If i install just one disc for a game like ME3 is that enough decrease the load times in general or do i have to install both discs to get the optimal performance?

If you have to use both discs to beat the game, you will have to install both discs.

i would think that it would decrease the load times for the disc that's in the system. that's how it worked whenever I installed multiple disc games but i ain't no expert

Installing one disc will get you better performance with the content from that disc. Since the system only install the games to a disc image, when you need to change to disc II and it's not installed it will run through the optical drive and will give you the performance from that, which is inferior to installing it.

Installing Disc 1 will make the load times for content on Disc 1 faster. Content on Disc 2, however, will not load as fast.

The reason i asked is i assume that certain assets exist on both disc(since you can walk around the Normandy no matter what disc is in) so i thought at least those areas would load faster with one disc installed.

I guess i should just buy a bigger hard drive.

@Jedted said:

The reason i asked is i assume that certain assets exist on both disc(since you can walk around the Normandy no matter what disc is in) so i thought at least those areas would load faster with one disc installed.

I guess i should just buy a bigger hard drive.

Yes, this is an excellent time to spend money on an XBOX360 or PS3

@DarknessMyOldFriend: I'm not talkin about a whole new console, just a new HDD. It's actually easy to buy one of the old 360 HDDs, take it out of the case and slip in a X360-S.

excelent time to buy a ps3 or 360-i think not, best time to buy a wii u i think so

@mariokart64fan: A HDD is a lot different from buying a whole console. You don't think no one will still be playing 360 games when the next generation finally drops?

*cough*PS2*cough*

I'd buy flash drives. They're very cheap now, the Xbox supports units up to 32 GB, and they'll be useful long after this generation is gone.

If you do go this route, be sure to check benchmark tests. Read and write speeds vary incredibly between manufacturers and models.

@DarknessMyOldFriend said:

@Jedted said:

The reason i asked is i assume that certain assets exist on both disc(since you can walk around the Normandy no matter what disc is in) so i thought at least those areas would load faster with one disc installed.

I guess i should just buy a bigger hard drive.

Yes, this is an excellent time to spend money on an XBOX360 or PS3

haha What? We're gonna be playing X-Box 360's and PS3's for at least another year, and most likely a lot longer than that.

@mlarrabee said:

I'd buy flash drives. They're very cheap now, the Xbox supports units up to 32 GB, and they'll be useful long after this generation is gone.

If you do go this route, be sure to check benchmark tests. Read and write speeds vary incredibly between manufacturers and models.

I'm currently using a 64gb flash drive but of course the maximum Xbox partition is 16gb(unless they've changed something recently?). I only use it for DLC and save files, haven't used it for game installations.

How would i check the benchmark of the drive and what is the optimal speed of most flash drives?

@Jedted: As it turns out, it supports two flash memory units simultaneously, each 16 Gigs. I was under the mistaken impression it supported a single 32 GB stick.

There are a few sites dedicated to flash drive memory unit benchmarking. If one hits below some unknown "does not meet recommendations" requirements, the Xbox will spit out that message and refuse to format and use it, so it's fairly important -though nearly all flash drives made by reputable manufacturers within the last couple of years should be just fine. But this video shows just how disparate speeds can be.

http://www.pendrivereviews.com/

http://www.techenclave.com/storage-solutions/usb-flash-drive-benchmark-thread-118282/

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/usb-thumb-drive-charts/benchmarks,109.html

How large is your HDD?