Should I continue using Intel Optane memory or upgrade to an NVMe SSD

[Nexolas]

My laptop is a Lenovo ideapad 330s, it have a M.2 NVMe with 16GB Optane in it and a 1TB 7200rpm in the sata port, should I upgrade my  16GB Optane memory to a NVMe ssd?  since I want faster loading times into games like grand theft auto online, CS:GO and Cities Skylines. Will using a NVMe SSD gives significant performance?

[boggy77]

for loading times, yes. but make sure you get a good tlc drive, not a qlc one. 

what's your budget for the upgrade?

[Aaron_T]

24 minutes ago, Nexolas said:

My laptop is a Lenovo ideapad 330s, it have a M.2 NVMe with 16GB Optane in it and a 1TB 7200rpm in the sata port, should I upgrade my  16GB Optane memory to a NVMe ssd?  since I want faster loading times into games like grand theft auto online, CS:GO and Cities Skylines. Will using a NVMe SSD gives significant performance?

Be very careful. With manufacturers like Lenovo that used Optane accelerated HDDs in laptops, sometimes the laptop BIOS does not allow other drive types, or "un-certified" drive to be used in those slots, and the laptop could be stuck not able to boot.

 

Check the Lenovo's device compatibility info before buying anything!

 

EDIT:

Looks like you can put your model number in on this Lenovo support page and get a list of SSDs and HDDs that are compatible: https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/partslookup

[RejZoR]

The problem with Optane here is not in its speed. It's its size. At 16GB it'll be able to cache very little. Especially if you play several games interchangeably. And like Aaron Thomas said, Lenovo can be incredibly picky about components.

 

Even if you go with larger Optane, at 32GB you'll solve very little. You really need 128GB SSD for a decent acceleration through caching. As far as speed goes, any M.2 SSD will do. Be it SATA or NVMe.

[Aaron_T]

3 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

As far as speed goes, any M.2 SSD will do. Be it SATA or NVMe.

And for that matter... even swapping out the 2.5" HDD with a 2.5" SATA SSD will give a good performance boost, but will semi-invalidate the Optane.

[RejZoR]

1 minute ago, AaronThomas said:

And for that matter... even swapping out the 2.5" HDD with a 2.5" SATA SSD will give a good performance boost, but will semi-invalidate the Optane.

He only has two choices really. Disable Optane and go with 1TB SSD instead of 1TB HDD. Or keep 1TB HDD and replace Optane with a much larger SSD that is verified to work with Lenovo laptop. But then he'll have to do caching through software means like PrimoCache or something because Optane runs via Intel RST that's built in and is directly supported. Regular SSD's are not. So that will set him back another 30 bucks for the software. But would be worth it.

 

But I think going with 1TB SSD would be the best. Plus 1TB SSD's are quite affordable these days. He'll have to find certified one and disabling Optane would make sense then. Or just toss it all out, both Optane and HDD and stick in 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD. That would probably be the best route. Not necessarily the cheapest, but the best for sure.

[Nexolas]

So I think I will take out the optane and get a 512gb nvme ssd and clone the games from my hard disk to the ssd, and leave my videos and photos in the hdd. Should I use a Cloning software or reinstall the games into the new ssd? Is the xpg sx8200 pro 512GB a good choice? 

[Aragorn-]

I'd suggest a 1TB NVMe drive, and binning the hard drive entirely. XPG SX8200 Pro is decent, i have a 1TB version in my gaming PC