a multi-SSD RAID0 storage solution can influence game startup dynamics, highlighting the interplay between storage throughput and in-game loading times.

Topics · technology · hardware · storage · benchmarking