M.2 SSD - any recommendations?

[TheVoice]

Just about to start building a new PC and had originally intended to use my SSDs from my current machine, a Crucial M4 128GB and a Crucial MX300 500GB. I've now decided I'll keep the bigger one as my Steam drive but will replace the M4 with something a bit faster and bigger.

Firstly, is it worth going M.2? My motherboard has two slots but my case also has two dedicated 2.5" SSD bays. I like the idea of having the faster option with no additional cables.

Are the new Samsung 860 Evos any good, or am I better off looking at something else? Ideally I just want a good, quick, well-priced drive.

Cheers!

 

[Undesirable]

It's not worth it for the speed increase over SATA alone unless you're into content creation. They're all overpriced ATM considering they have limited write cycles. And if you want one with increased write cycles (the new Intels), that's even more money. The main benefit is lack of need for extra cables, as you've noted. I'd say if you're not hugely worried about the cables, go with SATA again. Yeah, the M4 is getting on a bit (I've still got one).

 

[TheVoice]

So am I right in thinking that some M.2 drives (.e.g the Samsung 860 Evo) are just using the SATA bus whereas the more expensive ones like the 960 Pro are using the PCIe bus, hence the huge (theoretical) speed differences?

The reason I'm drawn to an M.2 drive is because routing power and SATA cables around to the back panel of my case is going to be a nightmare. There doesn't seem to be much price difference between the 2.5" and M.2 versions of the 860 Evo either.

 

[Van Diemen]

So am I right in thinking that some M.2 drives (.e.g the Samsung 860 Evo) are just using the SATA bus whereas the more expensive ones like the 960 Pro are using the PCIe bus, hence the huge (theoretical) speed differences?

The reason I'm drawn to an M.2 drive is because routing power and SATA cables around to the back panel of my case is going to be a nightmare. There doesn't seem to be much price difference between the 2.5" and M.2 versions of the 860 Evo either.

Yes, M.2 drives like the 850/860 Evo use the SATA bus, these do indeed allow for a more cleaner build, less cable mess to deal with.
Drives like the 960 Evo/Pro are NVMe (PCI-E) and are much faster.
Is the speed noticeably different? Well, that depends on your usage. Internet, Gaming etc, barely noticable. Video encoding/rendering etc, yes, substantial difference in performance.

 

[TheVoice]

Yes, M.2 drives like the 850/860 Evo use the SATA bus, these do indeed allow for a more cleaner build, less cable mess to deal with.
Drives like the 960 Evo/Pro are NVMe (PCI-E) and are much faster.
Is the speed noticeably different? Well, that depends on your usage. Internet, Gaming etc, barely noticable. Video encoding/rendering etc, yes, substantial difference in performance.

Cheers, after much deliberation I've gone for a 960 Evo M.2 250GB. Found it for £106 which seems a reasonable price, should arrive tomorrow.

 

[FlyingScotsman]

Yes, M.2 drives like the 850/860 Evo use the SATA bus, these do indeed allow for a more cleaner build, less cable mess to deal with.
Drives like the 960 Evo/Pro are NVMe (PCI-E) and are much faster.
Is the speed noticeably different? Well, that depends on your usage. Internet, Gaming etc, barely noticable. Video encoding/rendering etc, yes, substantial difference in performance.

Read write speeds are noticable faster as using the PCIE lanes, as it has more bandwidth compared to the sata bus.

 

[martynbez]

I have a had a Samsung NVMe for just over a week now. I would recommend as a boot drive as PC boots in no time now.

 

[Pocah]

Samsung is the way to go. Although there is a price premium for the 960 Pro, the 961 is a fair bit cheaper, but more important they do a 128GB which is stupid cheap. 128GB is plenty for a system drive. These days I tend to have a system drive and additional drives for all other purposes. I have never had more than 64GB on the system drive.

 

[TheVoice]

I have a had a Samsung NVMe for just over a week now. I would recommend as a boot drive as PC boots in no time now.

Those look about the same as the figures I'm getting, so that's a good sign. Are you using the default Windows driver or the one on the Samsung website? I've stuck with the MS one for now.

 

[martynbez]

Those look about the same as the figures I'm getting, so that's a good sign. Are you using the default Windows driver or the one on the Samsung website? I've stuck with the MS one for now.

I installed the Samsung ones along with their "software". Seem to work fine.

 

[jasonsony735]

How much better are these than standard Samsung SSD ? Also do you need to install windows on them to use it or can you just Transfer games on to it like the other SSD ?


I do edit a lot of 4k content and photos so will this help ?

 

[martynbez]

I used mine as a boot drive (Windows Installed on it), but can you can add it has an extra drive as long as you have an M.2 port.

Guess you would see an advantage when opening and saving files to it. Looking about about £120 for 240GB.

 

[fowler002]

I was just thinking about this, saves me having to make a new thread. At 250-256gb there doesn’t seem to be a major price difference between Samsung 860 and 960, but at 500gb there is a £40-£50.
So is the Samsung evo the recommended one to get? What is the WD blue like? It seems to be cheaper.

I’m thinking about building a small gaming pc for my bedroom(to go with the new 49inch tv I recently bought), was initially thinking about matx/itx but I have a small atx case(lian li a05) which I’m thinking about using to save some money. Being like 10 years old it doesn’t have mount for SSDs without using a bracket to fit in the 3.5 hdd mount, it doesn’t even have usb 3.0(the on on the lian li website is an updated version).

 

[HEADRAT]

I purchased a Samsung 500GB EVO m.2 I can't perceive any speed increase (other than high numbers on benchmarks) over my SATA based Samsung SSD, I'm going to return the m.2 drive.