I know the SSD m.2 slot in my Z97-A will only offer 2x but I'm wondering if the 970 Pro is overkill compared to the 860?
I understand PCI can give me greater speeds but what is the max option for the m.2 slot.
I want to use a 1TB boot. A standard 1tb ssd as a work disk.
The only performance difference you'd see would be in artificial benchmarks.
The M.2 ports on Z97 boards (I have one) can't utilize an NVMe drive to its fullest, much less the 970 Pro.
What do you use this system and this drive for?
Except in large data transfers between 2x NVMe drive, you'll see little if any real change over a SATA III SSD.
I recently installed a 1TB Intel 660p in a PCIe x4 slot (so giving its full performance).
Secondary drive, not the boot drive.
In my normal operations, generally a lot of photo imaging...I literally cannot tell the difference between that and a 1TB Samsung 860 EVO.
Tested and timed, writing out the same images and data out to each drive. Zero difference.