500GB/1TB NVMe M.2 Recommendations

[vK 3 1 RON]

Hi, good day fellas, I was wondering if anyone's got recommendations for a 500GB/1TB NVMe SSD, my budget is around £100~, that's a fairly strict limit of maybe being able to push £10.

 

It'd be used primarily for games/Windows/etc, as the secondary storage is a 5400rpm hdd. I was originally going to gift my gf an upgrade from her hdd to a 2.5" ssd but recently found out she has a M.2 port as well, so I thought I should get one of those to allow for more storage capability. 

 

Many thanks,

vK

[WereCat]

sx8200 pro

[Warin]

The Western Digital Blue 1tb nvme drive can be had on amazon.co.uk for right around 100 pounds. 

[vK 3 1 RON]

34 minutes ago, Warin said:

The Western Digital Blue 1tb nvme drive can be had on amazon.co.uk for right around 100 pounds. 

How does the WD Blue's performance compare given the DRAM-less cache? 

[vK 3 1 RON]

38 minutes ago, WereCat said:

sx8200 pro

The 1tb model is slightly out of price, I can go for the 500GB variant no problem, if you were suggesting the 1tb model, is there any argument to be made for noticing any real-life performance difference? 

[Warin]

Apparently it is a decent performer in spite of it's lack of dram cache.  It is certainly less capable than the SX8200, which is a great performer, but you get about half of the storage for a similar price.

If you need the greater performance, go with the Adata, but best bang for the buck would be a larger drive at a similar price.

[WereCat]

11 minutes ago, vK 3 1 RON said:

The 1tb model is slightly out of price, I can go for the 500GB variant no problem, if you were suggesting the 1tb model, is there any argument to be made for noticing any real-life performance difference? 

not really 

[vK 3 1 RON]

2 minutes ago, WereCat said:

not really 

To clarify, my mistake, i wasn't meaning between the 500gb/1TB model, but between the WD Blue nvme drive Warin was talking about, and the Sx8200 pro*

[Warin]

Tom's Hardware has a review of the WD SN550 drives here: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wd-blue-sn550-m2-nvme-ssd-review-best-dramless-ssd-yet

You can see how it stacks up to the SX8200 pro in graphs on page 2.

[vK 3 1 RON]

5 minutes ago, Warin said:

Tom's Hardware has a review of the WD SN550 drives here: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wd-blue-sn550-m2-nvme-ssd-review-best-dramless-ssd-yet

You can see how it stacks up to the SX8200 pro in graphs on page 2.

aha, im actually reading that right now, thanks for the link

 

What I'm actually most concerned with right now is how the longevity of the drive compares given that I've read around and found out that without dram, the random accesses made by the OS during boot can decrease the lifespan of the drive over time, got any input on that? I assume it'd be > 5 years given they have a 5 year warranty, so maybe this isn't as much of an issue as people make it out to be. 

[WereCat]

13 minutes ago, vK 3 1 RON said:

To clarify, my mistake, i wasn't meaning between the 500gb/1TB model, but between the WD Blue nvme drive Warin was talking about, and the Sx8200 pro*

even then you will struggle to see a difference for normal use, even vs sata ssd

[vK 3 1 RON]

Just now, WereCat said:

even then you will struggle to see a difference for normal use, even vs sata ssd

ye, I'm mostly getting the m.2 because it allows her to keep her old hard drive

[WereCat]

9 minutes ago, vK 3 1 RON said:

What I'm actually most concerned with right now is how the longevity of the drive compares given that I've read around and found out that without dram, the random accesses made by the OS during boot can decrease the lifespan of the drive over time, got any input on that? 

I don't recommend DRAM less ssd, it's not like you're saving enough money for it to be worth it... unless you're on extremely tight budget 

[WereCat]

5 minutes ago, vK 3 1 RON said:

ye, I'm mostly getting the m.2 because it allows her to keep her old hard drive

m.2 is just a form factor, you can have m.2 sata ssd or m.2 nvme ssd

 

For example Crucial MX500 is a SATA SSD and its available in both form factors like 2.5" or m.2

[vK 3 1 RON]

2 minutes ago, WereCat said:

m.2 is just a form factor, you can have m.2 sata ssd or m.2 nvme ssd

 

For example Crucial MX500 is a SATA SSD and its available in both form factors like 2.5" or m.2

I was not aware that the MX500 has 2 variants, thanks for this information

[Warin]

I haven't actually used the WD myself.  I have just heard good things about its performance, and you are getting double the storage space at a similar price to the Adata model.  And as you say, it has a five year warranty, so obviously WD doesn't think may will fail in that timespan.  I really don't have a preference one way or the other, I was just trying to point out a reasonably well performing drive that gives you more storage for your dollar

[otennicegg3]

If your budget allows and the M.2 slot can support it, go all out for an NVME drive. Any XPG/WD/Samsung/Crucial NVME drive can do.

Otherwise an M.2 SATA will suffice as it is already beating HDD in almost anything expect price/GB. Either way, make it an OS drive for maximum benefits.

 

Add: If your budget allows also, get an SSD model with a DRAM cache.

Edited September 27, 2020 by otennicegg3