As part of the recent Xbox 360 update, the "New Xbox Experience", Microsoft enabled gamers to cache copies of their games to the system's hard drive, supposedly to speed up loading times. As players test out their game collections with the new feature, some have been posting their results to forums, where detailed lists are being compiled of game sizes and any effects the hard drive install has on gameplay. Most results seem to be positive, with varying levels of improved loading times.

The Orange Box's Half-Life 2 cuts down loads from 44.5 to 25.5 seconds when running the game from the hard drive, and Burnout Revenge reduces some load times by more than half. Other games showed less pronounced improvements, shaving a few seconds off, and a select handful of titles experience negative effects. Reports identify Halo 3 as taking longer to load when using the hard drive, and Gears of War 2 shows a "stuttering" effect when trying to save your progress. A few games, notably Crackdown, are not compatible with hard drive caching at all. Have you noticed any truly impressive speed-ups when using this new feature? Let us know in the comments.

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