Question Help with upgrading my SSD ?

[amazoniancamacho]

I own a PC with a Fatal1ty Z97 Killer motherboard in it, currently using these two SSD drives:

1. Samsung 850 EVO 120GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E120B/AM)
2. Intel Solid State Drive 180GB M.2 180 1-Inch (SSDSCKJW180H601)

Their top read speed is a whopping 540 MB/s.

I built this PC ten years ago, at the time there weren't a lot of games that I played that required a huge focus on load times. Now? With games like Baldur's Gate 3, where every half hour I'm loading the next map, or Diablo 3, where every ten minutes I'm changing maps... I'm spending more time looking at load screens than I do playing the games.

While this PC is nothing to brag about, it still performs pretty well with this generation of video games given its age... when I'm not stuck on a loading screen. I'd like to try my hand at upgrading the components one at a time, starting with the SSD, to make it a little more bearable when faced with loading new maps... however, I don't want to purchase an SSD and it turns out to be not compatible with my PC. That being said, I have looked at the specifications of my motherboard...

- 6 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 10, Intel® Rapid Storage Technology 13 and Intel® Smart Response Technology), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
- 1 x SATA Express 10 Gb/s Connector (shared with SATAE_4, SATAE_5 and M.2 Socket)*
- 1 x M.2_SSD (NGFF) Socket 3, supports M Key M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen2 x2 (10 Gb/s)

And I've loaded these prerequisites onto what I used to build the PC, NewEgg.com, but the search results are coming up... depressing. Is there a new PC Component website that may have more options? Are my options for an SSD with a higher Read Speed really that limited given the compatibility with my older motherboard? What is a compatible SSD with a faster Read Speed that you found and would recommend?

I feel (or at least I hope) that I may be doing something wrong when searching for this new SSD as I do not wish to face the reality that perhaps there isn't very many options in my situation.

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

 

[dingo07]

Any M.2 SSD should work. Stay with a standard brand to better ensure compatibility, like a 2TB Samsung PRO

 

[dwd999]

If this is the correct manual:

https://download.asrock.com/Manual/Fatal1ty Z97 Killer.pdf

page 28 indicates that you need an m.2 in the NGFF format, which being somewhat outdated is in limited supply. But there is a selection on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/ngff-ssd/s?k=ngff+ssd

There are some Western Digital models in various capacities sold and fulfilled by Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-SA510-Internal-Solid/dp/B0CFLSHNL3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.YnjTleLSyk5UnZGDN0Ru2OnsqwYbm2JYBnfnohNHaIGSwJzosLmRd1iA2li0exL7V3vMwXJNPXdMaoWWl9qa3BeN1i18iRUTpnxPSXwP4qetaHWumxp7Lbp7ny93R0L3k2CVtbdQzXs1wOI1c9Jev3Gw_eQnkRkPMPTivQDTHSZvnJ2fWK0x32PBCWwK-KXYg7eOgxI4clPW5tIiztkoqGw_qvpNsaZ1vNzqLvyUhdg.bu5fRvTzS0K3NTYFGZzXp3FR9ejOygw2OjKZhIoEDUk&dib_tag=se&keywords=ngff+ssd&qid=1748757555&rnid=303116011&sr=8-11&th=1

or the Orico models would also be good:

https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Intern...ds=orico+ngff&qid=1748757820&s=pc&sr=1-3&th=1

 

[amazoniancamacho]

If this is the correct manual:

https://download.asrock.com/Manual/Fatal1ty Z97 Killer.pdf

page 28 indicates that you need an m.2 in the NGFF format, which being somewhat outdated is in limited supply. But there is a selection on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/ngff-ssd/s?k=ngff+ssd

There are some Western Digital models in various capacities sold and fulfilled by Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-SA510-Internal-Solid/dp/B0CFLSHNL3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.YnjTleLSyk5UnZGDN0Ru2OnsqwYbm2JYBnfnohNHaIGSwJzosLmRd1iA2li0exL7V3vMwXJNPXdMaoWWl9qa3BeN1i18iRUTpnxPSXwP4qetaHWumxp7Lbp7ny93R0L3k2CVtbdQzXs1wOI1c9Jev3Gw_eQnkRkPMPTivQDTHSZvnJ2fWK0x32PBCWwK-KXYg7eOgxI4clPW5tIiztkoqGw_qvpNsaZ1vNzqLvyUhdg.bu5fRvTzS0K3NTYFGZzXp3FR9ejOygw2OjKZhIoEDUk&dib_tag=se&keywords=ngff+ssd&qid=1748757555&rnid=303116011&sr=8-11&th=1

or the Orico models would also be good:

https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Internal-Desktop-Consumption-Service/dp/B0DC9QLBXR?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rzubMXB4gI1vrWfWOQB8XhN8O4j22icg-tbpHPI6DBkHWR4xEgLDBgWBUOiKvXHwBCBiOnhM7V-C3d2F_X-Jym-TmhhJjpf0s7RtYtpq6BLbVFd54EtOSHjYdxFIEiVMUj03H2oInCV7AZtDgysCjg.zY2lpyEsjjDf3vIZpLGzo7wnZoTYi5KF5cHqKCSUfDg&dib_tag=se&keywords=orico+ngff&qid=1748757820&s=pc&sr=1-3&th=1

Thank you for your response!

So I noticed the Western Digital only had a Read Speed of 560MB/s, which is only 20MB/s more than what I’m using now…

I take it that this is confirmation that if I want faster, I’m going to have to build a new PC starting with a more modern motherboard with better compatibility options…?

 

[CountMike]

Thank you for your response!

So I noticed the Western Digital only had a Read Speed of 560MB/s, which is only 20MB/s more than what I’m using now…

I take it that this is confirmation that if I want faster, I’m going to have to build a new PC starting with a more modern motherboard with better compatibility options…?

All that fit your system are SATA III based so about 560MB/s is maximum for that intreface. Only M.2 NVMe (PCIe x4) SSDs are faster but your MB doesn't have interface for it.

 

[Bob.B]

I own a PC with a Fatal1ty Z97 Killer motherboard in it, currently using two SSD drives:

1. Samsung 850 EVO 120GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E120B/AM)
2. Intel Solid State Drive 180GB M.2 180 1-Inch (SSDSCKJW180H601)

Their top read speed is a whopping 540 MB/s.

I created this PC ten years ago, at the time there weren't a lot of games that I played that required a huge focus on load times. Now? With games like Baldur's Gate 3, where every half hour I'm loading the next map, or Diablo 3, where every ten minutes I'm changing maps... I'm spending more time looking at load screens than I do playing the games.

While this PC is nothing to brag about, it still performs pretty well with this generation of video games given its age... when I'm not stuck on a loading screen. I'd like to try my hand at upgrading the components one at a time, starting with the SSD, to make it a little more bearable when faced with loading new maps... however, I don't want to purchase an SSD and it turns out to be not compatible with my PC. That being said, I have looked at the specifications of my motherboard...



And I've loaded these prerequisites onto what I used to build the PC, NewEgg.com, but the search results are coming up... depressing. Is there a new PC Component website that may have more options? Are my options for an SSD with a higher Read Speed really that limited given the compatibility with my older motherboard? What is a compatible SSD with a faster Read Speed that you found and would recommend?

I feel (or at least I hope) that I may be doing something wrong when searching for this new SSD as I do not wish to face the reality that perhaps there isn't very many options in my situation.

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

What read/write speeds are you seeing from these disk?

 

[SkyNetRising]

you need an m.2 in the NGFF format, which being somewhat outdated is in limited supply.

Nonsense.
M.2 and NGFF is the same thing.
Neither is is outdated nor limited supply.

Only M.2 NVMe (PCIe x4) SSDs are faster but your MB doesn't have interface for it.

Nonsense again.
The board definitely has M.2 slot with support for NVME drives.
M.2 slot is just limited to PCIE 2.0 x2 speeds. That would be ~800MB/s.

It is possible to install PCIE M.2 adapter into second PCIE x16 slot and get PCIE 2.0 x4 bandwidth.
That would be ~1700MB/s.

What is a compatible SSD with a faster Read Speed that you found and would recommend?

Get PCIE 3.0 x4 M.2 drive - like Samsung 970 evo
and install it on PCIE M.2 adapter.

https://www.amazon.com/one-enjoy-Adapter-Profile-SK4/dp/B095XYHFGX

 

[geofelt]

Do not be much swayed by unrealistic vendor synthetic SSD benchmarks.
They are done with apps that push the SSD to it's maximum using queue lengths of 30 or so. They are done on new/clean drives for repeatability.
Most desktop users will do one or two things at a time, so they will see queue lengths of one or two.
What really counts is the response times, particularly for small random I/O. That is what the os does mostly.
For that, the response times of current SSD's are remarkably similar. And quick.
Larger SSD's are preferable.
A SSD will slow down as it approaches full. That is because it will have a harder time finding free nand blocks to do an update without a read/write operation.
Larger ssd devices have more endurance.
That said, endurance is no longer an issue with today's larger ssd devices.

If your C drive is approaching full, it will slow down. Perhaps even to abysmal speeds.
For that reason alone, a larger C drive is probably in order.

A fast pcie ssd will, indeed read faster, but the cpu still needs to process the data and may not be able to keep up.

You might want to look at this video "does a faster ssd matter for gamers?"

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

 

[evermorex76]

Get PCIE 3.0 x4 M.2 drive - like Samsung 970 evo

No sense in getting an old Gen3 drive that will cost as much or even more than a Gen4 drive that will be useful to transfer when the system does get upgraded. It won't be any faster in this board but it won't be pure e-waste when upgrading to a modern system. A 990 EVO is almost half the price of a 970 EVO Plus (the 970 EVO is way expensive since it's old and not available much). Not a HUGE speed difference but significant, and there are others even in 2nd-tier brands that are slightly cheaper and even slightly faster. (I don't think it would be worth buying an expensive high-end drive now just to have the high performance for the eventual system upgrade, but getting a good performance drive that isn't going to cost more than Gen3 is clearly worthwhile.)

 

[LOGAN54321]

PCPartPicker Part List

Storage: Crucial T500 W/Heatsink 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($132.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $132.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-02 10:41 EDT-0400

 

[evermorex76]

I'd like to try my hand at upgrading the components one at a time

Incidentally, this plan isn't viable, or at least not recommended for economic reasons. The storage is the ONLY thing you're going to be able to upgrade by itself and get any meaningful difference in performance that's worth the cost (and it's questionable whether you'll actually see a serious difference going from SATA to NVMe in anything but a few specific areas, but with the storage you'll get a boost now and be able to transfer it later).

You didn't give specs for other parts of the system. Unless you have the bare-minimum entry level specs for everything, you're not going to get a hugely faster CPU, RAM, or video card that will be worth the cost given the amount of performance increase you'll get. You can't get a major CPU upgrade without also changing the motherboard, and you'll also need to change the RAM, and then your GPU will be a bottleneck, and you might need to get a new PSU to handle everything or even have the require connectors. If you just put in a new GPU, it will be bottlenecked by the CPU. If you just max out the CPU and RAM that your board can handle, you're putting money into outdated parts that won't be viable in another year or two and all have to be replaced anyway (and your motherboard will be aging and potentially fail, as will the CPU if you buy it used, etc.)

Get the SSD. A T500, SN7100, 990 EVO or even a Silicon Power UD90 or US75 will be a very good drive now and be worth transferring to a new build later. (The UD90 of course won't be AS great as the others in a new build but wouldn't be what one would call a bottleneck.) Then just save up your money and plan for a complete system replacement at some point. You could buy a new GPU and get like 5-10FPS more now (depending on the rest of the system), or just wait and buy the same GPU later for less when you upgrade everything else. But the CPU, motherboard and RAM will ALL have to be purchased at the same time to be worth anything.

Incidentally, just a quick search found this thread, and the very last post as of now points out that in their experience while gaming in general, the user's NVMe drive never gets used more than 600MBps. That would be higher than the maximum speed of a SATA drive, but not so much more that you're going to see huge reductions in loading time. (There are a LOT of people in that thread just spouting off about NVMe automatically being way faster for games simply because the theoretical speed is faster, but they aren't actually testing it. Those who actually did comparisons in use all say it's little to no difference with BG3, and those probably aren't people using such an old and limited board as yours so your improvement will be even lower. Depends on whether 5 or 10% faster loads would be of value to you.)

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1086940/discussions/0/3812913198000834627/?ctp=4

Switching to an NVMe drive with this system now may not even be worth the cost. If you had a board that could actually make use of a good NVMe drive it would provide more overall improvements, not just in games, but PCIe Gen2 NVMe was still in the early days when the actual differences in use between that and SATA weren't that big. If you can put it in the Gen3 slot with an adapter, you'd be more likely to see noticeable improvements but they still won't be really big.