[SOLVED] Picking the Right SSD for my Needs and System

rtward2015

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Dec 18, 2018
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Hello,

I'm currently in the market to buy a new SSD. However, I'm very unfamiliar with the differences between the various types, whether my motherboard would even support some of them, and if one type is more appropriate for my needs versus another.

My system has a MSI Z390-A Pro motherboard, with a Thermaltake 600 Watt (SMART Series 80 PLUS gold) power supply. For storage, it is equipped with a 240 GB Western Digital Green SSD and a 1TB Western Digital blue Drive (HDD).

From my understanding, my motherboard should be able to support the following memory slots:

-two PCIe 3.0 x16 slots
-four PCIe 3.0 x1 slots
-six SATA III ports (1 taken by SSD, 1 taken by HDD currently)
-one M.2 slot.

So I really only need the additional SSD storage for two primary purposes - gaming (I'm a sucker for slightly faster load times) and data file storage (neuroimaging data, such as EEG files). From what I've read, the SATA should suffice, as the other more advanced SSDs don't seem to add much.

But I wanted to check this with people who actually know what they are talking about, because I'm honestly ignorant to this all. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Solution
Correct.
A good quality SATA III will suffice.

But, prices on NVMe drives are dropping. IF you can get a good quality NVMe at a similar price and size to a good quality SATA III SSD, there is little reason to avoid the NVMe.
But if and only if any price difference is within your budget.

For instance:
SATA III
1TB Samsung 860 EVO - $115
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T

1TB Crucial MX500 - $115
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-NAND-SATA-Internal/dp/B077SF8KMG


NVMe
1TB Samsung 970 EVO - $163
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-Plus-MZ-V7S1T0B/dp/B07MFZY2F2

1TB Intel 660p - $128
https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Internal-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B07HH5G7HB

1TB Crucial P1 -...

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Correct.
A good quality SATA III will suffice.

But, prices on NVMe drives are dropping. IF you can get a good quality NVMe at a similar price and size to a good quality SATA III SSD, there is little reason to avoid the NVMe.
But if and only if any price difference is within your budget.

For instance:
SATA III
1TB Samsung 860 EVO - $115
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T

1TB Crucial MX500 - $115
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-NAND-SATA-Internal/dp/B077SF8KMG


NVMe
1TB Samsung 970 EVO - $163
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-Plus-MZ-V7S1T0B/dp/B07MFZY2F2

1TB Intel 660p - $128
https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Internal-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B07HH5G7HB

1TB Crucial P1 - $105
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-1TB-NAND-NVMe-PCIe/dp/B07J2Q4SWZ

1TB WD Black - $130
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M64QXMN


There are almost no others I'd consider.
 
Solution

rtward2015

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Dec 18, 2018
11
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510
Thanks for the quick and thorough response! Wow, those prices are very minimal. I suppose I'll go with an NVMe drive if that is the case. I'll probably try to go a little higher into the 2TB storage range just because of the data I'll be storing.

I guess another question is whether or not SSDs ever go on sale for things like Black Friday?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Thanks for the quick and thorough response! Wow, those prices are very minimal. I suppose I'll go with an NVMe drive if that is the case. I'll probably try to go a little higher into the 2TB storage range just because of the data I'll be storing.

I guess another question is whether or not SSDs ever go on sale for things like Black Friday?
Don't focus on BF. That is really a marketing term for the period of 1 Nov - 15 Jan.
And I've bought the exact same part for less in July, than in the BF timeframe.

For the next 2 days - 1TB Intel 665p, $110
https://www.newegg.com/intel-665p-series-1tb/p/N82E16820167469

On the magical Black Friday, that specific drive may be at a higher price point.
 

rtward2015

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Dec 18, 2018
11
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510
Ah, I see, thanks for clarifying that all! And for sharing this link, I'll try to purchase two of them here shortly, since I am looking to expand to 2 TB. Thanks again!
 

rtward2015

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Dec 18, 2018
11
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510
Hello, I actually had another question come up before I purchase this. So the intel 665p SSD has "M.2" and "PCIe 3.0x4" in its title. Would my motherboard support two of these at the same time?

The reason I ask is because my motherboard only has one M.2 slot (with E key for wireless AC - which I believe is currently installed). However, it does have two PCIe 3.0x16 and four PCIe 3.0x1 slots.

I just wanted to make sure I actually had room to install this before I purchase them.

Thanks again!
 

rtward2015

Prominent
Dec 18, 2018
11
0
510
Gotcha, but it looks like I only have room for one of those 1TB SSD drives, right? So there is no way to connect two (for 2 TB total) given the single M.2 slot?