Upgrade to m.2 ssd

Pivo504

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Debating on whether I need to upgrade to this:Crucial P1 1TB NVMe. Currently I am using 2 regular sata drives for storage/games, 1 drive is a Samsung ssd where my windows 8.1 pro is on. Would I notice a diff installing the Crucial P1 1TB NVMe for gaming since now my games are all on the regular sata drives? I have a asus z97 a motherboard I think it's compatible with Crucial P1 1TB NVMe m.2 ssd
 
So am I better off just getting a regular ssd sata drive vs the m.2? As I mentioned in my post I got my games on a regular sata drive not an ssd drive, only my operating system win 8.1 is on a Samsung ssd drive. The m.2 1T is cheaper than a Samsung ssd drive 1T...?
 
As mentioned above, I don't think you'll notice too much between the two interface types, but you will DEFINITELY notice if you're running your games off of SSD as opposed to platter-storage. Especially bigger games like id Software games that are 50GB+, or games that heavily stream textures. It's night and day really. If you have an empty m.2 slot, pop one in there, or add a SATA type if that's easier. Add a second source directory for you game library (assuming Steam, but maybe others as well) and start installing games to it. You can slowly migrate to it from your old drive. You can leave your system SSD as is.

I haven't used any form of spinning media in years now. I couldn't go back.
 
So am I better off just getting a regular ssd sata drive vs the m.2? As I mentioned in my post I got my games on a regular sata drive not an ssd drive, only my operating system win 8.1 is on a Samsung ssd drive. The m.2 1T is cheaper than a Samsung ssd drive 1T...?
m.2 is just a slot type, there are both SATA and PCIE (nvme) M.2 ssd available.
Assuming you have the Asus Z97-A it has a "1 x M.2 Socket 3 for M Key, type 2260/2280 devices" according to Asus's site.
M Key means it will work for 4x pcie or for SATA: https://www.atpinc.com/blog/what-is-m.2-M-B-BM-key-socket-3

That said you want to save a little cost you can get sata m.2, but the price difference isn't much 5% or so depending on the size.
NVME is about 6-7x faster on both read and write for <$10 difference I highly recommend that, so if nothing else if you reinstall in the future you could take advantage of putting the OS on the NVME.

860 Evo on Amzn
970 Evo Plus on Amzn
Samsung 860 evo sata 250gb is about 65$ 550/520 MB/s R/W
Samsung 970 evo plus NVME 250gb is about 72$ 3500/2300 MB/s R/W

Samsung 860 evo sata 500gb is about 98$ 550/520 MB/s R/W
Samsung 970 evo plus NVME 500gb is about 110$ 3500/3200MB/s R/W

(there are cheaper brands/drive options I like Samsung's for their 5y warranty and they make solid products so they were my example.)
 
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What is wrong with the Crucial P1 1TB NVMe? I would really like at least a 1TB so I don't need to worry about storage and move all games to this 1TB drive. I do have the Asus Z97-A and obviously nothing in the slot.
 
What is wrong with the Crucial P1 1TB NVMe? I would really like at least a 1TB so I don't need to worry about storage and move all games to this 1TB drive. I do have the Asus Z97-A and obviously nothing in the slot.
Nothing is wrong with that drive. Any SATA III SSD is going to be better than a spinner for loading times, but going from a SATA III SSD to a NVMe one for just game loads isn't going to be as drastic.
 
So am I better off just getting a regular ssd sata drive vs the m.2? As I mentioned in my post I got my games on a regular sata drive not an ssd drive, only my operating system win 8.1 is on a Samsung ssd drive. The m.2 1T is cheaper than a Samsung ssd drive 1T...?

Hmmm, my bad. I read your OP as having SATA SSDs, not HDDs. Yes, definitely upgrade to a SSD for game storage if you can. Load times should improve drastically.

The Z97-A's m.2 slot looks to be limited to PCIe2 x2, so you won't get the full bandwidth out of any current NVMe SSD (but throughput will still be a bit faster than SATA). Also, the user manual (page vii) indicates the m.2 slot does not support SATA units, and makes no mention at all of NVMe. It may only support older PCIe ACHI SSDs for boot, though a NVMe unit should still work as a secondary storage drive.

Were it me, I'd probably look for a reasonably-priced (i.e., not too much of a price premium over a good like-capacity SATA SSD) m.2 NVMe SSD that would make the move over to my next system. If the SSD were not going to ever migrate to a new system, then an inexpensive SATA 2.5" SSD.
 
So what would be best to get in terms of price/performance at the lowest price? The ssd currently have that windows 8.1 is running on is 500gb but some games now adays are literally 100gb so that'd go quick therefore it is best to get a 1TB but ssd or m.2?
 
I’m running Crucial SATAs in my older systems and living room PC and have zero complaints there. My primary desktop is a combo of those for bulk and an NVMe for system. For whatever it’s worth.
 
So what would be best to get in terms of price/performance at the lowest price? The ssd currently have that windows 8.1 is running on is 500gb but some games now adays are literally 100gb so that'd go quick therefore it is best to get a 1TB but ssd or m.2?

You're confusing a type of drive (SSD) with an interface (m.2).

My suggestions were in my last post. As for specific NVMe SSDs:

Budget: Crucial P1, WD Blue SN550
Throughput of these is much slower (at a little more than half) than most NVMe SSDs. Still, that's much faster than any SATA SSD, many of which cost the same (Crucial MX500) or more (Samsung 860 Evo). I'd consider one if budget is tight.

Bang-for-the-buck: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro
A number of people here like this SSD. It's a solid drive for the price, and much more of what one would expect from a NVMe SSD than the above two.

Top-of-the-line: Samsung 970 Evo/Evo+, WD Black SN750
The best performers, but nothing you'd ever notice in gaming or other typical day-to-day desktop apps. The Original 970 Evo can usually be had at a decent price now that the Evo+ is out, and the SN750 is often on sale for close to the price of the SX8200 Pro.
 
Per BlueLineSwinger's notation its a x2 pcie slot so I think the max it can do is about 1.9GB/s which is the speed of the WD blue SN550 I'd recommend that.
Its cheaper and you're not losing much speed.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. You mentioned PCIe2 x2, so you won't get the full bandwidth out of any current NVMe SSD (but throughput will still be a bit faster than SATA). Also, the user manual (page vii) indicates the m.2 slot does not support SATA units, and makes no mention at all of NVMe. It may only support older PCIe ACHI SSDs for boot, though a NVMe unit should still work as a secondary storage drive.
So should I even get the m.2 if it's not even supported and I'd like to use it as a main drive not secondary if possible. Also just checked my ssd I'm running is only a 250gb 840 evo...not sure why I thought it was 500 so I def need a 1TB minimum. Newegg has the wd black for 149 https://www.newegg.com/amp/western-digital-black-sn750-nvme-1tb/p/N82E16820250110
 
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I got a Samsung 970 m.2 drive last year and real world performance-wise it's no different from the 4-year old Crucial that it replaced. You might notice if you're working with lots of high-resolution video, but otherwise it doesn't matter. That said, it was the best overall deal for a 2TB drive I could find at the time.
 
Should I get the wd with our without heatsink? Newegg seems to have the best prices even over amazon
 
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Well I guess what I'm worried about most is if the wd one is compatible with my motherboard? Will I be able to install Windows and games in it without issue?
Also will I be able to utilize the full speed of it as well
Also is new egg still reliable to order from it seems to have the best price on the wd
 
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Well I guess what I'm worried about most is if the wd one is compatible with my motherboard? Will I be able to install Windows and games in it without issue?
Also will I be able to utilize the full speed of it as well
Also is new egg still reliable to order from it seems to have the best price on the wd

As I mentioned, If your mainboard does not support NVMe it will not be usable as a boot drive. However once the OS takes over its NVMe drivers will be loaded and the SSD will be available. So you could use it for game storage and other needs. Check the release notes for your mainboard's UEFI updates and other sources to see if they indicate NVMe support. Simply browsing through the UEFI settings might give you the answer.

You won't get the full throughput of a NVMe SSD out of the m.2 slot. It's still much faster than SATA. It doesn't matter for gaming and general desktop use. When you upgrade your system in the future move the SSD over and you'll get its full potential.

If you can get the WD SN750 at ~$150 that's what I'd probably do, unless budget dictated one of the cheaper units mentioned. You don't need the heatsink version. Newegg is fine, so long as you're buying direct from them (i.e., generally treat third-party resellers the same as you would on Amazon)
 
Debating whether I should have gone with the ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB 3D NAND NVMe Gen3x4 PCIe M.2 2280 Solid State Drive R/W 3500/3000MB/s SSD (ASX8200PNP-1TT-C). It comes with a heat sink and also a much better warranty than the Western Digital WD BLACK SN750 NVMe M.2 2280 at the same price. New egg mentions the wd comes with no warranty and no heat sink..what do you guys think is best at the 149 price?
Also I spoke thru live chat to asus rep and they mentioned the m.2 alive will work and also will be able to install Windows on them. .?
 
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Debating whether I should have gone with the ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB 3D NAND NVMe Gen3x4 PCIe M.2 2280 Solid State Drive R/W 3500/3000MB/s SSD (ASX8200PNP-1TT-C). It comes with a heat sink and also a much better warranty than the Western Digital WD BLACK SN750 NVMe M.2 2280 at the same price. New egg mentions the wd comes with no warranty and no heat sink..what do you guys think is best at the 149 price?
Also I spoke thru live chat to asus rep and they mentioned the m.2 alive will work and also will be able to install Windows on them. .?
The info on newegg is only as complete as the person that created the entry for the item the WD has a 5 year warranty and a heatsink too.
https://www.westerndigital.com/products/internal-drives/wd-black-sn750-nvme-ssd

Yes, you can install windows on any of the mentioned drives.
 
Spartucus the adata has a heatsink for 149 but the wd you need to add the heat sink which raises the price to 194....so wondering if the adata is a better buy and is a heat sink needed for these?
 
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Spartucus the adata has a heatsink for 149 but the wd you need to add the heat sink which raises the price to 194....so wondering if the adata is a better buy and is a heat sink needed for these?

No and no.

The WD is a better SSD all around than the AData.

Heatsinks on current SSDs is overkill. The only time they get close to overheating/throttling is under artificial benchmark loads. Also, the heatsink may interfere with PCIe cards depending on the positioning of the m.2 slot.
 
Thanks for the timely reply blue line. I'll just stick with the wd one in that case!
 
Spartucus the adata has a heatsink for 149 but the wd you need to add the heat sink which raises the price to 194....so wondering if the adata is a better buy and is a heat sink needed for these?
Ahhh the product page made it sound like it came with it, I see is the upgraded model now.
 
Is a screw needed to mount the drive to the mobo? I have no idea where all my screws from mobo are lol
 
Is a screw needed to mount the drive to the mobo? I have no idea where all my screws from mobo are lol
yes the ssd should have one or take the guard off and use that screw....little tiny thing that was as hell to lose
 
Is there an easy way to transfer games from my current hdd to this new ssd? Or do I just need to redownload everything?
 
Is there an easy way to transfer games from my current hdd to this new ssd? Or do I just need to redownload everything?
For steam I know theres an option to move the install files, most standalone game you’ll have to reinstall.
 
Just want to say that like others have mentioned going from sata ssd to a nvme makes no difference in game performance. I recently bought a ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB because I was running out of space on my SSD for gaming and there has been zero noticeable difference for games.

Only plus side is now I have a dedicated SSD for VR games and my new 1tb nvme for all my other non-vr games.
 
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I have a couple SATA SSDs and a couple PCIe SSDs, I always drop my newer games on one of the PCIe SSDs just for the possibility of better speed, but I can't tell a difference. I just really like M.2/PCIe SSDs because of the lack of bulk and cables. If I could buy a 4TB M.2 PCIe SSD for a reasonable price, I'd do that just to consolidate all of my games/temp storage (I have a NAS for music/movies/etc) into one nice compact drive that sits neatly on the motherboard and toss the 2.5"/3.5" drives I still have.
 
Just want to say that like othe rhave mentioned going form sata ssd to a nvme makes no difference in game performance. I recently bought a ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB because I was running out of space on my SSD for gaming and there has been zero noticeable difference for games.

Only plus side is now I have a dedicated SSD for VR games and my new 1tb nvme for all my other non-vr games.
Unfortunately, my main and only ssd drive that the os is on is only 250gb. My other 2 drives are not ssd but just regular hd and that is where all of my games are on. So for me it wouldn't make sense to buy anything other than an m.2 drive considering the price is pretty much the same as a 2.5 ssd..considering I'm going from old school hdd to this wd 750 m.2 I should see a huge difference
 
Could I just buy one of these:https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07NQBQB6Z/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_7?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
to get full speeds from my wd750 and considering my mobo only has 1 m.2 slot I could buy a few more when needed?

Nope, won't help, and probably won't even work:
  • That card is designed for PCIe 3 x16. The only slot on your mainboard that can fully support it is already being used by your GPU. You could put in the second PCIe x16 slot, but that would split the lanes with the GPU (and some systems don't like to do such a split with a non-GPU). The third x16 slot is electrically only PCIe 2 x2 (the same as the m.2 socket).
  • More importantly, it does not have its own PCIe switch to convert a single x16 slot into four x4 slots for the SSDs. Instead, it depends on the mainboard to set up bifurcation of the slot to properly support it. This is a feature not found in Intel's mainstream consumer-level chipsets or CPUs (not enough PCIe lanes available to make it worthwhile).
 
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Keep raining on my parade blue slinger lol JK thanks for the info figured I prob couldn't use that...I guess I'll need to stick with regular sata ssds if needed
 
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