What NVMe SSD should I upgrade my laptop with?

[InfraDelta]

So I have this new laptop and I already know that 512GB isn't gonna be enough for my use (Half of the storage is already filled with just 4 games, and a half of that is just GTA V.) 
It has a Gen3x4 M.2 2280 on top of the other Gen4x4 M.2 2280 (which based from CrystalDiskInfo and HWiFO saying the transfer mode to be PCIe 4.0x4/ PCIe4x 16 GT/s) which is my boot drive.
I do plan on getting a 1TB upgrade as that would be enough for my situation and more than that would either be a bit of a waste and bit too expensive.
 

I do live in the Philippines so not all options are available. 
I tried looking for SK Hynix Gold P31 and its not really common.
I was gonna go for a Crucial P2, but as the price says, you get what you pay for.
I do have a 970 EVO Plus that was gonna go into a new system build but that has been very much so postponed indefinitely but I think power consumption would be the issue then.

My laptop for reference is a Gigabyte G5-KE.
Main usage would be for game files and moving my documents there (i.e. I would move the desktop folder, downloads, documents, pictures, etc. there and would be my storage drive for the most part.)

[columbusohio]

Samsung 990 Pro 1T or 2T is the way to go as of December 2022

[NF-A12x25]

5 minutes ago, columbusohio said:

Samsung 990 Pro 1T or 2T is the way to go as of December 2022

wtf  no way. not in a 3.0 slot and especially not a secondary drive. Gotta be the worst advice I’ve heard all day. OP, the 990 pro is not a good buy (and the Rocket 4 Plus G is a better SSD anyway)

 

OP, I would get a cheap dramless drive like the MP33, MP33 Pro, or Silicon Power A60. The MP34 is a good cheap one with dram as well if you can find it in stock.

[Dedayog]

18 minutes ago, columbusohio said:

Samsung 990 Pro 1T or 2T is the way to go as of December 2022

Pro drive for gaming?  No, it's not the way to go, in any month or any year.

 

Crucial P2 is a great drive. Don't discount it based on price.  If you want to overpay for production level drives to game on, be my guest.

 

What does this mean?

 

"I do have a 970 EVO Plus that was gonna go into a new system build but that has been very much so postponed indefinitely but I think power consumption would be the issue then."

 

Power cunsumption?

[Dukesilver27-]

Compared to others of the same price, P2 is not a good SSD.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crucial-p2-m-2-nvme-ssd

 

I'd suggest Team MP33 or Silicone Power A60, in SEA they are around the same price or cheaper than P2.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/team-group-mp33-m2-nvme-ssd

 

And since you already have a 970, why not use it, SSD power usage is very low, it's not going to be a problem, especially as a secondary drive.

1 hour ago, columbusohio said:

Samsung 990 Pro 1T or 2T is the way to go as of December 2022

And this is either a troll, or just don't know what he's talking about.

[columbusohio]

1 hour ago, NF-A12x25 said:

wtf  no way. not in a 3.0 slot and especially not a secondary drive. Gotta be the worst advice I’ve heard all day. OP, the 990 pro is not a good buy (and the Rocket 4 Plus G is a better SSD anyway)

 

OP, I would get a cheap dramless drive like the MP33, MP33 Pro, or Silicon Power A60. The MP34 is a good cheap one with dram as well if you can find it in stock.

 

1 hour ago, Dedayog said:

Pro drive for gaming?  No, it's not the way to go, in any month or any year.

 

Crucial P2 is a great drive. Don't discount it based on price.  If you want to overpay for production level drives to game on, be my guest.

 

What does this mean?

 

"I do have a 970 EVO Plus that was gonna go into a new system build but that has been very much so postponed indefinitely but I think power consumption would be the issue then."

 

Power cunsumption?

 

46 minutes ago, Dukesilver27- said:

Compared to others of the same price, P2 is not a good SSD.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crucial-p2-m-2-nvme-ssd

 

I'd suggest Team MP33 or Silicone Power A60, in SEA they are around the same price or cheaper than P2.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/team-group-mp33-m2-nvme-ssd

 

And since you already have a 970, why not use it, SSD power usage is very low, it's not going to be a problem, especially as a secondary drive.

And this is either a troll, or just don't know what he's talking about.

Wait so like, 990 Pro has the highest 4k random read or write scores across all other consumer SSDs, claimed read speed is 1400k IOPS and write speed is 1550k IOPS, beats any other consumer level SSD there is to date, how is it not the best SSD there is for gaming or day to day use? I mean if it is to be used as the primary drive, not the secondary drive? I agree that 990 P would be a waste of money as a secondary drive.

[Dukesilver27-]

25 minutes ago, columbusohio said:

Wait so like, 990 Pro has the highest 4k random read or write scores across all other consumer SSDs, claimed read speed is 1400k IOPS and write speed is 1550k IOPS, beats any other consumer level SSD there is to date, how is it not the best SSD there is for gaming or day to day use? 

Because games barely need more than 1200mbps (according to Linus), hell, even the most demanding games only uses about 300-500mbps, I tested this myself, Spider-man Remastered while swinging through the cities at 100+fps. No other game I've ever tested uses that much SSD.

Which means, any decent gen 3 SSD should suffice.

 

The average user won't benefit from having pro or prosumer grade SSDs, it would just be a waste of money.

[Dedayog]

52 minutes ago, Dukesilver27- said:

Compared to others of the same price, P2 is not a good SSD.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crucial-p2-m-2-nvme-ssd

 

I'd suggest Team MP33 or Silicone Power A60, in SEA they are around the same price or cheaper than P2.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/team-group-mp33-m2-nvme-ssd

 

And since you already have a 970, why not use it, SSD power usage is very low, it's not going to be a problem, especially as a secondary drive.

And this is either a troll, or just don't know what he's talking about.

I've long since written off "Tom" as a good source of anything.  The comments section helps more than the reviews do.

 

The P2 is just fine...  For gaming it's just fine.  It's mediocre but if you can notice the difference....  Even Linus and crew can't tell per their video, and they test and play with them a.  Decent reviews...

 

Crucial P2 review | Rock Paper Shotgun

 

Crucial P2 Review | PCMag

 

3 minutes ago, Dukesilver27- said:

Because games barely need more than 1200mbps (according to Linus), hell, even the most demanding games only uses about 300-500mbps, I tested this myself, Spider-man Remastered while swinging through the cities at 100+fps.

Which means, any decent gen 3 SSD should suffice.

 

The average user won't benefit from having pro or prosumer grade SSDs, it would just be a waste of money.

I think it would benefit the OP more to touch on how drives and files work, how gaming files are relatively small and never let a drive get into its sustained transfer speeds which are the hallmark of Pro drives.

 

Think of it like driving a Ferrari thru your neighborhood.  It's fast as shit but too many stop signs and turns never let it stretch its legs.  That's gaming.  A whole shitload of small files making the drive stop and look for the next, then load, then look, then load.  Things like 4-8K video editing can use files in the 10's of GB size, where a PRO drive can keep on the highway and just unleash the speed at a constant.

 

SSD speeds are mostly selling hype when it comes to speeds.  

[Dukesilver27-]

7 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

I've long since written off "Tom" as a good source of anything.  The comments section helps more than the reviews do.

 

The P2 is just fine...  For gaming it's just fine.  It's mediocre but if you can notice the difference, you may want to tell God you're taking over.

It maybe so, but regardless of toms' review, if they could be found cheaper than the P2, wouldn't be a better buy?

I was simply laying out alternatives.

[InfraDelta]

7 hours ago, Dukesilver27- said:

Compared to others of the same price, P2 is not a good SSD.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crucial-p2-m-2-nvme-ssd

 

I'd suggest Team MP33 or Silicone Power A60, in SEA they are around the same price or cheaper than P2.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/team-group-mp33-m2-nvme-ssd

 

And since you already have a 970, why not use it, SSD power usage is very low, it's not going to be a problem, especially as a secondary drive.

And this is either a troll, or just don't know what he's talking about.

6 hours ago, Dedayog said:

I've long since written off "Tom" as a good source of anything.  The comments section helps more than the reviews do.

 

The P2 is just fine...  For gaming it's just fine.  It's mediocre but if you can notice the difference....  Even Linus and crew can't tell per their video, and they test and play with them a.  Decent reviews...

 

Crucial P2 review | Rock Paper Shotgun

 

Crucial P2 Review | PCMag

 

I think it would benefit the OP more to touch on how drives and files work, how gaming files are relatively small and never let a drive get into its sustained transfer speeds which are the hallmark of Pro drives.

 

Think of it like driving a Ferrari thru your neighborhood.  It's fast as shit but too many stop signs and turns never let it stretch its legs.  That's gaming.  A whole shitload of small files making the drive stop and look for the next, then load, then look, then load.  Things like 4-8K video editing can use files in the 10's of GB size, where a PRO drive can keep on the highway and just unleash the speed at a constant.

 

SSD speeds are mostly selling hype when it comes to speeds.  

Thanks for the info guys. I'm just hesitating on using the 970 as it would be the boot drive of the new system, but as I can see its gonna get left way behind with Gen4 and maybe Gen5 (Although we are hitting a limit), as it is still a Gen3 drive.
For the Power consumption I just honestly saw that it consumes twice of the SK Hynix one which kinda worries me as its on a laptop. 
I will take in mind the other models and brands you have suggested and look into it though I am willing to use the 970.

[Dedayog]

14 minutes ago, InfraDelta said:

Thanks for the info guys. I'm just hesitating on using the 970 as it would be the boot drive of the new system, but as I can see its gonna get left way behind with Gen4 and maybe Gen5 (Although we are hitting a limit), as it is still a Gen3 drive.
For the Power consumption I just honestly saw that it consumes twice of the SK Hynix one which kinda worries me as its on a laptop. 
I will take in mind the other models and brands you have suggested and look into it though I am willing to use the 970.

You still aren't grasping how SSD's work.  It's okay tho, it's meant to be confusing.

 

Best of luck, man.  Anything you get will be fine.

[InfraDelta]

1 minute ago, Dedayog said:

You still aren't grasping how SSD's work.  It's okay tho, it's meant to be confusing.

 

Best of luck, man.  Anything you get will be fine.

Any good resources though? I mean I kinda know, kinda don't understand it to be honest when I was searching about it earlier.
Bottlenecks will be bottlenecks and potentials will be potentials kind of things. As well as its barely noticeable unless you have X situation (DirectStorage thing).

[Dedayog]

7 minutes ago, InfraDelta said:

Any good resources though? I mean I kinda know, kinda don't understand it to be honest when I was searching about it earlier.
Bottlenecks will be bottlenecks and potentials will be potentials kind of things. As well as its barely noticeable unless you have X situation (DirectStorage thing).

 

[NF-A12x25]

8 hours ago, columbusohio said:

Wait so like, 990 Pro has the highest 4k random read or write scores across all other consumer SSDs, claimed read speed is 1400k IOPS and write speed is 1550k IOPS, beats any other consumer level SSD there is to date, how is it not the best SSD there is for gaming or day to day use? I mean if it is to be used as the primary drive, not the secondary drive? I agree that 990 P would be a waste of money as a secondary drive.

because it’s overpriced. WAY overpriced. The SN850x is also a better drive when all results are taken in, and it’s usually cheaper from what I can see. The Rocket 4 Plus G is also a better drive considering that it has better directstorage perf, which is the only real advantage 4.0 will have over 3.0 once it releases since 3.0 drives are already barely slower to boot and load games IRL, and really good all-round perf vs the 990 pro.

 

And since the OP already has a 4.0 primary drive to boot off of, there’s no need to get a second 4.0 drive.

[person123456789]

On 12/12/2022 at 12:10 AM, NF-A12x25 said:

the Rocket 4 Plus G is a better SSD anyway

No it isn't. P41, SN850X or 990 Pro are all faster

[NF-A12x25]

24 minutes ago, person123456789 said:

No it isn't. P41, SN850X or 990 Pro are all faster

DirectStorage perf is what I look for in a 4.0 ssd as you’ll see no functional improvement over 3.0 for gaming and booting without DirectStorage. And since the Rocket 4 Plus G is specifically directstorage optimized, it’s a better SSD in that regard. Also, its real world speed is barely below the sn850x and 990 pro, AND it costs less than both.

[person123456789]

3 minutes ago, NF-A12x25 said:

DirectStorage perf is what I look for in a 4.0 ssd as you’ll see no functional improvement over 3.0 for gaming and booting without DirectStorage. And since the Rocket 4 Plus G is specifically directstorage optimized, it’s a better SSD in that regard. Also, its real world speed is barely below the sn850x and 990 pro, AND it costs less than both.

Not a single directstorage game has launched yet

[NF-A12x25]

1 hour ago, person123456789 said:

Not a single directstorage game has launched yet

and? they will, give it time. It’s an actual performance boost, where even the speed from 3.0 to 4.0 ssds, let alone the miniscule difference between different 4.0 drives, doesn’t give any tangible result in consumer applications.

[Bryan-10EC]

I would avoid the Sabrent Rocket. They seem like a good value based on what you get and the warranty, but you will be lucky if it lasts a year. They run too damn hot.

[askopte]

For laptop something like an SN 550/570 would be good. Dramless and low heat.

Don't buy a Kingston NV2 though.