OS to M.2 SSD. Any noticeable difference between "speeds"?

I don't care for benchmarks of read write or IOPs or a stopwatch on a loading screen.

Does it make an actual noticeable difference?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel 600P 256GB M.2-2280 PCI-e 3.0 x 4 NVMe 3D NAND Solid State Drive (SSDPEKKW256G7X1)= £79.99
• 1 x Samsung PM961 Polaris 256GB M.2-2280 PCI-e 3.0 x 4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £89.99
• 1 x Samsung SM961 Polaris 256GB M.2-2280 PCI-e 3.0 x 4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £109.99
• 1 x Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 250GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £149.99
• 1 x Corsair Force MP500 series 240GB NVMe PCIe M.2 Solid State Drive (CSSD-F240GBMP500)= £158.99
• 1 x Samsung 950 Pro 256GB M.2 PCI-e 3.0 x 4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £169.99

I've noticed a difference. Office applications for example are for all intents and purposes, instant. Whereas on my (admittedly 4 years) old Samsung SSD it takes a noticeable second.

Does it increase productivity? Of course not, but if you're buying a new drive anyway I don't see any drawbacks.

Take a look at this.....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4aLW7Bk5Zgk

very much mirrored my own findings over that of a SSD.

Yeah, that is what I have heard too.

I will see if anything comes up cheap on the member's market.

For my typical desktop use I can say that there hasn't been any difference noticed from the SSD drive that I had, to the NVMe noted it that video.
Benchmark wise it is up there performing as expected. In the real world, where it matters to me, it has been a complete waste of money, in terms of better speeds etc.

What OS are you using? If its windows 10 then I would just go for the PM961 as the speeds for most use is identical to the SM961 so save your money. Also do not forget to check if your motherboard supports a) 4xPCIE and b) Booting from NVME drives.

If its Windows 7 then its an utter nightmare to put a fresh Windows 7 SP1 x64 install on the system without LOADS of flipping headaches.

SM951 NVMe Samsung driver, Windows 10x64 Sabertooth S Z170 board. All as it should be in terms of booting and drivers. Still not the best choice made in terms of speed over an SSD.

If spending that sort of money on a M.2 NVME I would just go for a bigger SSD drive 500GB or above. Give it a few more years before buying into the NVME drives.

BTW you may want to jump in sharpish if you are going for SM961 or PM961 as they will no longer be available through retail soon.

ZXSpectrum said:

BTW you may want to jump in sharpish if you are going for SM961 or PM961 as they will no longer be available through retail soon.

Click to expand...

Why

I am on windows 10, using a 5820K + X99s krait sli. I'll only ever use a single GPU and sound card so plenty of spare PCIe lanes.

I think the PM961/SM961 are getting withdrawn as they weren't meant to be sold to consumers as they are much cheaper than the 960 evo/pro.

shamus21 said:

Why

Click to expand...

Because they are being removed from retail outlets. The SM and PM range of M.2 SSDS are not actually supposed to be sold retail but for system integrators and OEM/ODM systems. Samsung are removing them from sale and putting systems in place so that they are not sold on their own via retail outlets. The 850/960 Pro/Evo drives are the retail versions that will still be available to purchase with full warranty and support.

Disco_P said:

I think the PM961/SM961 are getting withdrawn as they weren't meant to be sold to consumers as they are much cheaper than the 960 evo/pro.

Click to expand...

LOL I really need to read...

Managed to pick up a 256GB Samsung SM961 for £89.99 on the bay. I'm getting 3300MB/s read 1500MB/s write in the laptop (msi ge72 7re). Bargain