M.2 vs SATA SSD as Secondary Storage in Gaming PC

[MadOldGuy]

I built my daughters gaming PC in 2021.  The machine needs an upgrade on storage.  She currently has a 1 TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus as her boot drive and a 4tb Seagate HDD.  Her motherboard is an Asus ROG Strix X570-E, with a Ryzen 5 5600X and a RTX 3080.  We have plenty of space for whatever drive we want.  The computer is used primarily for gaming.  She does not see herself becoming a streamer or youtuber.  

 

I want to add a 4tb SSD and I want something that will transfer to a new build in a year or 2.   I started looking at SATA SSDs since I figured they were the best option, but prices are pretty close for some SATA drives when compared to an M.2.  The motherboard has an extra M.2 drive slot.  

 

I was thinking maybe a Samsung 990 Pro M.2 or possibly a Samsung 870 EVO 2.5". Their prices on Amazon and NewEgg are almost identical ($319 for the 990 and $315 for the 870).  I am open to other brands, but want to buy something that will last and be reliable.  I have also priced the Crucial MX500 and it is a bit cheaper at $274 as would the Crucial P3Plus as an M.2 ($237).

 

If the prices are close, wouldn't an M.2 be a better long term choice?  Better choices on brand?  

[Tan3l6]

13 minutes ago, MadOldGuy said:

If the prices are close, wouldn't an M.2 be a better long term choice?  Better choices on brand?  

In this case where both M.2 NVMe and SATA SSDs are usable I'd surely go for NVMe. Specially if the prices are quite close. Can't practically get any better than Samsung 990 Pro. Well, technically there probably are faster drives in some aspects than 990 Pro, but still it's as fast as any everyday user would need. For secondary storage it's overkill, but if ever need to swap this to primary storage it'll be very decent.

[Dedayog]

20 minutes ago, MadOldGuy said:

I built my daughters gaming PC in 2021.  The machine needs an upgrade on storage.  She currently has a 1 TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus as her boot drive and a 4tb Seagate HDD.  Her motherboard is an Asus ROG Strix X570-E, with a Ryzen 5 5600X and a RTX 3080.  We have plenty of space for whatever drive we want.  The computer is used primarily for gaming.  She does not see herself becoming a streamer or youtuber.  

 

I want to add a 4tb SSD and I want something that will transfer to a new build in a year or 2.   I started looking at SATA SSDs since I figured they were the best option, but prices are pretty close for some SATA drives when compared to an M.2.  The motherboard has an extra M.2 drive slot.  

 

I was thinking maybe a Samsung 990 Pro M.2 or possibly a Samsung 870 EVO 2.5". Their prices on Amazon and NewEgg are almost identical ($319 for the 990 and $315 for the 870).  I am open to other brands, but want to buy something that will last and be reliable.  I have also priced the Crucial MX500 and it is a bit cheaper at $274 as would the Crucial P3Plus as an M.2 ($237).

 

If the prices are close, wouldn't an M.2 be a better long term choice?  Better choices on brand?  

Crucial P3 Plus or any of the other Gen 4x4.

 

No need to spend Pro money on a secondary drive, especially when you were using a shit HDD as secondary for the longest time.  Don't sell the Corolla and get a Ferrari.

 

There is no real world benefit to gamers for expensive PRO level drives.

[Tan3l6]

3 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

There is no real world benefit to gamers for expensive PRO level drives.

Yeah, for secondary storage, I guess I'd agree. 

[Dedayog]

1 hour ago, Tan3l6 said:

Yeah, for secondary storage, I guess I'd agree. 

Is there a benefit for a pro drive for gamers as a boot drive?

[Tan3l6]

31 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Is there a benefit for a pro drive for gamers as a boot drive?

Marginal, yet the factory warranty should be a tad longer. I'd sleep better knowing it has a tad longer lifespan also.

[MadOldGuy]

23 hours ago, Tan3l6 said:

In this case where both M.2 NVMe and SATA SSDs are usable I'd surely go for NVMe. Specially if the prices are quite close. Can't practically get any better than Samsung 990 Pro. Well, technically there probably are faster drives in some aspects than 990 Pro, but still it's as fast as any everyday user would need. For secondary storage it's overkill, but if ever need to swap this to primary storage it'll be very decent.

Thanks.  I agree that it is a bit overkill, though I would likely make it the boot drive and data drive and then use the 970 as a secondary storage.  I am just surprised that SATA SSDs are not cheaper. 

[MadOldGuy]

23 hours ago, Dedayog said:

Crucial P3 Plus or any of the other Gen 4x4.

 

No need to spend Pro money on a secondary drive, especially when you were using a shit HDD as secondary for the longest time.  Don't sell the Corolla and get a Ferrari.

 

There is no real world benefit to gamers for expensive PRO level drives.

Thanks, I agree, which is why I went towards an SATA SSD, but their prices are higher than the M.2s.  I could consider a WD Blue SATA or Team Group Vulcan, both under $260.  But with a $60 price difference between the WD Blue and the 990Pro it made me hesitate.  I could look at getting the cheaper SSD now and then getting a M.2 at 2TB in a couple of years as an upgrade. I was reading some industry reports that suggest that NAND prices are going to rise a lot in 2024 and 2025 (20%) so I am not certain what that will mean for drive prices.  

[Poinkachu]

49 minutes ago, MadOldGuy said:

Thanks, I agree, which is why I went towards an SATA SSD, but their prices are higher than the M.2s.  I could consider a WD Blue SATA or Team Group Vulcan, both under $260.  But with a $60 price difference between the WD Blue and the 990Pro it made me hesitate.  I could look at getting the cheaper SSD now and then getting a M.2 at 2TB in a couple of years as an upgrade. I was reading some industry reports that suggest that NAND prices are going to rise a lot in 2024 and 2025 (20%) so I am not certain what that will mean for drive prices.  

SSD uses NAND

 

Like Dedayog said, even as a boot drive pro level or even a PCIE GEN 4 NVME pretty much only miliseconds faster than GEN 3. Tried both, I needed a stopwatch to actually measure it.

 

My suggestion is to just get a decent enough NVME with DRAM. Unless the price is not that much different.

Most warranty period is the same IIRC, 5 years. Only the TBW (write endurance) differs, but yeah... I doubt your daughter will ever reach it.

Example : Crucial P5 Plus 2TB's endurance is 1,200 Terrabytes, with 5y warranty, if we take let's say a 150GB game as example, your daughter will need to transfer in around 8000 games of that size.

 

For transferring small files the high end will perform pretty much almost the same like lower end, their high speed only shine when they are transferring big arse file.

 

My laptop uses P5 plus as boot drive, my desktop uses S70 blade as boot drive.

P5 plus speed is 6600/5000 , S70 Blade speed is 7400/6400

Both perform pretty much the same.

Before going S70 on the desktop, it used ADATA SX8200 Pro, which was 3500/3000 , Yep.. needed a stopwatch to measure the difference.

If i want to go back even longer, before SX8200 it used a Patriot P210 (budget 2.5" non DRAM SATA SSD), the difference in boot time was merely 1-3 seconds max.

 

Also, just as PSA, M.2 is a form factor, while NVME and SATA are protocol.

There is an M.2 SATA SSD.

So to avoid confusion in the future, probably best to familiarize yourself by referring NVME as NVME instead of M.2.

Not trying to be an arse about it, just ... you know... don't want ya to someday walk into a pc store, say you want 1tb M.2 and the stupid employee gives ya an M.2 SATA SSD

[MadOldGuy]

8 hours ago, Poinkachu said:

SSD uses NAND

 

Like Dedayog said, even as a boot drive pro level or even a PCIE GEN 4 NVME pretty much only miliseconds faster than GEN 3. Tried both, I needed a stopwatch to actually measure it.

 

My suggestion is to just get a decent enough NVME with DRAM. Unless the price is not that much different.

Most warranty period is the same IIRC, 5 years. Only the TBW (write endurance) differs, but yeah... I doubt your daughter will ever reach it.

Example : Crucial P5 Plus 2TB's endurance is 1,200 Terrabytes, with 5y warranty, if we take let's say a 150GB game as example, your daughter will need to transfer in around 8000 games of that size.

 

For transferring small files the high end will perform pretty much almost the same like lower end, their high speed only shine when they are transferring big arse file.

 

My laptop uses P5 plus as boot drive, my desktop uses S70 blade as boot drive.

P5 plus speed is 6600/5000 , S70 Blade speed is 7400/6400

Both perform pretty much the same.

Before going S70 on the desktop, it used ADATA SX8200 Pro, which was 3500/3000 , Yep.. needed a stopwatch to measure the difference.

If i want to go back even longer, before SX8200 it used a Patriot P210 (budget 2.5" non DRAM SATA SSD), the difference in boot time was merely 1-3 seconds max.

 

Also, just as PSA, M.2 is a form factor, while NVME and SATA are protocol.

There is an M.2 SATA SSD.

So to avoid confusion in the future, probably best to familiarize yourself by referring NVME as NVME instead of M.2.

Not trying to be an arse about it, just ... you know... don't want ya to someday walk into a pc store, say you want 1tb M.2 and the stupid employee gives ya an M.2 SATA SSD

Thanks for the info.  I am aware of the NVME and M.2 difference.  The vast majority of stuff I am looking at is NVME in the M.2 form factor.  Part of my issue is that how similar the prices are between SATA and NVME at 4tb.  With some SATA drives being higher priced than NVME.  My other issue is wanting to have good quality.  I like Samsung drives, though some have referred to their being a "Samsung Tax." 

 

I agree that the speed is not an issue in this context and even in a couple of years it won't be.  I suspect that a 4tb SATA, maybe not a Samsung, maybe a WD or another company will be fine. Though the prices are so close across so many devices from mid to highish tier that it is pretty interesting.  As someone wrote on Reddit the SATA tech is mature and therefore there is not much that can be changed to effect device functioning.  Maybe SATA now  and then look at NVME upgrade in a couple of years when we look at a newer system (Ryzen 7 or Intel 13th or 14th Gen).  

[Dedayog]

2 minutes ago, MadOldGuy said:

Thanks for the info.  I am aware of the NVME and M.2 difference.  The vast majority of stuff I am looking at is NVME in the M.2 form factor.  Part of my issue is that how similar the prices are between SATA and NVME at 4tb.  With some SATA drives being higher priced than NVME.  My other issue is wanting to have good quality.  I like Samsung drives, though some have referred to their being a "Samsung Tax." 

 

I agree that the speed is not an issue in this context and even in a couple of years it won't be.  I suspect that a 4tb SATA, maybe not a Samsung, maybe a WD or another company will be fine. Though the prices are so close across so many devices from mid to highish tier that it is pretty interesting.  As someone wrote on Reddit the SATA tech is mature and therefore there is not much that can be changed to effect device functioning.  Maybe SATA now  and then look at NVME upgrade in a couple of years when we look at a newer system (Ryzen 7 or Intel 13th or 14th Gen).  

For similar pricing, just stick with NVMe.  A good Gen 3 or 4 will be fantastic for years and won't leave you with any lingering buyers remorse when games like Starfield say they need 2GB/sec rates for their amazing textures!

 

Teamgroup makes great cheap NVMe drives, and Samsung Tax is very real.  There are only so many NAND makers and controller makers.  You're going to get quality parts that last years any way you slice it.

 

 

[Poinkachu]

9 minutes ago, MadOldGuy said:

Thanks for the info.  I am aware of the NVME and M.2 difference.  The vast majority of stuff I am looking at is NVME in the M.2 form factor.  Part of my issue is that how similar the prices are between SATA and NVME at 4tb.  With some SATA drives being higher priced than NVME.  My other issue is wanting to have good quality.  I like Samsung drives, though some have referred to their being a "Samsung Tax." 

 

I agree that the speed is not an issue in this context and even in a couple of years it won't be.  I suspect that a 4tb SATA, maybe not a Samsung, maybe a WD or another company will be fine. Though the prices are so close across so many devices from mid to highish tier that it is pretty interesting.  As someone wrote on Reddit the SATA tech is mature and therefore there is not much that can be changed to effect device functioning.  Maybe SATA now  and then look at NVME upgrade in a couple of years when we look at a newer system (Ryzen 7 or Intel 13th or 14th Gen).  

Yep, we're at that weird moment where some NVME is even cheaper than a 2.5" SSD.

 

Ah yeah... the reason I went for SX8200 Pro back then was because 970 Evo was way more expensive, and SX 8200 Pro basically went toe-to-toe with 970 series based on review, Same reason for my S70 Blade. Is there other brand that can achieve that? pretty much, but options is limited in my country and what I picked was the cheapest for that kind of performance.

 

If you have the free M.2 slot, and NVME price is the same as SATA SSD in your country, then just buy NVME. No point spending the same amount of money for something much more inferior.

A whole lot different case if you don't have the free M.2 slot

[freeagent]

I have bailed on SATA SSD and spinner, and just moved to NVME on my computers and laptop.