NVME or Solid State for gaming?
- Thread starter Ice Rich
- Start date
Weird, the BIOS versions and dates appear to be different between these pages and in the OP's CPU-Z screenshot that BIOS version and date doesn't seem to exist either.
I don't think I'd update it unless it was 100% necessary, though in theory the software should reject an update for an incompatible BIOS.
Soldato
I have a 2TB SSD and a 2TB NVMe for my games and I really do not notice any difference between the two when gaming.
Man of Honour
Soldato
Yeah very likely custom msi bios
That's probably why usually these prebuilt don't mention
What motherboard is in there
Partly because they may want to lock out overclocking
So they can use a cheaper cooler I guess
And makes life easier for less technical people
Just go to msi or whatever board is in the prebuilt pc
And able to update everything in one place
And to the op
Not sure I would rely on msi software
Saying need to replace a drive
I would want the drive manufacturers software
Or other software that's capable of running both a
Drive short and long test
Probably a cheaper board in there too if only 1 x m2 slot
I had multiple m2 drives in z270-e
Probably before that actually but i forget
The z270-e I still have sitting here
Definitely 2 x m2/ nvme slots on that one
I missed what board it is you have if was mentioned
But would also double check that's its a x4 nvme slot
Some of the earlier boards were only x2
Still faster than sata ssds though
And m2 drives are backwards compatible anyway
That's probably why usually these prebuilt don't mention
What motherboard is in there
Partly because they may want to lock out overclocking
So they can use a cheaper cooler I guess
And makes life easier for less technical people
Just go to msi or whatever board is in the prebuilt pc
And able to update everything in one place
And to the op
Not sure I would rely on msi software
Saying need to replace a drive
I would want the drive manufacturers software
Or other software that's capable of running both a
Drive short and long test
Probably a cheaper board in there too if only 1 x m2 slot
I had multiple m2 drives in z270-e
Probably before that actually but i forget
The z270-e I still have sitting here
Definitely 2 x m2/ nvme slots on that one
I missed what board it is you have if was mentioned
But would also double check that's its a x4 nvme slot
Some of the earlier boards were only x2
Still faster than sata ssds though
And m2 drives are backwards compatible anyway
Thanks all 
Yes I'm certain you're right , MSI 'infinite' division must release a custom bios for it. The board is a B360M BAZOOKA. I'm tempted to upgrade with a direct bios release but it is running ok and has these RGB light things on front of case that I wouldn't be surprised if that's also working from the custom bios.
Thanks McNumpty , I have used a HDD app (crystal and also SSD-Z) and both reporting ok regarding health. So you were right in not trusting the MSI thing.
I have 3 drives, 1 NVME for OS, 1 Seagate for Games , 1 Patriot for video/storage.
SSD-Z is reporting that there are a lot more 'features' on the Patriot ('Trim') so i'm almost certain that is SSD. The Seagate doesn't have SSD mentioned anywhere so I think it must be mechanical and connected via SATA2. Which would explain why textures take a while to fully appear when I first start Baldurs Gate 3.
I know ideally I need to open it up and have a proper look, will do so asap.
Yes I'm certain you're right , MSI 'infinite' division must release a custom bios for it. The board is a B360M BAZOOKA. I'm tempted to upgrade with a direct bios release but it is running ok and has these RGB light things on front of case that I wouldn't be surprised if that's also working from the custom bios.
Thanks McNumpty , I have used a HDD app (crystal and also SSD-Z) and both reporting ok regarding health. So you were right in not trusting the MSI thing.
I have 3 drives, 1 NVME for OS, 1 Seagate for Games , 1 Patriot for video/storage.
SSD-Z is reporting that there are a lot more 'features' on the Patriot ('Trim') so i'm almost certain that is SSD. The Seagate doesn't have SSD mentioned anywhere so I think it must be mechanical and connected via SATA2. Which would explain why textures take a while to fully appear when I first start Baldurs Gate 3.
I know ideally I need to open it up and have a proper look, will do so asap.
Last edited:
Soldato
Indeed. My Gen 4 NVME drives make no noticeable difference with games over that of my SSD drive.
There are so many videos on YouTube showing that.
In many ways I prefer an SSD, at least I don't have to remove my GPU to gain access to some of the slots.
It does seem that some motherboards are limiting their SATA ports tho.
Soldato
Yeah as mentioned earlier
Don't see a massive difference in game
Between ssd and nvme
Where I see a huge difference though
Is I make backups of the games
Given how huge some are nowadays
Copying them all to a second gen 4 nvme
It just slaughters 2.5 ssds
And yeah as vimes said
And I already said access to m2 drives
Is way more awkward
Especially with a full watercooling loop in place
Don't see a massive difference in game
Between ssd and nvme
Where I see a huge difference though
Is I make backups of the games
Given how huge some are nowadays
Copying them all to a second gen 4 nvme
It just slaughters 2.5 ssds
And yeah as vimes said
And I already said access to m2 drives
Is way more awkward
Especially with a full watercooling loop in place
Soldato
I don't care, in my use, how fast transfers are between my Gen 4 NVME drives. in the context that is not my typical use. But it is notably nice.....when it does happen, for certain backups etc......
Game loading times typically, well in the few tests I have bothered to take note.....
it might peak closer to 300MB/s, hard to capture exactly. But internal game timers, engine limitations and other hard and software factors etc etc etc would agree with an SSD being able to largely hold its own at this point.
Game loading times typically, well in the few tests I have bothered to take note.....
it might peak closer to 300MB/s, hard to capture exactly. But internal game timers, engine limitations and other hard and software factors etc etc etc would agree with an SSD being able to largely hold its own at this point.
as long as they don't make the T800 or T1000 i think humanity will be safe
as long as they don't make the T800 or T1000 i think humanity will be safe
Haha!
As an aside an SSD which can achieve the sequential speeds shown in a game doesn't mean it can manage those speeds under game access patterns - sometimes you need a far faster drive to maintain those kind of speeds under real world conditions.
But yeah generally the difference between a decent SATA SSD and a top end NVME is usually small in gaming use - although some drives are better than others - for example the SK Hynix Gold/Platinum can be a couple of seconds faster loading games than many other drives despite having fairly average performance overall.
Always wondered about the SK Hynix drives, they make awesome memory modules so was always intrigued about their NVME solutions. Never really hear about it that much so assumed it wasn't that great.
Their NVMEs are a bit niche, don't really stand out in many respects but have certain advantages in specific areas. I've been using them for awhile mostly SK Hynix Gold due to their low idle power and so on making them a good laptop choice and the Platinum in my gaming PC as certain games load noticeably faster off it even than the 990 Pros.
So far they've been pretty solid, no nonsense/no frills, drives in my experience.
Sounds like what i need tbh as i'm doing a lot of editing/testing and gaming on the side. They sound reliable and its reliability that i need.
Will have a look at getting some before the prices jump again.
Annoyingly they were on some decent deals up until this year where they've jumped back to the "normal" price and yeah likely to go up rather than down going forward
EDIT: Some deals around at the moment actually though not quite as good as they were.
They are also sold under different brand names like Solidigm for some reason, but basically the same drive, not sure if there is any difference in reliability, etc.
Last edited:
Annoyingly they were on some decent deals up until this year where they've jumped back to the "normal" price and yeah likely to go up rather than down going forward
EDIT: Some deals around at the moment actually though not quite as good as they were.
I've seen them for around £72 but delivery charge put its upto £80 for a 1TB drive.
Soldato
Sadly prices have climbed, by quite a margin as well. I look at the 2TB SK Platinum and I know that I paid around that price for my 4TB Crucial NVME. I am not triggered, in any meaningful way, about a drive that could load my games 2 seconds faster. Heck I kinda miss launching a game, well part of me does at times, as I would launch it and then go and make a cup of tea.
From my own typical gaming experience the form factor is a matter of choice in my main PC, altho I can see the numbers of SATA ports reducing over time.
Not only have I seen nothing meaningful with an NVME over that of an SSD for games loading, the 1% lows also haven't measurably improved, then again I'm not triggered about those either, as I notice no issues. But, with so much already being noted about NVME Vs SSD for games, meaningful performance wise, I wasn't expecting anything.
And I'm not "pixel peeping" lol.
From my own typical gaming experience the form factor is a matter of choice in my main PC, altho I can see the numbers of SATA ports reducing over time.
Not only have I seen nothing meaningful with an NVME over that of an SSD for games loading, the 1% lows also haven't measurably improved, then again I'm not triggered about those either, as I notice no issues. But, with so much already being noted about NVME Vs SSD for games, meaningful performance wise, I wasn't expecting anything.
And I'm not "pixel peeping" lol.