NVMe Suggestion

[SightUp]

I was looking at the SN850 and the 980 PRO. Is there another NVMe I should be looking at? I am wanting to get a 500GB solution for Windows, games and programs. Is there anything coming out soon before Windows 11's release date?

 

I read something about the 256 bit encryption not being available for the SN850. Do I need this feature? Will Windows 11 be able to install on it? I read something about Windows 11 also having crazy requirements particularly when it comes to security.

 

I am looking for the best option here when it comes to performance. I do not much care about the cost as long as it's reasonable, which I would consider less than $200.

[kb5zue]

If you're willing to go as much as $200, don't limit yourself to 500Gb.  As a minimum don't settle for anything less than 1TB.  You can currently get the Samsung 980 for $109.99, the Samsung 980 Pro for $194.99 or the Crucial P5 Plus for $179.99.  Personally I have a pair of Samsung in my machine, one is an 860 EVO and the other is a 970.  Good luck with whatever you decide to do but I would stick with either Samsung or Crucial.

[Action_Johnson]

I have SN850's and SN750's in my computers, can highly recommend them, they're awesome. 

 

I put an SN750 1TB w/heatsink in my production computer and it has no problems hitting advertised speeds. Keep in mind, in general if you use an NVMe as your C:\ drive and run Crystaldiskmark, it'll return slower numbers than it would if it were the D:\ drive. 

[Wooden Law - Black]

4 hours ago, SightUp said:

I was looking at the SN850 and the 980 PRO. Is there another NVMe I should be looking at?

Both are great SSD, but I think the 980 PRO is better for the better flash (128L vs 96L - Samsung’s flash is faster and more reliable). Another good choice is the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, which I would put it between SN850 and 980 PRO. 

[SightUp]

Sorry. What is the 128L vs. 96L bit about? How does it effect my speeds?

 

Do all NVMe drives run slower as primary drives? Should I be using something else as a primary drive?

[Wooden Law - Black]

“128L” and “96L” are the number of layers of a NAND Flash. This indicates the number of wordlines. If a SSD has 128L NAND Flash, NANDs Flash will have 128L layers, so 128 wordlines. Usually 64L are 533-667 MT/s, 96L 800 MT/s and 128L 1200 MT/s, but this indicates the capacity of interleaving of the NAND. 

18 hours ago, SightUp said:

Do all NVMe drives run slower as primary drives? Should I be using something else as a primary drive?

Mhhh no? why should they run slower?