M.2 Gen 2 and Gen 3 Vs Ramdisk

imagineandfeel

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Mar 20, 2009
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Hi guys, and thank you for your time.
Just got all my parts for a x99 build.
in efforts to build a computer that will Run Photoshop CC and Most importantly Capture One 8.

Also while not a priority Premier CC and After Effects CC. (I think I've only used them about 10 time in the past 10 years.)

My main reason of building my pc is to run a software called capture one pro 8
This is the only piece of software that is painstakingly slow on my old build

CPU:i7 920 on
Motherboard: p6t Deluxe V2
Ram12GB of ram at 534.5mhz (Don't ask me why)
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 7700 1gig ram
HDD:250 SSD , 2x 3TB Drives

However They say that I would get a lot of performance out well specked system and a good GPU. In one of the software showcase videos they say that it uses OpenCL to assist the CPU in processes. So here are the specs for the current build.

1. CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K
2. Case: Corsair Obsidian 350D
3. Motherboard : Asrock Fatal1ty x99M Killer
4. CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken x31
5. Ram: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (4x 4GB) 2800 DDR4
6. PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 B2
7. Sapphire Tri-x R9 290x

I am wondering if I'm going to hit a bottle neck using a SSD.
Here's the one I already have from my old system. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148443

I did my research for best bang for the buck on SSD before I found out about m.2 and purchased this the following for the and got the Evo 840 SSD http://www.ebay.com/itm/111487466506?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

My board supports the M.2 Ultra (Pcie Gen 3 x4)

My question is should I sell the Evo and get a xp941, and then sell that when the xp951 comes out, or should sell my 16 GB Ram and get 32GB and allocate a large chunk of it to a Ramdisk?
 
Solution
With the recent adoption of the new international SATA standard as well as development of new interfaces (headers/ports/connectors) the ssd industry is in a state of transition. The transition is from standard 2.5 inch SATA 3 6Gb/s and mSATA ssd's to the new PCIe and M.2 ssd's. In the grand plan PCIe ssd's were to replace the standard ssd's in desktop pc's and M.2 ssd's were to be used in mobile pc's. The PCIe ssd's were to use PCIe 3.0 x16 slots on desktop motherboards while M.2 ssd's were to use a smaller interface. Currently M.2 ssd's can be either SATA 3 6Gb/s, PCIe 2.0 x2, PCIe 2.0 x4, or PCIe 3.0 x4. There is one more new interface - SATA Express which for the time being can be ignored.

Things did not go according to plan. Mobile...
With the recent adoption of the new international SATA standard as well as development of new interfaces (headers/ports/connectors) the ssd industry is in a state of transition. The transition is from standard 2.5 inch SATA 3 6Gb/s and mSATA ssd's to the new PCIe and M.2 ssd's. In the grand plan PCIe ssd's were to replace the standard ssd's in desktop pc's and M.2 ssd's were to be used in mobile pc's. The PCIe ssd's were to use PCIe 3.0 x16 slots on desktop motherboards while M.2 ssd's were to use a smaller interface. Currently M.2 ssd's can be either SATA 3 6Gb/s, PCIe 2.0 x2, PCIe 2.0 x4, or PCIe 3.0 x4. There is one more new interface - SATA Express which for the time being can be ignored.

Things did not go according to plan. Mobile computers have been outselling desktop pc's for quite some time. Samsung has been quietly mass producing and distributing their XP941 M.2 NGFF PCIe 2.0 x4 ssd for well over a year. It is strictly OEM only. Samsung has lucrative contracts to supply the XP941 to pc companies such as Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and others. The XP941 was never meant to be sold as a retail model for installation in desktop pc's. There are a few select online retailers that recently started selling the XP941 but technically it is as an OEM replacement drive. Because of that there is a problem with warranty claims and technical support. If one purchases a Dell mobile computer with the XP941 and the ssd is defective, then the warranty claim is part of the Dell warranty for the mobile pc. A user would submit a warranty claim to Dell instead of Samsung. On the other hand if a user purchases a "replacement" XP941 for use in a desktop pc, then there is no technical support and the status of any warranty is not clear. In about 6 months Samsung will be mass producing and distributing a new 951 version that will be M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 and include several new features. That's where the real performance gain will be providing Samsung makes a retail version available. As the matter now stands I can't recommended the XP941 simply because it is OEM only. Hopefully that will change with the 951 model.

For desktop pc's we should have already seen the new PCIe NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) ssd's. Intel and Samsung are already mass producing the new drives. Unfortunately they are enterprise ssd's rather than consumer ssd's. We should start to see consumer versions of the new drives in a few months. The drives are mounted on small half height, half length PCIe cards that are installed in a PCI 3.0 slot on the motherboard.

For now I recommend sticking with the Samsung 840 EVO you selected. Don't forget to install the Samsung SSD Magician utility. Use the utility to automatically configure the OS and ssd for maximum performance. In addition enable "rapid mode". Rapid mode is a variation of a virtual RAMDISK. Samsung had acquired NVELO, known for their Dataplex SSD caching software, to help them with the rapid mode technology. It happened about the same time AMD memory partnered with DataRam. Plextor also entered into a similar partnership. We will probably see a few more ssd's with some form of ramdisk included.

The Samsung rapid mode is currently limited to only a small portion of its true capability. Samsung's rapid mode can use up to 25% of a motherboard's memory providing it is available. However, it is currently restricted to 1GB. It is my understanding that it will eventually change to a full 25% of installed memory if available.

Finally, a user can install a virtual ramdisk application for the ultimate in performance. Ramdisks have been around as long as I can remember. There are many variations and they all have their pro's and con's. Unfortunately the current price of new DDR4 memory for X99 systems is too expensive to make it a viable option.

Personally I am content to wait for the new PCIe NVMe ssd's for consumer desktop pc's.



 
Solution

imagineandfeel

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Mar 20, 2009
8
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18,510
Thank you i7Baby Sora and Johnny Lucky for taking the time to share your advise.
I'll stick with my setup, experiment with Rapid Mode, and hold out on M.2 till XP951 Comes out.
I really appreciate you guys.