Question SSD Options

Getting ready to rebuild my ancient i7 2600 based system, and looking at storage options:
1) Intel Optane with budget SSD
Positives: for my most-used files it should be about the same performance as high end m.2 SSD, and I could get a nice large 1-2TB Intel 660p in my budget. But the best part (for my lazy use) is the ability to not have to set where documents and games land. Everything can just go in its default location; no muss no fuss.
Negatives: Inconsistent performance. No ability to split up workloads if I get into video editing or other heavy IO uses (trying to imagine a 'heavy IO' use that would push a modern SSD....). Cannot find any real benchmarks of Optane+SSD vs a budget SSD alone.

2) 1 small (250GB) performance SSD (970 evo+), combined with a budget 1TB m.2 SSD (Intel 660p)
Positives: Able to have full performance all the time for anything I store on the main drive. The ability to divide up workloads across drives if ever needed.
Negatives: ugh... life is getting too short to deal with data management. I have been so spoiled with a nice big NAS where everything just goes in one large file system, and I can't wait to have similar options on my main PC. I currently have 2x240GB SSDs and am constantly having to move or delete things to not fill up one drive or the other.

3) 1 larger (500GB) performance SSD, combined with several cheap SATA based SSDs
Through work I have access to used 240GB SSDs. I would still need to purchase them, but they would be well below retail, and I would know that they haven't been abused.
The plus here is that I think 500GB would be enough for most things to fit on the main drive (programs, docs, work files, etc), and then I could have a messy RAID of SSDs to point my Steam folder to, which would not be terrible on the data management side of things. The only real issue here being that I would have to enable RAID (ugh, my current system was on RAID too until I decided it wasn't worth it), and I was also hoping to significantly downsize my case to something with no drive slots (2 on-board m.2 drives max, and move the optical to USB external enclosures). Hardly the end of the world, but I think I would like the first 2 options better.

Thoughts? opinions? Anyone find any real-world optane cached cheap SSD reviews, or have tried it themselves? Anything I am overlooking or should be considering?

Thanks!
 
D

Deleted member 14196

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don't bother with SSD cache (i.e. Optane), it's useless for that purpose, it's to cache a HARD DRIVE

Personally an Crucial MX500 1TB model is what I would get. the 500 if you can't afford 1TB, but the bigger the better and longer lasting. Samsung SSDs I also recommend. Forget cheap brands, they suck and don't perform well or last very long.

Don't bother with cheap small ssds, period.

1 large SSD and a large HDD for data is all you really need.

This is what I would buy, that or a 1TB Samsung Evo

they both make 2TB models, but they are double the price. the MX500 is only $108 USD for a 1TB, about 64$ for a 500GB

A good SSD and a good HDD will be like a new machine. Fast booting and loading and whatever needs to access the storage will have much faster access to it. Do a Clean install of windows to the SSD for best results, and keep your games and data on the HDD, which you back up regularly I would hope.
 
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