Question I have been stuck between NVMe and SATA SSD. What should I do now?

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maniac2556

maniac2556

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Feb 27, 2023
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Hey there,
My motherboard's M.2 slot has been occupied by OS. And other PCIE x1 slot has been blocked by the gpu heatsink. Now I want to upgrade my storage drive for gaming. I have two choice to increase my game storage.

1. Patriot Viper VP4300 Lite 2TB dramless NVMe ssd with Lexar NVMe ssd enclosure.
2. Lexar NS100 SATA 2TB(1TBx2) dramless internal SSD.

Both will cost same amount of money. For NVMe ssd, I have to pay some extra for the enclosure.

For case 1:
My motherboard does not have USB 3.2 gen 2 port. So, I have limited to 5Gbps speed. According to some benchmarking videos, 5Gbps port can give transfer speed of constant 370-380 MB/s while copying files using windows explorer.

I have to connect this portable ssd all the time with my pc as like it is an internal storage.
(i) Is there any chances to drop the speed to 20-30MB/s ?
(ii)Is there any chances of data corruption if enclosure suddenly dies?

For case 2:
By doing raid 0 of two lexar SATA ssd, it can transfer files at 900-920 MB/s in SLC mode (almost 32% of 1TB writes in SLC mode. As I am using 2 drive almost 0.6TB will write in SLC mode). When SLC cache filled up it will drop down to 210-220MB/s.

Facts:
1. Why not choosing better sata ssd with dram cache?
Ans: Recent NAND flash price hike made up this weird situation. 2TB Samsung 870 evo cost 1.52x and 1TB cost 0.7x of that patriot NVMe ssd.

Which one should I purchase?



Thank you for giving your time to answer my thread.
 
maniac2556 said:
Hey there,
My motherboard's M.2 slot has been occupied by OS. And other PCIE x1 slot has been blocked by the gpu heatsink. Now I want to upgrade my storage drive for gaming. I have two choice to increase my game storage.

1. Patriot Viper VP4300 Lite 2TB dramless NVMe ssd with Lexar NVMe ssd enclosure.
2. Lexar NS100 SATA 2TB(1TBx2) dramless internal SSD.

Both will cost same amount of money. For NVMe ssd, I have to pay some extra for the enclosure.

For case 1:
My motherboard does not have USB 3.2 gen 2 port. So, I have limited to 5Gbps speed. According to some benchmarking videos, 5Gbps port can give transfer speed of constant 370-380 MB/s while copying files using windows explorer.

I have to connect this portable ssd all the time with my pc as like it is an internal storage.
(i) Is there any chances to drop the speed to 20-30MB/s ?
(ii)Is there any chances of data corruption if enclosure suddenly dies?

For case 2:
By doing raid 0 of two lexar SATA ssd, it can transfer files at 900-920 MB/s in SLC mode (almost 32% of 1TB writes in SLC mode. As I am using 2 drive almost 0.6TB will write in SLC mode). When SLC cache filled up it will drop down to 210-220MB/s.

Facts:
1. Why not choosing better sata ssd with dram cache?
Ans: Recent NAND flash price hike made up this weird situation. 2TB Samsung 870 evo cost 1.52x and 1TB cost 0.7x of that patriot NVMe ssd.

Which one should I purchase?



Thank you for giving your time to answer my thread.
Click to expand...
RAID is almost always a bad idea. RAID with SSDs is even worse. Depending on the RAID controller TRIM for the disks may not be supported.
RAID 0 has a higher probability of losing ALL data. Is that acceptable?
Is the 1 second difference in loading a game level worth it?

At least here in the US a single 2TB Lexar disk is cheaper than two 1TB. For the cost of two 1TB disks you can get a better performing 2TB drive like an 870EVO.
 
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kanewolf said:
RAID is almost always a bad idea. RAID with SSDs is even worse. Depending on the RAID controller TRIM for the disks may not be supported.
RAID 0 has a higher probability of losing ALL data. Is that acceptable?
Is the 1 second difference in loading a game level worth it?

At least here in the US a single 2TB Lexar disk is cheaper than two 1TB. For the cost of two 1TB disks you can get a better performing 2TB drive like an 870EVO.
Click to expand...
But 2TB 870 evo is 1.52x pricier than 2TB NVMe ssd in my place as I mentioned before.

And 2TB lexar or renowned brand SATA ssd is not available. Some chinese crap like Kingspec,Netac and others are available.
 
logainofhades said:
A 2.5" SATA is just fine, for games themselves. Most games really do not benefit from faster SSD's, and the ones that do, you really aren't going to notice the minor reduction in load time. For 2.5", a Crucial MX500 is my go to drive.
Click to expand...
So, it is better to buy SATA instead of NVMe with enclosure?
 
Hello maniac. Were it my money, I would pay the extra $9 - $14 USD, and buy the fastest PCIe 4.0 gaming SSD on the market: The Crucial T500 2TB. I own a couple of dozen SSDs, and while I don't see a meaningful difference between game loading times, I do indeed notice faster game installation and game update times on the Crucial than my Samsung 990 Pro and WD SN850X. Btw, I am curious to know which motherboard and current storage drive(s) you have in your gaming rig. FYI, the Crucial has a SSD toolbox (Crucial Storage Executive) for updating firmware on their SSDs, while I do not believe that Patriot does. But regardless, the T500 would be my goto option.

Addendum: A SATA performance SSD is clearly faster and more consistent performing than a NVMe SSD connected through a USB 3.1(2) port. However, I'm curious to know your full system specs, especially your motherboard mfg & model, because it's rare to have only a single M.2 slot, and also not have a PCIe x4 slot to plug in a PCIe NVMe adapter card. If you've truly settled on a decision, that's perfectly fine. I only wondered if there was a more elegant solution available to you. If you're curious to know as well, then please list your full system specs. Thank you. - Rob

The New King of Gen4 SSDs - Crucial T500 Review
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOBMrjGwzEM


Crucial Storage Executive
scroll down to title "Optimization and update utility" and click "Download 64-BIT (206MB)"
https://www.crucial.com/support/ssd-support


Crucial T500 2TB Gen4 NVMe M.2 Internal Gaming SSD, Up to 7400MB/s, Laptop & Desktop Compatible + 1mo Adobe CC All Apps - CT2000T500SSD8
$138.99


Patriot Memory Viper VP4300 Lite 2TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD, Compatible with PS5
$124.99


Lexar 2TB NS100 SSD 2.5” SATA III Internal Solid State Drive, Up to 550MB/s Read, Gray (LNS100-2TRBNA)
$129.99
 
Last edited:
rcald2000 said:
Hello maniac. Were it my money, I would pay the extra $9 - $14 USD, and buy the fastest PCIe 4.0 gaming SSD on the market: The Crucial T500 2TB. I own a couple of dozen SSDs, and while I don't see a meaningful difference between game loading times, I do indeed notice faster game installation and game update times on the Crucial than my Samsung 990 Pro and WD SN850X. Btw, I am curious to know which motherboard and current storage drive(s) you have in your gaming rig. FYI, the Crucial has a SSD toolbox (Crucial Storage Executive) for updating firmware on their SSDs, while I do not believe that Patriot does. But regardless, the T500 would be my goto option.

Addendum: A SATA performance SSD is clearly faster and more consistent performing than a NVMe SSD connected through a USB 3.1(2) port. However, I'm curious to know your full system specs, especially your motherboard mfg & model, because it's rare to have only a single M.2 slot, and also not have a PCIe x4 slot to plug in a PCIe NVMe adapter card. If you've truly settled on a decision, that's perfectly fine. I only wondered if there was a more elegant solution available to you. If you're curious to know as well, then please list your full system specs. Thank you. - Rob

The New King of Gen4 SSDs - Crucial T500 Review
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOBMrjGwzEM


Crucial Storage Executive
scroll down to title "Optimization and update utility" and click "Download 64-BIT (206MB)"
https://www.crucial.com/support/ssd-support


Crucial T500 2TB Gen4 NVMe M.2 Internal Gaming SSD, Up to 7400MB/s, Laptop & Desktop Compatible + 1mo Adobe CC All Apps - CT2000T500SSD8
$138.99


Patriot Memory Viper VP4300 Lite 2TB M.2 PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD, Compatible with PS5
$124.99


Lexar 2TB NS100 SSD 2.5” SATA III Internal Solid State Drive, Up to 550MB/s Read, Gray (LNS100-2TRBNA)
$129.99
Click to expand...
My PC specs:
Processor: Ryzen 5 5600G PBO on.
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450M K
Ram: Corsair Venegance LPX 16GB(2x16GB) CL16 3200mhz (overclocked to 3800mhz CL22)
SSD: Samsung 970 Pro 1TB
GPU: RTX 4060 Ti 8GB
PSU: Deepcool PK550D
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK500

Actually I have purchased my gpu 6 month ago. All the parts were purchased 2 years ago.

I observed every aspect to upgrade storage but find only these two options.
 
baboma said:
Sounds like you have a smallish primary NVMe (512GB?). Get rid of it and install a 2TB to maximize your board's fastest interface. If you want to keep the OS separate (always a good idea), then put it in its own separate partition.
Click to expand...
500ish GB is fine for the OS drive.
No need to change that.

But of course, we out here do not know what specific drive is involved here.

Lets get more info before recommending a course of action.
 
baboma said:
>Just add a SATA III SSD of whatever needed size for the games.
>Never know the difference.

Because some people can indeed tell the difference between NVMe and SATA SSD...just not you.

OP is in a quandary precisely because his motherboard is old and only has one M.2 slot. What you and others are advising is that OP buys more obsolete parts to accommodate his obsolete main board. It's bad logic.
Click to expand...
And, I'll just leave it to the OP to decide what is needed.
Multiple suggestions have been proposed.
 
baboma said:
Revisiting this topic...

Hah, I suppose it's true. Some folks do take Sebastian's words as gospel. Credit to him. Sadly, I'm not among the believers.
Click to expand...
I'm not a fan of Linus either, but I agree with him here.

And its not just him.
See these:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YoRKQy-UO4


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9LyNXpsOo



The problem is that people look at the wrong "speed" for a NVMe vs SATA comparison. The big number Sequential is not where we should be comparing.
Rather, the random 4k, which is where most of our data lives.

Copying between 2 fast NVMe drives? Absolutely very very much faster than between 2x SATA SSDs.

But opening a Word doc, or game level, not so much.
 
2 drives from my system, testing just now.
1TB 980 Pro, and 1TB 860 EVO.

The number that everyone compares is outlined in Blue. The NVMe is monumentally faster.

For operations like game loading, the comparison should be the values in Red. Random 4k, which is where most of our data lives.
Faster, but not 10x faster.

C5zmKUg.png


The main benefit of SSD is the near zero access rate. That is across all SSD types.

Do you have any independent tests showing an NVMe is very much faster in level loading than a SATA III?
I'd be very interested in seeing such.


You do make a very good point about forward compatibility and price parity, though.
 
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