[SOLVED] What SSD Should I Get to Complete My Build?

[MarsColonist]

Just wondering what SSD you guys think I should get to complete my build. I am hoping to spend about $200 to $250, and, ideally to get 2TB of fast & long-lasting storage.

Build details at the following link:

[SOLVED] - How does my first build look? (Silent PC for VR)

I've built PCs before, but tbh I didn't really know much about ensuring the parts were compatible and just went along with build lists others recommended for me, then just followed the directions in the manuals to get everything set up. This is my first attempt at building a PC and choosing the...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[USAFRet]

Anything particularly dissuading you from a Samsung 970 EVO?

 

[MarsColonist]

The price of that for 2TB is well over $300, and I'm hoping for something in the $200 to $250 range.

 

[Newtonius]

Best price-performance would be a crucial mx500, comes at 200$ and has all the functionality and speed of a TLC drive but with an outdated nand technology setup to keep it moderately priced. I have 2 of them at 2TB each and they've been perfect for my games and storage. Never had an issue even after a year of daily usage and it still has 98% life remaining, and I've filled this drive up twice over, many more years left on it no doubt. The speeds go up to about 500-550MB/s read/write, which is standard. Using crucial's ssd dashboard you can enable ram cache which can speed it up to 5-7GB/s read and writes but be warned, if you get a random power off whilst writing to the drive it can cause corruption that way (since data goes through the cache when that feature's enabled, and as we all know RAM is volatile memory).

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX50...t=&hvlocphy=9067609&hvtargid=pla-429582926635

 

[USAFRet]

The price of that for 2TB is well over $300, and I'm hoping for something in the $200 to $250 range.

Well, $319 for the 2TB.

Are you looking for NVMe or SATA III?

Maybe a combination.
500GB NVMe, and 2TB SATA III.

500GB 970 EVO, $65
2TB MX500, $200

 

[xxscienceboyxx]

M.2 and PCIE SSDs are slightly faster than SATA SSDs. However the difference is very slight, and you probably won't notice it. So it might not be worth it to buy an M.2 or PCIE SSD, and instead a better idea to buy a SATA SSD, like the 860 evo.

 

[MarsColonist]

@ USAFRet
Well I was hoping for NVMe or M.2 or whatever because the impression I get from talking to people is that those are much faster than SATA.

I'm also aware those 2.5" SATA SSDs are older and much cheaper, and arguably the better value, but I wanted to go with the newer tech for the speed.

I'm not really keen on the idea of having a small NVMe for the OS and a large 2.5" SATA for additional storage.

Maybe I should just compromise on storage capacity and go with the 1TB version of the Samsung NVMe drive you suggested that's really fast? I wanted to go 2TB because there are some new games that take a lot of hard drive space like Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond or Asgard's Wrath, but I'm not sure how common those kinds of games will be going forward.

What do you guys think of this one? It looks like it's 2TB, and within my price range. And when I look at the read/write speeds, it looks like it's a few times faster than SATA, but it's admittedly not the fastest NVMe. Any reason not to go with this? Would it be a bad choice for my particular motherboard or situation or something?
https://www.amazon.com/Western-Digi...4NP5DQ/ref=psdc_1292116011_t3_B07M9VXSXG?th=1

 

[USAFRet]

The 970 EVO is pretty much the best one you can get.

M.2 is just the format. How it plugs in.
M.2 can be either SATA III (Crucial MX500) or NVMe (Samsung 970 EVO).

How much space comes down to your budget.

If you just want the one device, in your budget...the size choices are lessened.
The 1TB 970 EVO will work quite well.

 

[MarsColonist]

You recommended the Samsung 970 Evo.

Samsung 970 Evo
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-...eywords=samsung+970+evo&qid=1612150304&sr=8-2

Samsung 970 Evo Plus
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-...ds=Samsung+970+EVO&qid=1611882859&sr=8-2&th=1

So there's the Evo and the Evo Plus. Are both great choices? Looks like the price difference is only $1 for the 1TB so I may as well go with whatever is best.

 

[USAFRet]

You recommended the Samsung 970 Evo.

Samsung 970 Evo
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-...eywords=samsung+970+evo&qid=1612150304&sr=8-2

Samsung 970 Evo Plus
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-Plus-MZ-V7S1T0B/dp/B07MFZY2F2/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Samsung+970+EVO&qid=1611882859&sr=8-2&th=1

So there's the Evo and the Evo Plus. Are both great choices? Looks like the price difference is only $1 for the 1TB so I may as well go with whatever is best.

The Plus is mostly just the latest iteration of that same line.
At $1 diff, get the Plus.

And not even $1, but rather $0.01...lol