[SOLVED] Real World M.2 PCIe speed vs M.2 SATA speed?

[ManOfArc]

I realize that the PCIe (x2-x4) interface is considerably faster than the SATA interface, but when using a mid-range M.2 SSD is there much real world difference in noticeable performance?
Would I notice a difference in Win 10 boot-up time, game load time, game map loads, etc.?
Would downloading a game at 30MB/s* install faster with the PCIe drive than the SATA drive?

* what Steam reports my internet is running at during the average download

 

[USAFRet]

Actually, less difference than you think.

I have a range if SATA III SSD's (parts list below)
And an Intel 660p. Which is on the low end of NVMe drive, but still sequential benchmark is 3x the SATA III drives.,

In actual use, zero difference.
My almost daily routine with adobe Lightroom...doing the exact same function with the same files, to either type drive....15 seconds, +- 0.5 sec.
So, benchmark 300% faster...actual use, 0.3% faster. Blink and you miss it.


For your downloading? Zero. Either type drive is far faster than your internet connection.

 

[ManOfArc]

Actually, less difference than you think.

I have a range if SATA III SSD's (parts list below)
And an Intel 660p. Which is on the low end of NVMe drive, but still sequential benchmark is 3x the SATA III drives.,

In actual use, zero difference.
My almost daily routine with adobe Lightroom...doing the exact same function with the same files, to either type drive....15 seconds, +- 0.5 sec.
So, benchmark 300% faster...actual use, 0.3% faster. Blink and you miss it.


For your downloading? Zero. Either type drive is far faster than your internet connection.

Thank you. You've sold me.
Is there any other benefit (other than speed) to going PCIe over SATA when using a mid-range M.2 SSD?

 

[USAFRet]

Thank you. You've sold me.
Is there any other benefit (other than speed) to going PCIe over SATA when using a mid-range M.2 SSD?

If you're building up a new system, and a good quality NVMe drive is little or no price difference over a SATA of the same size...no reason not to go with the NVMe/PCIe.

If you already have SATA III SSD, either 2.5" or M.2 format...there is little reason to change.


Other considerations might be conflict with other drives. Often, use of one or the other type drive might disable one or more SATA ports on the motherboard.
If you already have a lot of SATA drives plugged in to SATA ports, this may be an issue.

On my current motherboard, I already had 6x SATA III SSD, connected to the motherboard.
Putting the Intel 660p would have disabled two of those ports. Unacceptable.
So it lives in a PCIe slot adapter.
So now...7 solid state drives.