PCIe4 SSD, PCIe Slot mounting vs m.2 mounting

[RorytheDog]

I think I actually might have herd of this on the WAN show, basically asus released a list of x470 and b450 motherboards that support PCIe4 and my motherbaord happens to be on that list. I was already considering upgrading my shitty SATA 256gb SSD to a NVME one, but now that the support for the PCIe4.0 SSDs are out im not sure if it would be worth the extra money for the speed, The only intensive task my computer is ever used for is gaming, would I feel the benefit with a PCIe 4.0 SSD vs a 3.0? 5000mbs vs 3500mbs seems sizeable but I dont know if its out of the bounds of practicality for use cases like gaming. 

 

Also... if it is worth it I've got one tiny issue, they need heatsinks, my only m.2 slot is under my gpu slot, it would be fine for mounting an SSD that didnt need a heatsink, but because the newer drives do it wont fit i dont think. Ive got a couple of solutions to this problem. 1, Get a bigger case? so ive got a second pcie slot on my motherboard lower down but its very close to the bottom of my board so im a bit worried about gpu heatsink clearance with all the i/o connections down there. 2. Don't use the m.2 slot, im pretty sure m.2 is just pcie lanes so im pretty sure you can just mount the drive directly into the pcie slot? Confirmation on this would also be nice. Currently i have a pcie wifi card mounted there but considering its only uses 4 of the 16 available im pretty sure i can run the slot in 4x4 instead of 1x16. Now with option 2 Ill need some jank thing to hold the SSD in place... any ideas on that one lol?

 

Motherboard in question is ASUS TUF b450m-plus gaming.

[Dedayog]

You won't even feel the benefit of a Gen 3 NVMe SSD.  

 

SATA SSDs are the sweet spot for gamers.  Grab another, better one.

 

I've never heard of anyone getting a new case for their M.2 SSD before.  

[RorytheDog]

4 minutes ago, jstudrawa said:

You won't even feel the benefit of a Gen 3 NVMe SSD.  

 

SATA SSDs are the sweet spot for gamers.  Grab another, better one.

really? dang fair enough tho. Would an intel 660p be a good option? i know its nvme and not sata but as ive bought a matx mobo and i am in an matx case and i dont actually even have one ssd mount let alone 2 lmao, so m.2 form factor would be nice to use anyway. the 660p is only $100 for 1TB it seemed like a good deal to me

[Dedayog]

Just now, RorytheDog said:

really? dang fair enough tho. Would an intel 660p be a good option? i know its nvme and not sata but as ive bot a matx mobo i am in an matx case and i dont actually even have one ssd mount let alone 2 lmao, so m.2 form factor would be nice to use anyway. the 660p is only $100 for 1TB

Yes, it's a fine drive.  I'm not saying I wouldn't get an NVMe if the prices were in line with SATA, I am saying you won't notice a speed difference.  Gamers don't use the huge file sizes needed to see the sustained speed benefit.

 

SATA or NVMe in M.2, go for bang/buck.

[RorytheDog]

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

Yes, it's a fine drive.  I'm not saying I wouldn't get an NVMe if the prices were in line with SATA, I am saying you won't notice a speed difference.  Gamers don't use the huge file sizes needed to see the sustained speed benefit.

 

SATA or NVMe in M.2, go for bang/buck.

cool, thanks for you help man