Need a quick lesson on the workings of cpu, ram, and lanes. Maybe two NVMe not cost effective?

[zua93117]

Hello,

 

I'm planning my setup for animation / graphic arts purposes. I have Ryzen 3700X, B450 Gaming Plus Max, and 2x8GB 3200mhz Cl16 ram on hand.

NVMe got my attention since Crucial, Team MP, AData etc NVMes are supposedly as durable as as Evo Pro and yet at a fraction of the price.

 

So I came upon a video / article (which I can't find now) that mentioned something aobut an ideal setup having two nvme and hdd for backup mass storage.

The main point is to have OS on one nvme, and big files on another, so the OS and spplications (which deals with the big files) don't end up clogging the dedicated nvme lanes.

But I can't remember where graphics related software should reside..(on the OS one on big files one).

 

I'm fuzzy about the technical underpinnings of the above statement.

In my mind, the OS takes up ram as well as any open applications, so the data is mainly going between ram, cpu and mainly the dedicated gpu lanes.

 

Question 1 --> So how does having OS + (maybe software) + big files on the same nvme clog up the nvme lanes? The concept sounds good to me but I don't understand how it works.

Question 2 --> Say OS is on storage A;  files + application is on storage B. When the application is running and doing stuff, will most of the communication will be between storage B and the CPU? Wouldn't applications be making system calls which involves the OS that's on storage A?

 

Maybe all of this matters more when there's multiple applications open and the OS also happens to be doing other stuff in the backgrounds?

I can't even imagine the 3700X running multiple graphics-related applications simulatenously though...I have a feeling that's more like 3950X or threadripper realm.

 

Also, I read somewhere else that OS and applications usually work with small files, so the benefits of NVMe is almost unseen when compared to SSD.

If this is true, then the most cost effective setup would be 1xNvme for big files and 1xSSD for OS + software?

 

The Gaming Plus Max only has one Nvme..so that means having to look for another board with 2xN.2 slots (and hopefully one that doesn't gimp the PCIE slots to compensate for the addional m.2 slot + decent VRM and heatsink). That dictates a more expensive motherboard + nvme costs on top of  gpu cost *big jaw drop yikes.*

So I'm leaning towards not having two nvme...but am asking just to make sure that the boosts with having two nvme aren't worth it.

 

Thanks for the help in advance!

[paddy-stone]

13 minutes ago, zua93117 said:

Hello,

 

I'm planning my setup for animation / graphic arts purposes. I have Ryzen 3700X, B450 Gaming Plus Max, and 2x8GB 3200mhz Cl16 ram on hand.

NVMe got my attention since Crucial, Team MP, AData etc NVMes are supposedly as durable as as Evo Pro and yet at a fraction of the price.

 

So I came upon a video / article (which I can't find now) that mentioned something aobut an ideal setup having two nvme and hdd for backup mass storage.

The main point is to have OS on one nvme, and big files on another, so the OS and spplications (which deals with the big files) don't end up clogging the dedicated nvme lanes.

But I can't remember where graphics related software should reside..(on the OS one on big files one).

 

I'm fuzzy about the technical underpinnings of the above statement.

In my mind, the OS takes up ram as well as any open applications, so the data is mainly going between ram, cpu and mainly the dedicated gpu lanes.

 

Question 1 --> So how does having OS + (maybe software) + big files on the same nvme clog up the nvme lanes? The concept sounds good to me but I don't understand how it works.

Question 2 --> Say OS is on storage A;  files + application is on storage B. When the application is running and doing stuff, will most of the communication will be between storage B and the CPU? Wouldn't applications be making system calls which involves the OS that's on storage A?

 

Maybe all of this matters more when there's multiple applications open and the OS also happens to be doing other stuff in the backgrounds?

I can't even imagine the 3700X running multiple graphics-related applications simulatenously though...I have a feeling that's more like 3950X or threadripper realm.

 

Also, I read somewhere else that OS and applications usually work with small files, so the benefits of NVMe is almost unseen when compared to SSD.

If this is true, then the most cost effective setup would be 1xNvme for big files and 1xSSD for OS + software?

 

The Gaming Plus Max only has one Nvme..so that means having to look for another board with 2xN.2 slots (and hopefully one that doesn't gimp the PCIE slots to compensate for the addional m.2 slot + decent VRM and heatsink). That dictates a more expensive motherboard + nvme costs on top of  gpu cost *big jaw drop yikes.*

So I'm leaning towards not having two nvme...but am asking just to make sure that the boosts with having two nvme aren't worth it.

 

Thanks for the help in advance!

Well, it's more of a "best use case", so that the second NVMe drive is the scratch disk for the programs you want to run, such as video editing software, so that the UI can keep up and not lag.

 

So, it'd be like:-

 

Disk 0: OS + programs

Disk 1: Scratch or files + scratch maybe

 

IDK for certain as I don't do video editing on that scale where it's necessary to not lag or whatever. whether it's worth it to you, is more a question of does your time spent waiting for the UI to catch up worth spending that bit more. You could for instance just get a 250GB NVME for OS + progs, and another 250GB for the scratch/files. Should be around $100/£100 for both, or get 500GB drives, would be around $120/£120 which I think is the more sensible choice for £/cost.

[zua93117]

2 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

Well, it's more of a "best use case", so that the second NVMe drive is the scratch disk for the programs you want to run, such as video editing software, so that the UI can keep up and not lag.

 

So, it'd be like:-

 

Disk 0: OS + programs

Disk 1: Scratch or files + scratch maybe

 

IDK for certain as I don't do video editing on that scale where it's necessary to not lag or whatever. whether it's worth it to you, is more a question of does your time spent waiting for the UI to catch up worth spending that bit more. You could for instance just get a 250GB NVME for OS + progs, and another 250GB for the scratch/files. Should be around $100/£100 for both, or get 500GB drives, would be around $120/£120 which I think is the more sensible choice for £/cost.

Ah yes SCRATCH DISKS! can't believe that slipped my mind lol. that makes so much more sense! i'm such a noob 

 

500GB drives does seem to be the sweet spot. 

[paddy-stone]

As for board

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/h7WBD3/msi-b450m-mortar-max-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-mortar-max

 

Has, 2x m.2, but bear in mind that the second pci-e slot will not work if you're using the second m.2 slot.

 

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450M-MORTAR-MAX/Specification

[zua93117]

3 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

As for board

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/h7WBD3/msi-b450m-mortar-max-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-mortar-max

 

Has, 2x m.2, but bear in mind that the second pci-e slot will not work if you're using the second m.2 slot.

 

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450M-MORTAR-MAX/Specification

Yes the mortar max..oh i dream of getting that board. It's the best b450 out there imo, but North America is gimped.

Not on sale here  and i have a feeling international shipping is going to be expensive. And i'll be charged import fees.. which would take me up to solid entry x570 prices

[paddy-stone]

1 minute ago, zua93117 said:

Yes the mortar max..oh i dream of getting that board. It's the best b450 out there imo, but North America is gimped.

Not on sale here

Ahh shit, didn't realize that

 

I'll have another look for you.

[zua93117]

6 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

Ahh shit, didn't realize that

 

I'll have another look for you.

Ya..i'm pretty upset at MSI for that.. like wwhhhhy?!

 

and Thank you! Appreciate it! I've looked on pcpartpicker. The boards that support 2xM.2 slots with decent vrm + heatsink for use with 3700X are pricey. I think the cheapest decent option is the Asus Prime Pro X470, but that board gimps pcie slots lol..The next level-up option would be Gigabyte Aorus Elite x570, which is overkill for my cpu. Granted I could get an open-boxed one for ~$162USD which is a steal in that regards, but still..pretty much twice the price of Gaming Plus Max.

 

So I think I'll stick with what I have. The price hike just isnt' worth it..

I still have to get something like 1660 super since my GTX 660 2GB ..just won't cut it imo

[paddy-stone]

1 minute ago, zua93117 said:

Ya..i'm pretty upset at MSI for that.. like wwhhhhy?!

 

and Thank you! Appreciate it! I've looked on pcpartpicker. The boards that support 2xM.2 slots with decent vrm + heatsink for use with 3700X are pricey. I think the cheapest decent option is the Asus Prime Pro X470, but that board gimps pcie slots lol..The next level-up option would be Gigabyte Aorus Elite x570, which is overkill for my cpu. Granted I could get an open-boxed one for ~$162USD which is a steal in that regards, but still..pretty much twice the price of Gaming Plus Max.

 

So I think I'll stick with what I have. The price hike just isnt' worth it..

I still have to get something like 1660 super since my GTX 660 2GB ..just won't cut it imo

You could always get a pci-e to m.2 NVME card instead if you have 2x pci-e slots available on your board.

[paddy-stone]

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pcie+to+m.2+nvme&crid=3KPT17JWROABB&sprefix=pcie+to+m.2+n%2Caps%2C223&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_13

[zua93117]

2 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

You could always get a pci-e to m.2 NVME card instead if you have 2x pci-e slots available on your board.

Hey ya! Could do that  wow i'm so out of the loop lol. I've just caught up with current tech these past few days.

The thing is that the chipset lanes on Gaming Plus Max is gen 2, so it'd be really gimped and the nvme would also be fighting with other what nots for data transfer.

But still something worth considering  

[zua93117]

3 minutes ago, paddy-stone said:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pcie+to+m.2+nvme&crid=3KPT17JWROABB&sprefix=pcie+to+m.2+n%2Caps%2C223&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_13

thanks! the more i think about it..as much as i want the latest flashy things, the best approach is probably throwing the money i'd spend for 1 more m.2slot towards 1660 super. The prices of gpus make my jaw drop

[paddy-stone]

30 minutes ago, zua93117 said:

thanks! the more i think about it..as much as i want the latest flashy things, the best approach is probably throwing the money i'd spend for 1 more m.2slot towards 1660 super. The prices of gpus make my jaw drop

Yeah, if you're not really gonna make use of the NVME m.2 very much, you're better off spending the money elsewhere.

[SavageNeo]

The a-data sx8200 pro is pretty good, google for reviews. It has good speed for amazingly cheap price.