mSATA vs SSD in a gaming laptop

[CynicalMan]

Hi everyone,

I am going to buy a customized gaming laptop from Xoticpc.com

At this point I am considering a Gigabyte P35x v3.
What I would like to hear your opinion on is my need for mSATA vs SSD in the laptop.

My choice of SSD is Samsung 850 Pro (256 or 512 GB)
My choice of MSATA is Samsung 840 EVO Solid State mSATA III

Their website allows me to configure the following options:
- mSATA Option: Operating System Installed [Default] w/ mSATA(s)
- RAID 0 Configuration of mSATA's in Primary HDD Bay

1) With my choice of the hard drives, where should I install my OS, mSATA or SSD? (assuming RAID0 doesn't attract me as an option. I could have considered RAID1, but not sure why they don't offer it, and I am not sure if will be able to create it myself),

2) If I have a fast SSD, do I even need mSATA? Using it for cache might be a pretty costly decision, no?

3) 840 EVO mSATA is a little cheaper, but 850 PRO SSD is a little faster. Is there a difference in reliability and lifespan of those I should also consider?

4) Will my decision based on the questions above affect a laptop's temperatures while gaming? (assuming a game or OS is installed on mSATA vs SSD)

Thanks for your responses in advance.

 

[Mugglensu1984]

You can create a Raid 1 yourself using windows/dos.
SSD drives are connected to the laptop via SATA. The mSATA drive will be connected via micro-stata sockets on the motherboard.
Basically mSATA is a much smaller sized SSD.
850 Pro is definitely better than the 840.
Whether a game or OS is installed on mSATA or SSD gaming performance will be same.

If I were you (and I had the budget) I'd consider getting both the mSATA (OS) and SSD (DATA) drives.

 

[CynicalMan]

You can create a Raid 1 yourself using windows/dos.
SSD drives are connected to the laptop via SATA. The mSATA drive will be connected via micro-stata sockets on the motherboard.
Basically mSATA is a much smaller sized SSD.
850 Pro is definitely better than the 840.
Whether a game or OS is installed on mSATA or SSD gaming performance will be same.

If I were you (and I had the budget) I'd consider getting both the mSATA (OS) and SSD (DATA) drives.

Thanks!
I am also considering Sager NP8652-S (Clevo P650SG) now. It has an option of 128GB Samsung SM951 M.2 PCIe mSATA SSD which is much faster than both 840 and 850.

It would install OS on it.

The only downgrade from Gigabyte is 4gb of VRAM vs 8gb, both have 980M. Do you think it is very crucial to have 8gigs or 4gb is enough?

Thanks,

 

[Mugglensu1984]

Most games nowadays have a recommended spec of needing at the minimum 8 gigs of total system RAM.

Its not a problem if the Sager NP8652-S comes with 4GB ram. You can always add more ram later on.

 

[CynicalMan]

Most games nowadays have a recommended spec of needing at the minimum 8 gigs of total system RAM.

Its not a problem if the Sager NP8652-S comes with 4GB ram. You can always add more ram later on.

Oh no, I am actually talking about the VideoRAM that comes with a video card.
I will have have 16gb of regular RAM, it s way enough at this point

 

[Mugglensu1984]

Most games nowadays have a recommended spec of needing at the minimum 8 gigs of total system RAM.

Its not a problem if the Sager NP8652-S comes with 4GB ram. You can always add more ram later on.

Oh no, I am actually talking about the VideoRAM that comes with a video card.
I will have have 16gb of regular RAM, it s way enough at this point

In that case I can say with certainty that more Vram is always better. Deffo go for the laptoip with 8GB iof Vram