NVME 250gb vs 500gb sata ssd?

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92hatchattack

92hatchattack

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Feb 12, 2017
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Hello all.

I am brand new to the PC and PC building world. So Yes, I am a total newb! But, I am slowly working and researching my first build and gathering basic parts. So far I've only got a Phanteks Enthoo Pro case and an EVGA G3 850w ps. I'm now at the point where its time to start nailing down what MB and storage options I want to go with.

SO, the question is.....Would you rather spend your money on the larger capacity (500gb) sata ssd or go with a small 250gb NVMe m.2 drive for its blazing fast speed? I know 250gb is not much storage but it should be more than enough to get the OS on and a few of my favorite apps right? Is the performance of the m.2 worth the smaller drive size? I'm looking at something like the Samsung 960. The 500gb would be nice, But thats a bit out of my price range. I could boot up a system and get running on this 250gb m.2 and install other sata drives down the line correct? Pretty much I'm just wondering if going nvme m.2 is worth it in your opinion.

Also, since I am a newbie, I'm looking for a mobo that will take full advantage of the m.2 speeds. This is an area that I am not informed about at all! Any suggestions for mobo's would be great. I'll be using a 7700k and most likely the new 1080ti. RGB control would be nice as well cause I'm a tool and like flashy things. Haha

Thank you all for taking the time to read. I'll be looking forward to your guidance!

---Joe
 
Solution
USAFRet
What, specifically, will you be using this system for?

This also depends on what other drives you will have in this system.
If it is just this one drive, a 250GB probably is not enough.

Those blazing benchmarks with the NVMe drive look great. But do not really translate into actual performance benefit for the increased price.

In real world use, on a performance scale of 1-100
If we assume a standard HDD at "50"
A SATA III SSD might be a 90.
An NVME drive might be a 93.


Now..if we were routinely shuffling LARGE sequential files. Video creation, perhaps. (routinely = this is your paid job)
To and from RAM, or to and from another NVMe drive..then the benefit skyrockets.

In a couple of years, the price of the NVMe will fall, just as...
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92hatchattack

92hatchattack

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Feb 12, 2017
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I'm probably being just a total newbie and not understanding all the technical talk in that article, but isn't that article just comparing nvme drives to other nvme drives? I see your point in that the 960 may not be the best choice on the market but what I am trying to decide is if I should go with the nvme type drives that plug straight into the mobo, or go with the sata 3 type drives that are mounted on the chasis and connected via cables.

I'm sorry I am not understanding. Im going to go read more and try and get a better idea of what the hell I'm talking about.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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What, specifically, will you be using this system for?

This also depends on what other drives you will have in this system.
If it is just this one drive, a 250GB probably is not enough.

Those blazing benchmarks with the NVMe drive look great. But do not really translate into actual performance benefit for the increased price.

In real world use, on a performance scale of 1-100
If we assume a standard HDD at "50"
A SATA III SSD might be a 90.
An NVME drive might be a 93.


Now..if we were routinely shuffling LARGE sequential files. Video creation, perhaps. (routinely = this is your paid job)
To and from RAM, or to and from another NVMe drive..then the benefit skyrockets.

In a couple of years, the price of the NVMe will fall, just as regular SSD's have (except recently).
5 years ago, a 2TB SSD would have been a choice between SSD or used car.
Today, my 3 main systems are all SSD only, totalling ~2.5TB.


For your question...
Personally, I'd go with the 500GB SATA III drive.
 
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Wulffz

Wulffz

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Jan 6, 2017
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NVMe drives achieve far better read and write speeds because it's connected straight into the motherboard, sata drives achieve a max of 600MB/s because of the SATA3 port restriction. I don't own an NVMe drive yet but I'm certainly gonna try it.

It really depends on what you mostly want. Fast speeds from a SATA SSD or even faster speeds from NVMe. If you're doing big file transfers regularly then I'd immediately go for the NVMe drive because it's way faster for that.

Edit* In my opinion a Sata SSD is already lightning fast for daily use of a home/gaming PC.
 
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92hatchattack

92hatchattack

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Feb 12, 2017
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Thank you! My main use will be gaming and streaming. Occasional light video editing but nothing even remotely heavy so I don't even count this really.

Looks like you just saved me some money! Any personal preference in 500gb drives at the moment?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Samsung 850 EVO or Crucial MX300.
 
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Wulffz

Wulffz

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All ssd are somewhat the same but I put my trust in the Samsung SSD's. They've never failed me .
 
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