Does cache matter when buying nvme drives?

[Luuk_Bosma]

Hello,

I am choosing between 2 drives one has 32 GB cache, 560mb/s upload speed and 1700mb/s download speed.

The other has 512 MB cache, 1800mb/s upload speed and 3000mb/s download speed.

The higher speed one less cache is 40 euro's more expensive (not a dealbreaker for me)
  

Thx for the reactions

[Sakkura]

Not necessarily. Those caches may not even be comparable, 32GB sounds like an SLC cache while 512MB would be a DRAM cache.

 

Also don't focus too much on the sequential speeds, check reviews for performance in more important areas such as random 4K IOPS at low queue depths, and performance with mixed reads and writes.

[Luuk_Bosma]

1 minute ago, Sakkura said:

Not necessarily. Those caches may not even be comparable, 32GB sounds like an SLC cache while 512MB would be a DRAM cache.

 

Also don't focus too much on the sequential speeds, check reviews for performance in more important areas such as random 4K IOPS at low queue depths, and performance with mixed reads and writes.

Thx for the reaction I will look at some videos and reviews, Good suggestion! 

[Luuk_Bosma]

Reviews told me the 4K IOPS is much better on the higher speed less cache one.

File transferring should be much faster on the less cache one.

 

I think it's strange that something which is in tests significantly slower then the other is at such a close price point.

I get cache is expensive but if you never notice it why would people want cache in their drives?

The brands are Intel and Samsung which do not seem like high pricepoint brands.

 

[Sakkura]

Chances are the 32GB cache isn't a separate component, but just a feature of the flash storage in the SSD. With flash memory that normally stores 3 bits per cell, you can have some of it only store 1 bit per cell, because it boosts performance. And that cache can be reallocated dynamically, so as long as there's some empty space on the drive the SLC cache will function that way.