GT5 Experiment Shows Loading Speed Issues, Solid-State HD Advantages

With loading times in Gran Turismo 5 taking up to a minute, frustrated users have taken to experimenting with solid state hard drives, improving loading speed on the game by more than half. Load time data posted by a Beyond3D forum user shows a Corsair F120 solid state drive (SSD) loaded Gran Turismo 5 game data significantly more quickly than the original PlayStation 3 HDD. For instance, the game's initial loading takes 55 seconds off the original HDD, versus 29 seconds for the SSD, according to the posted results. In addition, number of the individual level load times, some of which were over 30 seconds, have been cut by up to 50%. The PlayStation 3-exclusive title, which has shipped 5.5 million copies worldwide for its launch window, has been praised by reviewers for its fidelity and scope, but suffers from long loading times even after a lengthy hard-disc install. Flash-memory-based SSDs, which have no moving parts, still cost significantly more than standard HDDs with similar capacity. With prices coming down, however, more hardware makers may consider SSDs' faster access times and better power consumption as pluses for on-board and expandable storage.