PCIe 4.0 SSD worth it?

Penn0r

Penn0r

Penn0r

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1 Oct 2011
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11
Hi all,

(For your amusement) I am currently rocking a PC I put together in 2011: i5 2500k (Sandybridge), P8Z68-V Pro 115 Mobo, Sata 6Gbps Crucial M4 SSD. I upgraded the original GTX 570 to a GTX 780 a few years ago.

Tbh the computer still runs fine, and I can play all the games I want on it without any issues (not much of a gamer these days but can still play the odd ones, Witcher3, Starcraft2, Diablo etc). Having always upgraded my PC every 2-3 years prior, I'm shocked that I still feel like I don't need to upgrade, but I think it's time to scratch that itch.

I've been reading the threads in the forum and will probably go for a 5600X/5800X, B550 build, probably add in a gfx card when the situation eases.

My question is, in all these threads I have read, nobody is recommending a PCIe 4.0 SSD, and my question is why not when the theoretical? speed increases are double?
 
PCI-E 4.0 might have an effect on the performance of newer GPUs going forward,and once more games use MS Directstorage it might have an effect on asset streaming,etc. This will take a few years IMHO.

However,as with all these upgrades,if your current system runs the games you play fine,then best to stick with it IMHO....unless you find a decent deal.
 
Outside of tasks where the speed difference is obvious (large copy operations for example), you simply won't notice the difference in day to day usage vs a lower end NVMe or even a SATA SSD. As various technologies leverage the extra bandwidth a gen4 drive can provide that will change.
 
I think the answer to that is honestly no, unless you have some very specific task in mind. In my experience the nvme is held up by by everything else and likely spends a fair bit of time idling waiting for other devices to catch up
 
If you're playing only some old games there likely isn't even any difference between "old" SATA SSD and NVMe SSD.

In few games coded well, NVMe loads lot faster than SATA drive:
https://www.realhardwarereviews.com/silicon-power-us70-1tb-review/11/

And price definitely takes a jump.
In 1TB size currently discounted PCIe v3 Crucial P5 is half cheaper than the cheapest PCIe v4 drive.
You're better of using such extra money into 8 core CPU.
 
You can get double the capacity going with PCIe gen 3.0 vs gen 4.0 for around the same price and right now that will give much more benefit vs the extra speed which is virtually unnoticeable for everyday use.
 
Joxeon said:
You can get double the capacity going with PCIe gen 3.0 vs gen 4.0 for around the same price and right now that will give much more benefit vs the extra speed which is virtually unnoticeable for everyday use.
Click to expand...

Yeah there's been some really good deals on Crucial P5s recently. Could probably get rid of my last mechanical drive now.
 
Penn0r said:
Hi all,

(For your amusement) I am currently rocking a PC I put together in 2011: i5 2500k (Sandybridge), P8Z68-V Pro 115 Mobo, Sata 6Gbps Crucial M4 SSD. I upgraded the original GTX 570 to a GTX 780 a few years ago.

Tbh the computer still runs fine, and I can play all the games I want on it without any issues (not much of a gamer these days but can still play the odd ones, Witcher3, Starcraft2, Diablo etc). Having always upgraded my PC every 2-3 years prior, I'm shocked that I still feel like I don't need to upgrade, but I think it's time to scratch that itch.

I've been reading the threads in the forum and will probably go for a 5600X/5800X, B550 build, probably add in a gfx card when the situation eases.

My question is, in all these threads I have read, nobody is recommending a PCIe 4.0 SSD, and my question is why not when the theoretical? speed increases are double?
Click to expand...

Hi,

The more people buy it today, the sooner it will be used and supported widely by the applications, so the sooner it will become mainstream.

Long answer short - yes, do it.
 
Got my gen 4 NVME when i swapped over to Ryzen as i saved so much money during the lockdown and thought, why not.

Benchmarks do look impressive, but "my" real life usage is no different to the gen 3 drive i already had.

Can't remember how much i payed, but do remember it was cheaper than the WD SN850 otherwise i would not have gone for it. (definately would not buy it at the current price)

Hope 4K8KW10 is right. ;)
 
If you keep this new PC for as long as your last one and do not like to change things then get the most upto date components you can. Within the coming years you will most likely get your monies worth from pcie 4 Vs 3.

If you tinker a lot then just get pcie 3 now and get 4 in future if it becomes worthwhile.

If I want to change my m.2 drives I have to drain entire WC loop. No way I was not putting pcie 4 for main drive even if I get no real benefits from it.
 
Minstadave said:
Yeah there's been some really good deals on Crucial P5s recently. Could probably get rid of my last mechanical drive now.
Click to expand...
Let's hope price drop just doesn't mean bait and switch also on that like in P2:
https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/features/crucial-p2-ssd-qlc-flash-swap-downgrade

And that good price aplies only to standard 1TB size.
2TB model is way more expensive than DRAM-equipped high end drives and actually fully as costly as PCIe v4 drives.

Corsair Force MP600 series 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (CSSD-F2000GBMP600)= £319.99
TeamGroup T-Force Cardea Zero Z440 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive= £329.99
Crucial P5 2TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £329.99
 
EsaT said:
Let's hope price drop just doesn't mean bait and switch also on that like in P2:
https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/features/crucial-p2-ssd-qlc-flash-swap-downgrade

And that good price aplies only to standard 1TB size.
2TB model is way more expensive than DRAM-equipped high end drives and actually fully as costly as PCIe v4 drives.

Corsair Force MP600 series 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive (CSSD-F2000GBMP600)= £319.99
TeamGroup T-Force Cardea Zero Z440 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 Solid State Drive= £329.99
Crucial P5 2TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £329.99
Click to expand...

Yeah 2tb pricing is strange. You can usually buy a pair of 1tb drives for less.
 
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