M.2 SSD's

NavyLCDR · 30 Jul 2018

KabyBlue said:

The jump from a regular SATA III HDD (6Gbps) to an SATA III SSD (whether it be M.2 or 2.5" form factor) is much greater and more noticeable than going from SATA III to an NVME SSD. Yes, on paper (and using benchmarks such as CrystalDiskMark) it's clear that "theoretically" NVMe can run laps around SATA III SSDs (up to 3600MB/s reads vs 550MB/s approx.) but the perceivable difference in day to day tasks for most users is negligible.

I agree. I recently purchased a Dell I7 laptop. I had the choice of 2 options, a 1TB HDD or a 512 GB SSD. I chose the 512 GB SSD version because I already had a 1 TB HDD that I figured I would install as the secondary HDD. When I opened the computer, I was surprised that the 512 GB SSD intalled was in the SATA III drive port and there was an empty M.2 slot. UGGGGH! So I went ahead and put a Toshiba M.2 NVMe drive and left the SATA III SSD installed. I do not notice any large speed improvement from the SATA III SSD to the M.2 NVMe SSD.

CountMike · 31 Jul 2018

KabyBlue said:

As someone that was recently in the market for an M.2 NVMe SSD, I thought I would put my two-cents if you don't mind.

The jump from a regular SATA III HDD (6Gbps) to an SATA III SSD (whether it be M.2 or 2.5" form factor) is much greater and more noticeable than going from SATA III to an NVME SSD. Yes, on paper (and using benchmarks such as CrystalDiskMark) it's clear that "theoretically" NVMe can run laps around SATA III SSDs (up to 3600MB/s reads vs 550MB/s approx.) but the perceivable difference in day to day tasks for most users is negligible.

NVMe really flexes its muscles when it comes to handling of large files (think 4K video rendering, data servers, 3D modeling). Personally, I got the Samsung Evo 970 500GB because I often transfer large files -- upwards of 20GB -- between my virtual machines & other mediums (usually SSDs).

With that said, if you want to get an NVME SSD but are tight on cash, you can consider looking into getting one of Samsung's OEM drives, such as the PM961 off eBay from a reputable seller (my PC came with a 250GB PM961 & I upgraded to the 500GB Evo 970 for storage reasons). But if you were to buy new, you can't go wrong with either the Evo 970 or WD Black (make sure to get the one with a black skin as the older generation WD Black had a blue skin & abysmal performance).

Well noted, just to ad one thing. "Spinner" HDDs can't even fill up SATA2 bandwidth so them being SATA3 means nothing.

jimbo45 · 31 Jul 2018

CountMike said:

Well noted, just to ad one thing. "Spinner" HDDs can't even fill up SATA2 bandwidth so them being SATA3 means nothing.

Hi there
I find using the WD black as an external USB3 drive fast enough -- I have 3 VM's on it. Works a treat - but agree get the proper WD black.

With current speeds I'm not sure I'm doing anything on a computer that even remotely needs those speeds -- even if the MOBO bus could handle them. However if you are supplying cloud services or Video on Demand to zillions of users then that's another issue.

I'm not against development in technology but I'd gladly trade off some of the mega fast speed for cheaper higher capacity SSD models like say 4TB which doesn't require a down payment for a house mortgage to buy it !!!!!!.

However with the current M2 Form factor a 4TB M2 SSD would probably have to be as long as a Pro Sniper's rifle!!!

Cheers
jimbo

CountMike · 31 Jul 2018

jimbo45 said:

Hi there
I find using the WD black as an external USB3 drive fast enough -- I have 3 VM's on it. Works a treat - but agree get the proper WD black.

With current speeds I'm not sure I'm doing anything on a computer that even remotely needs those speeds -- even if the MOBO bus could handle them. However if you are supplying cloud services or Video on Demand to zillions of users then that's another issue.

I'm not against development in technology but I'd gladly trade off some of the mega fast speed for cheaper higher capacity models like say 4TB which doesn't require a down payment for a house mortgage to buy it !!!!!!.

Cheers
jimbo

USB external drives speeds are limited by interface if drive is actually faster than what USB2/3/3.1(first gen) bandwidth allows. eSATA, Thunderbolt, USB type C (3.1 second gen) are much faster, enough to run OS from external source at decent performance.

Cr00zng · 01 Aug 2018

Couple of month ego, I've built a system with two Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD. One for the system and the other for the data. The main reason for choosing the PCIe NVMe over the Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD that the price difference between the two was negligible.

The new system has replaced the previous one, with Samsung 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD. Comparing the performance of the two system, the one with the NVMe drives is certainly faster. Especially in cases of opening large databases, files, etc., that reside on the second NVMe drive. Just opening programs without large files in the NVMe system, it wasn't much faster than the internal SSD system, but noticeable.

The overall system speed increase during normal use, this is a small business PC, can be impacted by the security protection installed on the system. In my case, the system had Malwarebytes 3.x that considerably slowed the applications, especially the MS Office apps. Removing Malwarebytes and relying on Vipre AV and Windows 10 protection, the system feels faster, much faster.

I agree with Cliff, if the you have a well ventilated case, you really don't need the heatsink for the NVMe drive. The temperature for the NVMe cards hovers in the mid-30s (Celsius) during normal use...