[SOLVED] SSD noob questions about storage, speed and versions.

[blackmasha]

I am 32 and all my life have been using HDD despite having gaming computers.

started to play Shadow of War, loading times are disgusting even with a fully patched game. also after a few years my windows is starting slow and programs are the same. so instead of buying a new HDD (mine is over 6 years old - can't seem to throw it away, to many good things on it) I decided to get an SSD.

however I have no idea why the price differ so much.

there is Sata and PCI - what's the difference? also, does the company version matter? or is it the same with video cards - just buy whatever is cheaper because it makes no difference in the long run.

also I don't know what is my HDD writing and reading speed to compere. I found 2 SSD (for example) one with an overall 500+- writing and reading speed, then another with 3000-2000 reading and writing speed. how much do I really need? does it really transfer 3000MB/s? this seems way to fast.

since I never used an SSD I would like some advice, I'm pretty sure I need an SSD only for windows, but whenever a game like Shadow of war comes along (bad optimization) it would be nice to install it on an SSD (people told me it makes games faster).

p.s.

can a motherboard actually speed up gaming? if it only adds 2-5 fps than why do we keep buying newer motherboards if only the CPU actually matters?

 

[USAFRet]

The two major delinations of current SSDs are SATA III and NVMe.

A Samsung 860 EVO is a SATA III. Typical performance of ~500MBs
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T

A Samsung 970 EVO is an NVMe drive. Typical performance of 3000+ MBs
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-1TB-MZ-V7E1T0BW/dp/B07BN217QG

In theory, you'd assume that the 970 EVO is "8 times faster". That is not the case.
Those big numbers relate only to sequential transfer of large data. Many users report "not a lot of gain" when going from a SATA III SSD to an NVMe drive.


Where an SSD (of any type) shines over an HDD is the near zero access time. It does not have to wait for the spinning platter an moving heads.

Additional consideration - SATA vs m.2.
A SATA III connection is just like the HDD connection.
M.2 is a port directly on the motherboard. But that is only the physical format.
An M.2 drive might be either SATA or NVMe.
For instance, the Samsung 860 EVO comes in both physical formats. And identical speed.

For a gaming PC, you'll see little benefit of a more expensive NVMe drive over a SATA III drive.
But almost ALL systems and use cases will benefit from an SSD over HDD.

What SSD you can use depends a LOT on what motherboard you have.
Older boards have no m.2 port. Some have an m.2 port, but will only run at 1/3 speed for an NVMe drive.
Some boards have 2x m.2 ports. One can take either a SATA or NVMe drive, the other can take only one or the other.

So what motherboard do you have?

 

[blackmasha]

The two major delinations of current SSDs are SATA III and NVMe.

A Samsung 860 EVO is a SATA III. Typical performance of ~500MBs
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T

A Samsung 970 EVO is an NVMe drive. Typical performance of 3000+ MBs
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-1TB-MZ-V7E1T0BW/dp/B07BN217QG

In theory, you'd assume that the 970 EVO is "8 times faster". That is not the case.
Those big numbers relate only to sequential transfer of large data. Many users report "not a lot of gain" when going from a SATA III SSD to an NVMe drive.


Where an SSD (of any type) shines over an HDD is the near zero access time. It does not have to wait for the spinning platter an moving heads.

Additional consideration - SATA vs m.2.
A SATA III connection is just like the HDD connection.
M.2 is a port directly on the motherboard. But that is only the physical format.
An M.2 drive might be either SATA or NVMe.
For instance, the Samsung 860 EVO comes in both physical formats. And identical speed.

For a gaming PC, you'll see little benefit of a more expensive NVMe drive over a SATA III drive.
But almost ALL systems and use cases will benefit from an SSD over HDD.

What SSD you can use depends a LOT on what motherboard you have.
Older boards have no m.2 port. Some have an m.2 port, but will only run at 1/3 speed for an NVMe drive.
Some boards have 2x m.2 ports. One can take either a SATA or NVMe drive, the other can take only one or the other.

So what motherboard do you have?

right now I got gigabyte b150m-d2v ddr3-cf

I might buy a new one in the up coming week. I got a gtx 1060 6vram in the mean time (1080 ti and rtx 2080/ti cost way to much and I don't require 4k gaming) I should really build a new computer right now but wanted to check every part first. my cpu is I5 6400 2,7 ghz which isn't amazing. I will probably keep the 1060 gtx in the mean time (new games work great on max) but everything else need be higher, probably I7 7700k not sure if there is a newer one right now.

or I might even give up and buy a console, I don't want to be a peasant (XD) but I've been avoiding getting a console for years now, and those new god of war/spider-man/horizon zero dawn and last of us games are to good to pass.

 

[USAFRet]

right now I got gigabyte b150m-d2v ddr3-cf

I might buy a new one in the up coming week. I got a gtx 1060 6vram in the mean time (1080 ti and rtx 2080/ti cost way to much and I don't require 4k gaming) I should really build a new computer right now but wanted to check every part first. my cpu is I5 6400 2,7 ghz which isn't amazing. I will probably keep the 1060 gtx in the mean time (new games work great on max) but everything else need be higher, probably I7 7700k not sure if there is a newer one right now.

or I might even give up and buy a console, I don't want to be a peasant (XD) but I've been avoiding getting a console for years now, and those new god of war/spider-man/horizon zero dawn and last of us games are to good to pass.

So, your current motherboard only has SATA connections.
No m.2, negating the m.2 concept.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-B150M-D2V-DDR3-rev-10#sp
"6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors"


A regular 2.5" format SATA III SSD would be a worthwhile and inexpensive upgrade.
Samsung 860 EVO or Crucial MX500, for instance.

I wouldn't have a PC without one or more SSD's.