Question NVMe vs. SAS/SATA for Workflows

[AlanLovesComputers]

Hello there,

Has anyone come across a situation in developing applications (ex. 3D editing/rendering, photoshop, high-res audio) where you needed an NVMe interface as part of your storage workflow, as opposed to SAS/SATA? I know NVMe is pricier, but has anyone come across a situation where the increased performance of NVMe justified paying more?

I appreciate any insight... thank you.

 

[mdd1963]

If assembling a new rig that has an available M.2 NVME port, and you are in need of a boot/OS drive of 500 GB, 1 or 2 TB, then, Intel every day.

Intel's 660P is priced about like a standard SATA SSD, but, 3 times as fast....

(The decision was/is a bit more'thought-worthy' 2.5 years ago, in the days of $130 SSD vs. $250 NVME, etc...; but now that $250 will get you a 2 TB drive of SATA or Intel NVME spec,....choose NVME. Naturally, a 2 TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus at $470 is more of a personal decision of weighing performance and value , or, choosing if the 'double the flashy sequential read spec' is really all that noticeable.)

 

[USAFRet]

Hello there,

Has anyone come across a situation in developing applications (ex. 3D editing/rendering, photoshop, high-res audio) where you needed an NVMe interface as part of your storage workflow, as opposed to SAS/SATA? I know NVMe is pricier, but has anyone come across a situation where the increased performance of NVMe justified paying more?

I appreciate any insight... thank you.

Reiterating the above.

This choice absolutely varies with time.
Today, the Intel 660p is $ per GB comparable to a SATA III SSD.
Given a system that can natively utilize an M.2 NVMe drive, its mostly a no brainer. Little reason to not get the faster 660p.

A few short months ago, the decision would have been harder.

Now...the 660p is not as 'fast' as the poster child Samsung 970 EVO or 970 Pro.
But those come at an added cost.

You also have to evaluate your particular workflow.
I recently added a 1TB 660p to my drive lineup.

In my typical use with Adobe Lightroom, I cannot tell the difference between the 1TB 660p and a SATA III 1TB Samsung 860 EVO.
Even though the Intel is "3 times faster!!"
The rest of the system comes into play here.

 

[dementedchase]

if you're not dealing with really big files, there will not be a noticeable difference.
ie: no faster boot times, nothing faster in games. But if you are reading and writing large sequential files, you will feel the POOOWWWER.

Someone else might want to mention the difference between the caching on different types of NVMe drives, and discuss why a QLC drive is so much cheaper than an MLC, but i think rule of thumb is, go with NVMe if it's similarly priced.