SATA vs M.2 SSD

[jordancayne]

Getting very close to pulling the trigger on my components for my new computer build, just trying to get a few questions answered prior to making my purchase. To get started, I know that PCI SSDs are faster that SATA SSDs. The question is HOW much faster?

Here is the MOBO i'm going to be putting in my new computer: GIGABYTE GA-Z170X Gaming 6

I am going to be running a single GPU for the foreseeable future, so I am not too concerned about lack of PCI slots. What I was thinking of doing was using this M.2 Samsung Pro 950 256GB to put Windows 10, Photoshop, After Effects, Sony Vegas 13, etc. on for the fastest loading possible, then have a secondary SSD (Samsung EVO 850 250/500GB) to load things like games and other programs on. Would this be beneficial? I have no experience with M.2 SSDs.

I did some reading online, but as with anything else, there are lists of pros and cons out there. I would just like some guidance on this issue.

As far as storage other than the SSDs, I will have 2x 2TB HDDs.

Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[dark_83]

First of all m.2 has the potential of reaching speeds up to 32 gigabits per second over sata III 6 gigabits which is quite a jump.
Second of all this board has Dual PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 Connectors with up to 32Gb/s Data Transfer (PCIe NVMe & SATA SSD support). Meaning you can potentially reach those speeds with the right m.2 drive.

Would you notice a huge performance gain? Not really, If you used it as a boot drive you could potentially shave, maybe, 2-4 seconds off windows booting. For applications like Photoshop or Sony vegas you might notice a slight increase in speed. Mostly it will just look better on paper if you were to benchamark it over sata III SSD's. If you want to pay the hefty price premium the performance gain that is up to you . I guess they are stating to get a bit cheaper for m.2 nvme drives.

If you do get one here are a couple good ones.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147467&cm_re=samsung_950-_-20-147-467-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167359&cm_re=intel_750-_-20-167-359-_-Product

So, if I bought cheaper m.2 SSD (CRUCIAL MX200 M.2 or 850 EVO m.2 SSD) instead of 950 Pro which way expensive, the performance still slightly better than SATA SSD?

Yes. But will you notice or need it? That depends if you are a power user or not. for common users 2.5" SSDs are still gold.

If you are worried about space...get the M.2.....if you don't have enough SATA ports.

my board only support 2x SATA III so my plan to use either mSATA or m.2 PCIE as my board don't have mSATA and m.2 slot

As my needed, quite often use Photoshop, Illustrator and Lightroom. so I think it will be slightly better performance as u stated above. little better than nothing and save me a SATA III slot as well