[SOLVED] Moving up from mechanical drive to ssd, what would you recommend?

alphacoyle

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I have M2 slots (from Rog Strix B460-I motherboard:)
1 x M.2_1 socket 3, with M Key, Type 2242/2260/2280 (PCIE 3.0 x4 and SATA modes) storage devices support*
1 x M.2_2 socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE 3.0 x4 mode)
* when M.2_1 is operating in SATA mode, SATA6G_2 will be disabled

I don't do anything that needs cutting edge speed, just want to improve general drive speed. Looking at spending between $50-$75 for 500gb and use the mechanical drive for extra storage.
Are there any cons to using a M2 drive over sata ssd? I am looking for long term reliability first most.
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
I have M2 slots (from Rog Strix B460-I motherboard:)
1 x M.2_1 socket 3, with M Key, Type 2242/2260/2280 (PCIE 3.0 x4 and SATA modes) storage devices support*
1 x M.2_2 socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (PCIE 3.0 x4 mode)
* when M.2_1 is operating in SATA mode, SATA6G_2 will be disabled

I don't do anything that needs cutting edge speed, just want to improve general drive speed. Looking at spending between $50-$75 for 500gb and use the mechanical drive for extra storage.
Are there any cons to using a M2 drive over sata ssd? I am looking for long term reliability first most.
A 2.5inch SATA drive will provide the most storage for your $$$. A 2.5 inch MX500 is $60 on amazon right now.
 
"long term reliability" gets into anecdotal responses and sheer hoping real quick.

I'd likely stick with a name brand from a vendor that was lenient on return privileges.

Will this be ONLY a boot drive (Windows and apps) or for Windows, apps, AND data? ALL storage on the mechanical?

Your m.2 slots appear identical other than the SATA disabling restriction.

WD SN 750 or Samsung 970 EVO Plus both highly rated.

May not even notice a difference if you stepped down to WD SN 550 or Intel 760p.

Ideal situation:

Fast compatible boot drive for Windows and apps ONLY. You may not notice differences between "average 2.5 inch SATA" and "fast m.2 NVMe" in actual use.

Separate "average" speed SSD for data only. No over-riding advantage to m.2 other than avoiding cables. Go as fast as your budget allows if you feel more up-to-date for doing so, but likely you wouldn't notice the speed advantage in most use cases.
 
Last edited:
On a gross level, ANY SSD is going to be a big improvement over a HDD.
Random I/O which is done some 90% of the time will be perhaps 40x faster than a HDD.
Sequential performance will be 3-6x better.
The pcie drives will be in the upper end.

m.2 is a size format.
About the dimensions of a stick of gum.
It comes in both sata and pcie flavors.
The price will be similar for the same capacity.
Ditto for 2.5" drives.
One nice thing about m.2 is that you need no psu or sata cables.
Not so nice is if you have to change it out since they fit in a motherboard slot that might be obstructed by a graphics card. Buy larger up front if you can.

As to long term reliability, check the warranty period.
A good warranty like for a samsung 970 EVO + will be 5 years:
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-evo-plus-500gb/p/N82E16820147742?quicklink=true
A lesser drive will usually have 3 year warranty.
Nand chips have a limited number of writes.
As a practical matter, using a 500gb ssd or larger, you will never run out of writes.

I particularly like Samsung and their easy ssd migration app.
It is a logical C drive mover, not a clone which is a bit for bit copy.
You can download the app and instructions here:

Do not get hung up on performance, even experts have a hard time detecting differences.
Here is an amusing video:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA
 
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alphacoyle

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On a gross level, ANY SSD is going to be a big improvement over a HDD.
Random I/O which is done some 90% of the time will be perhaps 40x faster than a HDD.
Sequential performance will be 3-6x better.
The pcie drives will be in the upper end.

m.2 is a size format.
About the dimensions of a stick of gum.
It comes in both sata and pcie flavors.
The price will be similar for the same capacity.
Ditto for 2.5" drives.
One nice thing about m.2 is that you need no psu or sata cables.
Not so nice is if you have to change it out since they fit in a motherboard slot that might be obstructed by a graphics card. Buy larger up front if you can.

As to long term reliability, check the warranty period.
A good warranty like for a samsung 970 EVO + will be 5 years:
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-evo-plus-500gb/p/N82E16820147742?quicklink=true
A lesser drive will usually have 3 year warranty.
Nand chips have a limited number of writes.
As a practical matter, using a 500gb ssd or larger, you will never run out of writes.

I particularly like Samsung and their easy ssd migration app.
It is a logical C drive mover, not a clone which is a bit for bit copy.
You can download the app and instructions here:

Do not get hung up on performance, even experts have a hard time detecting differences.
Here is an amusing video:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

Can I use that to migrate from the 2tb Barracuda drive to a 500gb 970 EVO Plus? Or do they have to be same size?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
-----------------------------
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, install the relevant driver for this new NVMe/PCIe drive.
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive

-ignore this section if using the Samsung Data Migration tool
If you are going from a smaller drive to a larger, by default, the target partition size will be the same as the Source. You probably don't want that
You can manipulate the size of the partitions on the target (larger)drive
Click on "Cloned Partition Properties", and you can specifiy the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing
/end ignore

Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
-----------------------------