Question SSD speed important?

[barneyadi]

Looking for a 2TB SSD M.2 and seeing some that run at different speeds. How important is the speed?

 

[USAFRet]

Looking for a 2TB SSD M.2 and seeing some that run at different speeds. How important is the speed?

"M.2" is just the form factor....how it plugs in.

There are several "speeds" related with that.

1. What motherboard are you putting this on?
2. What other drives are in this system?
3. What will you be using it for?


But..."speed" is not as important as the reviews and advertising text implies.

 

[Lafong]

Not much practical difference in day to day typical operations, but you might be fully onboard the benchmark train..........in which case all bets are off.

 

[barneyadi]

"M.2" is just the form factor....how it plugs in.

There are several "speeds" related with that.

1. What motherboard are you putting this on?
2. What other drives are in this system?
3. What will you be using it for?


But..."speed" is not as important as the reviews and advertising text implies.

1. Gigabyte A320m-h
2. Just HDD drives, looking to upgrade to SSD
3. Youtube, medium game use, but mainly older titles

 

[USAFRet]

1. Gigabyte A320m-h
2. Just HDD drives, looking to upgrade to SSD
3. Youtube, medium game use, but mainly older titles

What CPU?

Assuming this is your motherboard...

GA-A320M-H (rev. 1.x) Specification | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Lasting Quality from GIGABYTE.GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards bring together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer users the absolute ultimate platform fo...

www.gigabyte.com

You can use a standard PCIe 3.0 SSD, like a Samsung 970 EVO.

What is your budget and size need for this drive?
Full replacement of the HDD?

 

[barneyadi]

What CPU?

Assuming this is your motherboard...

GA-A320M-H (rev. 1.x) Specification | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Lasting Quality from GIGABYTE.GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards bring together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer users the absolute ultimate platform fo...

www.gigabyte.com

You can use a standard PCIe 3.0 SSD, like a Samsung 970 EVO.

What is your budget and size need for this drive?
Full replacement of the HDD?

Got a Ryzen 3200g with a GTX 1070 gpu

Looking for 2TB as would replace HDD's. As only one slot bigger is better i guess.

Budget is upto £100

 

[USAFRet]

Got a Ryzen 3200g with a GTX 1070 gpu

Looking for 2TB as would replace HDD's. As only one slot bigger is better i guess.

Budget is upto £100

You're in luck.

A 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus is 100% compatible with your motherboard AND your budget.

 

[barneyadi]

You're in luck.

A 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus is 100% compatible with your motherboard AND your budget.

Thanks

Seems cheaper options but Samsung is a name i know.

 

[barneyadi]

Can i just check, will a PCI4.0 SSD work in a PCI3 slot?

 

[Lafong]

Can i just check, will a PCI4.0 SSD work in a PCI3 slot?

Yes. Backward compatible.

At 3.0 speeds.

 

[geofelt]

Short answer.... speed is not that important.

Longer explanation:
Small random I/O at a queue depth of 1 or 2 is what we do mostly.
And for that type of activity, performance is remarkably comparable for both sata and pcie devices; regardless of m.2 or 2.5" devices.
These guys could not tell the difference:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

What you see advertised are benchmarks with queue depths of 30 or so and focusing on sequential performance.
The sequential performance is impressive and the pcie versions are 4x better or more than a simple sata 2.5" drive.
When attached via pcie 3/4/5 sequential performance goes up impressively.
The reality, though, is that you will not notice such performance except perhaps for a virus scan.
The value of m.2 devices is the smallness and ease of attachment.

The good news is that the cost of a device does not seem to depend on pcie vs. sata.

 

[USAFRet]

Looking for a 2TB SSD M.2 and seeing some that run at different speeds. How important is the speed?

Consider this analogy:

I have 3 vehicles in my driveway:

1 with a top speed of 100 mph (downhill with a major tailwind)
1 with a top speed of 120mph
1 with a top speed of 150+mph

Which gets me to the end of my driveway faster?
Which gets me the 8 miles to work faster?