SSD Advice Please! Samsung 850, Samsung 950, or Intel 750?

[Bghead8che]

I'm having trouble picking and deciding on the right SSD for my build.

My build for gaming, photography, web design, work:

Intel 6700K
32MB DDR 2666mhz RAM
Dual 980Tis
850 Watt PS
MSI Z170A GAMING M9

Please note nothing has been purchased yet. I am looking for a fast SSD that is compatible with my MOBO (see above). I'm leaning towards dual Samsung 950 512MB drives.

I'm concerned however about reports of throttling and wither or not my MOBO will run the dual drives at full speed. Also, can the Samsung 950s be used to host and boot Windows 10?

Any reason I should pick the Intel 750 1.2TB or Samsung 850 PRO instead? I'd really appreciate any help and advice! I'm not an expert in this area and I don't want to order incompatible parts!

Thanks!

-Brian

 

[Suztera]

If you want/need transfer speed of 2GB/s (or more) then the Intel 750 or Samsung 950 Pro can offer that. Yes you will be able to run either drives with your motherboard.
Yes either drive can be a boot drive. The 850 EVO will still run at SATA speeds as the interface is SATA. You should be able to run both M.2 slots at 32Gbps each.
You would only really throttle if you can run your 950 Pro fully for longer period of time. However, the gpus will blow some air across the drives so it technically still aids in cooling your M.2 drives if you choose to go that route.
You do have to set up your 950 Pro as you need to install Samsung proprietary driver to get Windows to recognise it.

 

[Bghead8che]

Great, sounds like dual 950 Pros will work. In your opinion is this SDD you would recommend? Seems like a better deal compared to the pricier Intel 750.

Thanks!

-Brian

 

[Suztera]

Both perform quite similar so the 950 Pro is a better buy.

 

[Bghead8che]

Both perform quite similar so the 950 Pro is a better buy.

I'm curious will having dual (as opposed to one) Samsung 950 Pros be faster than a single drive? I assume I'd be setting them up as a RAID confirmation in the MOBO? I've never installed/used dual drives before.

-Brian

 

[Suztera]

Yes you can raid both drives but you do have to do some research to get it to work. But it doesn't scale exactly double performance as one might expect. Plus there not many real-world situation that can fully utilise RAID 950 Pro.

 

[rcald2000]

@Bghead8che, I'm multitasking a few things right now but I came across your thread. FYI: I own both the Intel 750, Samsung 950 Pro 512 GB, and Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB. I previously owned four Samsung 850 EVO's (250 GB) in a RAID 0 array, but I sold them once I upgraded to the Intel 750. I'm not sure if you've already received all the answers and input that you're seeking. Let me know if there's anything that you'd like to ask, as I have both drives in my system now. Also, check out my thread below, as it'll give you some insight about the performance.

Upgrade FROM Intel 750 TO Samsung 950 Pro - Random Read (IOPS) below spec
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2907040/upgrade-intel-750-samsung-950-pro-random-read-iops-spec.html

 

[Bghead8che]

@Bghead8che, I'm multitasking a few things right now but I came across your thread. FYI: I own both the Intel 750, Samsung 950 Pro 512 GB, and Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB. I previously owned four Samsung 850 EVO's (250 GB) in a RAID 0 array, but I sold them once I upgraded to the Intel 750. I'm not sure if you've already received all the answers and input that you're seeking. Let me know if there's anything that you'd like to ask, as I have both drives in my system now. Also, check out my thread below, as it'll give you some insight about the performance.

Upgrade FROM Intel 750 TO Samsung 950 Pro - Random Read (IOPS) below spec
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2907040/upgrade-intel-750-samsung-950-pro-random-read-iops-spec.html

I'm pretty much ready to buy the dual Samsung 950s. As you have owned all of the drives in question, for my setup, would you go with dual 950s? Sounds like they are the fastest and provide a decent bang for the buck. Obviously I could go with a single 1TB Samsung 850 but I don't see the point.

Thanks!

-Brian

 

[rcald2000]

Definitely go with the dual Samsung 950 Pro's (512 GB) over a single Samsung 850 (1 TB). I'm curious, are you planning on placing the 950's in a RAID 0 array, or will you simply designate drive #1 for OS + Apps, and drive #2 for data + Steam library? I have a Asus Sabertooth X99. It unfortunately has only one M.2 slot and when it's occupied, it disables one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot per design. That aspect of it's design is a disappointment.

 

[Bghead8che]

Definitely go with the dual Samsung 950 Pro's (512 GB) over a single Samsung 850 (1 TB). I'm curious, are you planning on placing the 950's in a RAID 0 array, or will you simply designate drive #1 for OS + Apps, and drive #2 for data + Steam library? I have a Asus Sabertooth X99. It unfortunately has only one M.2 slot and when it's occupied, it disables one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot per design. That aspect of it's design is a disappointment.

I plan on running them in RAID 0. I want the system to see the dual drives as a single drive.

-Brian

 

[that1man]

Definitely go with the dual Samsung 950 Pro's (512 GB) over a single Samsung 850 (1 TB). I'm curious, are you planning on placing the 950's in a RAID 0 array, or will you simply designate drive #1 for OS + Apps, and drive #2 for data + Steam library? I have a Asus Sabertooth X99. It unfortunately has only one M.2 slot and when it's occupied, it disables one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot per design. That aspect of it's design is a disappointment.

I plan on running them in RAID 0. I want the system to see the dual drives as a single drive.

-Brian

did you build this system yet? im also trying to decide between the same drives

 

[Piiilabyte]

Both perform quite similar so the 950 Pro is a better buy.

They are absolutely different. One is better at seq.read/write and the other one at rand.read/write.

http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-950-NVMe-PCIe-M2-512GB-vs-Intel-750-Series-NVMe-PCIe-12TB/m38554vsm25111

 

[Piiilabyte]

Definitely go with the dual Samsung 950 Pro's (512 GB) over a single Samsung 850 (1 TB). I'm curious, are you planning on placing the 950's in a RAID 0 array, or will you simply designate drive #1 for OS + Apps, and drive #2 for data + Steam library? I have a Asus Sabertooth X99. It unfortunately has only one M.2 slot and when it's occupied, it disables one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot per design. That aspect of it's design is a disappointment.

I plan on running them in RAID 0. I want the system to see the dual drives as a single drive.

-Brian

did you build this system yet? im also trying to decide between the same drives

*Droooooool* Ok I just had an orgasm when I saw RAID 0 for two 950 Pro... I recall seeing RIDICULOUS benchmarks when two 950s were in RAID 0. The speed is ASTRONOMICAL.