Originally Posted by
BenBos
The problem with slow hard disks is that the data can't be transferred fast enough to your central memory.
Server information is limited to x,y,z positioning and simple data stats.
ALL the rest of the info (graphical data of the worlds and avatars) comes from your local client which resides for 99% on your hard disk.
As a result IF I wanted to port to Stormwind with a fully populated city, I load it up and get displayed in less than a second on SSD technology.
Crossing zones for me is complete seamless due to this extreme fast loading of new world/avatar information coming from the personal hard disk.
The actual data coming from the Blizzard servers is just reference data, nothing else. Just a few bytes per mili second.
Good advice: the FIRST thing you need to purchase for an MMORPG is the best HD's...
Actually you can find on You Tube THOUSANDS of videos which demonstrates this seamless playing between zones. The ones having problems are those with lousy hardware in HD's and graphic cards (500K video memory for example).
As SSD's become very cheap these days, I don't see why it would be a problem to include it in a buget PC. For example: the IPad would be impossible to manufacture without SSD's.