2010 FIFA World Cup Hard Drive Evaluation

With 2010 FIFA World Cup in hand I have gone through and timed different loading areas when running off the disc compared to running off the hard drive on the 360. Installing to the hard drive not only has proven to cut down on load times, in some cases significantly, but it also reduces stress to the system and the noise it produces. World Cup has some lengthy load times, and surprisingly the hard drive install didn’t offer much improvement in loading to the main menu or into a match. However it did perform better when loading into different areas of the game.

Install Size- 6.2 GB
Install Time- 10:18

Loading Times
Load to Main Menu- 1:05 disc vs 1:02 hard drive (3 seconds)
Load into Match to kickoff- 1:29 disc vs 1:23 hard drive (6 seconds)
Load out of Match to Main Menu- :05 disc vs :05 hard drive (No advantage)
Load into Saved Tournament- :17 disc vs :12 hard drive (5 seconds)
Load into Training Ground- :12 disc vs :06 hard drive (6 seconds)
Load into Penalty Shootout- :24 disc vs :17 hard drive (7 seconds)

As always it is recommended to install the game to the hard drive if you have the space. Though the improvements to the loading times do not appear terribly significant they are still noticeable with the biggest benefit the 360 running quiet and cool throughout the play sessions.