Question Asus Prime X570 Pro, M.2 SSD Install questions! Pls HALP!

[jonnyruck]

Hey guys! (and gals) So I've got the WD Black 850x that I want to make my main drive for gaming... My old drive is the WD550sn. I know that there are two spots for NVME on X570 Prime Pro, one with the Heat Sink and one closer to the CPU without heatsink. I purchased the 850x without heat sink, so my thoughts would be put it in the second slot with the heat sink, but I've heard also that I should put it closest to the CPU for fastest speeds... What should I do? Do I copy everything to the new drive? Besides formatting what do I need to do? Move the games to the new drive? Which slot? Thanks so much in advance!

 

[COLGeek]

What CPU are you using in this motherboard? I am asking because of the info in the motherboard manual (pg. 1-21):

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/SocketAM4/PRIME_X570-PRO/E17432_PRIME_X570-PRO_UM_v3_web.pdf?model=PRIME%20X570-PRO

Lets determine what you are working with before deciding how best to use your SSDs. BTW, what is the capacity of each?

 

[jonnyruck]

Thanks so much for your prompt reply! I normally use Reddit for this type of thing but thought I would give this a shot. They are both 1TB. I'm running Zotac 4090 Amp Airo+5800x3D with 32GB 3600 RAM. Older SSD is WDsn550 and that's where Windows and everything is now. I'm going for the best gaming performance and load times...I know this will probably aid me by a few frames but cut down drastically on load/read/write times. I think this WDBlack is at least 2x as fast as the 550SN?

 

[Lafong]

"drastically".....................

Maybe so, subject to your definition of the word.

Hard to say if the money might have been better spent elsewhere.

 

[jonnyruck]

"drastically".....................

Maybe so, subject to your definition of the word.

Hard to say if the money might have been better spent elsewhere.

$59 I think will not keep me up at night. So you don't think the jump from Gen3 to Gen4 read/write/load speeds (4k 120hz gaming in Pyscho Ray-Traced CyberPunk etc).... You think I no benefit?

 

[Lafong]

You think I no benefit?

Two drives, two ports, one heatsink. Various temperatures and speeds resulting. Operating system and data in various locations.

That's a bunch of different permutations.

You could try them all if you want. Experimentation over days or weeks.

I'd expect you'll see some differences between all of them. I have NO idea if those differences would meet your definition of "drastically".

If you try 11 possibilities, there is always the chance that the 12th will be more satisfactory to you for whatever reason.

At what point would you say "that's good enough"?

I don't know what will ultimately control your decision. A benchmark of some type? A stopwatch test? With little regard for temperatures? With major regard for temperatures? Ignoring or not ignoring what someone on Reddit might say?

When the smoke has cleared, you get to decide if the time, trouble, and expense was justified. That's a purely personal decision that only you can answer......in the rear view mirror, unfortunately.

 

[jonnyruck]

Thanks for your response, however a little vague. So I was unaware that the one heat sink at the bottom also worked for the ssd by the CPU. IF this is the case then I think I would be best benefitting by moving my current SSD to where the heat sink is located and place the newer 850x in the slot closest to the CPU... If this is the case do I need to first install the 850x in bottom slot and format it and transfer windows and games to the 850x or can I leave windows and boot on the old SSD and use the new one for gaming only? Or do I move all 700gb from old SSD to new SSD and just use the older SN550 as a backup when my 850x fills up? I've never added multiple ssd before.

 

[jonnyruck]

What CPU are you using in this motherboard? I am asking because of the info in the motherboard manual (pg. 1-21):

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/SocketAM4/PRIME_X570-PRO/E17432_PRIME_X570-PRO_UM_v3_web.pdf?model=PRIME%20X570-PRO

Lets determine what you are working with before deciding how best to use your SSDs. BTW, what is the capacity of each?

Thanks so much for your prompt reply! I normally use Reddit for this type of thing but thought I would give this a shot. They are both 1TB. I'm running Zotac 4090 Amp Airo+5800x3D with 32GB 3600 RAM. Older SSD is WDsn550 and that's where Windows and everything is now. I'm going for the best gaming performance and load times...I know this will probably aid me by a few frames but cut down drastically on load/read/write times. I think this WDBlack is at least 2x as fast as the 550SN?

 

[Lafong]

I'm guessing the most common response would be to put your fastest drive nearest the CPU and then buy an add-on heatsink for it if you think that is necessary. You might if you are highly temp-averse, for good reasons or not.

With the OS and apps on that fastest drive.

Both ports support gen 4 drives.

You should certainly be able to transfer "everything" from the old SSD to the faster one. Via cloning or imaging.

Neither cloning or imaging would require that you format anything. That would be taken care of by the cloning or imaging process.

Or do a clean install onto the fastest drive.

I don't know how much your gaming installations would complicate all of this.

It's entirely possible the end result will show less improvement than you might have hoped, but we don't have a good idea of your expectations.