SSD in a new build for PC Gaming?

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Mashuguna

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Mar 23, 2009
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I am building a new PC for gaming - should I invest in an SSD? If so which ones do you recommend? M2 PCIe or SATA?

I can buy a motherboard to match whatever you suggest so there is no limit there. Right now it looks like my core build will be:

- i5 8400 CPU
- 16 gig 2400 DDR4 RAM
- Gigabyte - B360 AORUS Gaming 3 WIFI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Thanks :)
 
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USAFRet
SSD is a 100% yes. I wouldn't build a PC without one (or more than one).

NVMe/PCIe vs SATA III is a harder choice. For a strictly games machine, you probably won't reap the benefits of the NVMe drive, in exchange for the extra $$$.
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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SSD is a 100% yes. I wouldn't build a PC without one (or more than one).

NVMe/PCIe vs SATA III is a harder choice. For a strictly games machine, you probably won't reap the benefits of the NVMe drive, in exchange for the extra $$$.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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I will never again build without a ssd for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do much quicker.
120gb is minimum, it will hold the os and a handful of games.
But, many things default to the "C" drive.
When a SSD nears full, it will lose performance and endurance.
240gb is the recommended minimum.

If you can go 240gb, or 500gb you may never need a hard drive.

You can defer on the hard drive unless you need to store large files such as video's.
It is easy to add a hard drive later.

Samsung EVO is a good choice for performance and reliability.

m.2 is a size format.
About like a stick of gum.
It is nice because there are no cables involved.
m.2 will come in sata or pcie flavors.
The advantage of pcie will be faster sequential processing.
That is a plus, but you generally do not notice the benefit. On virus scans perhaps.
I like Samsung for performance and warranty.
At the 500gb size you can get the
860 evo for $130 with a 550 MBps sequential rate.
The m.2 860 evo is $5 more with the same 550MBps transfer rate
the 970 m.2 evo pcie will cost more at $210 with a 3400 MBps rate.

You can hold a goodly number of games on 500gb; that is all I have.
With today's better ssd prices a 1tb drive is reasonable.

Use a HDD to store large sequential files such as videos.
 
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S

SgtScream

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Dec 8, 2016
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I agree with USAFRet. Gamers should prioritize capacity over throughput. Basically, you need space for your games, especially when the SSD game footprint increases over time. Go with SATAIII and get twice the capacity for the money. NVME speeds benefits hwith sustained speeds when copying/transferring large files, where as SATAIII slows down when the SLC cache is used up. You won't encounter this when gaming because files read aren't large enough for the cache to fill. There fore when you game, you'll primarily be reading files to play the game so NVME throughput speeds aren't necessary.
 
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E

ElectrO_90

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Apr 17, 2007
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The thing about M2 Nvme and M2 (ssd)

There is NO reason to buy a M2 Nvme (super fast ones) because in practicality it doesn't do anything if you are gaming.
I originally had an SSD and had some spare cash and went for the Samsung 950 Pro 256GB
I have noticed zero difference between an expensive 950 Pro and a standard Evo 850 SSD in how windows boots up and works.
I do recommend getting an M2 256GB (or higher) Samsung Evo, but not a Pro.
 
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